The true expedition has begun! Through the night, we sailed into Lancaster Sound, officially entering the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage. The day began with low fog surrounding the vessel and pieces of drift ice scattered everywhere throughout the water. Our goal was to reach Dundas Harbor along the southeast coast of Devon Island. Devon Island was first discovered by Europeans in 1616, when William Baffin and Robert Bylot explored the eastern coast during their expedition on the Discovery. Over 200 years later, William Edward Parry would be the next explorer to enter Lancaster Sound. He surveyed the southern coast of Devon Island in 1819 on his first attempt to find the Northwest Passage as captain.
Due to the distance we had to cover, the low fog, and ice conditions, we spent the morning working towards our destination. Resident archeologist Dan Odess and our photo team gave entertaining and informative talks.
By the afternoon, we had made it to our goal, Dundas Harbor! There were many moments where fog or ice seemed to be limiting factors that would prevent us from having an activity in the afternoon. As we finally navigated the harbor, though, the fog cleared, and we were greeted with incredible conditions to enjoy a wonderful landing. The guests disembarked for a short hike amongst wildflowers to visit an old RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) outpost established in 1924. It was a fantastic afternoon, and spirits were high as we returned on board excited for what the next day of the expedition would bring.
