Philpots Island & Devon Island, Canada, 7/23/2022, National Geographic Endurance
Aboard the
National Geographic Endurance
Arctic
What a start to the day: narwhals, walruses, and polar bears all before breakfast! National Geographic Endurance navigated north overnight from Pond Inlet up the east coast of Devon Island. Glassy conditions made for perfect wildlife watching with a small group of narwhals coming up from the deep close to our bow. As we pushed towards Philpots Island and the fast ice, sightings continued. After breakfast, we went to explore the ice edge from the Zodiacs. After two hours of cruising ice, seabirds, and seals, we returned to the ship and spotted a small group of walruses on ice.
The afternoon didn’t disappoint either, as we repositioned through Lancaster Sound, around the south of Devon Island. We encountered more polar bears and a brief glimpse of even more narwhals.
Jamie is from England. He grew up in Oxford, about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK, yet somehow decided he would work in marine biology and conservation. Ever since he reached his teens, he has dedicated time to this passion, working and...
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National Geographic Resolution spent the day at sea. Everyone enjoyed some extra rest and a brunch full of delicious treats. The Bering Sea gave us a taste of its reputation with a show of wind and swells as we cruised south. There were several educational presentations throughout the day. In the afternoon, we all celebrated the official completion of the Northwest Passage with a champagne toast and cheers as we neared the Bering Strait. What a day!
This morning, National Geographic Resolution continued cruising in the Chukchi Sea en route to Nome. What is the difference between an ocean and a sea you wonder? Seas are found on the margins of the ocean and are partially enclosed by land. After breakfast, we were off the coast of Utqiagvik, formerly known as Barrow. Utqiagvik has around 5000 residents and is Alaska’s northernmost community at 71 degrees north latitude. With low-relief land in sight, we spotted a herd of walruses in the water. These animals are a part of the Pacific walrus population and are larger than the ones we saw of the Atlantic population in the Canadian Arctic. Few people can boast that they have seen animals from both populations in the span of a few weeks! The most incredible sighting of the day was three walruses hauled out on ice not far from the Point Lay haulout. Point Lay is a bit of a recent phenomenon. Over the past decade, sea ice in the Chukchi Sea is retreating north beyond shallow continental shelf waters in late summer, and walruses are utilizing coastal areas (termed haulouts) as a base for resting and foraging. As of 2007, walruses have been hauling out on a barrier island near Point Lay with as many as 40,000 documented at this site. One of the threats faced by walruses in large congregations like this one is death by stampeding. Throughout the day, we had fabulous presentations from the expedition staff, tours of the galley, and a special empanada teatime. After dinner, we put on our party shoes and had a fun evening in the Ice Lounge as we enjoyed the amazing talents of our dedicated crew at the famous Crew Show.
National Geographic Resolution spent the day in the Beaufort Sea as we continued navigation from Herschel Island towards Nome, Alaska. Seas were calm with slight winds. Fog prevailed all day and limited views of marine wildlife. Throughout the day, guests enjoyed on-board activities that included presentations from Sabastian, our hotel manager, and a number of naturalists. Sabastian gave a very informative overview of hotel operations and shared with us more details regarding the complexity of the overall operation. Following Sabastian, naturalist Kevin Rattue gave a presentation on his experiences working with the Inuit of Nunavut on the environmental protection of the Northwest Passage. After lunch, naturalist Doug Gualtieri shared with us a second installment on tundra and permafrost. Following a wonderful teatime, naturalist Maria Huntsaar offered a fascinating presentation on the reasons why so many animals carry a considerable amount of body fat. Our evening was spent enjoying a photo critique of the portrait photographs that guests have taken since embarking on National Geographic Resolution in Kangerlussuaq. Our navigation continued through the evening as we moved ever closer to the western coastline of Alaska.
