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Wednesday,
September 13th. Tassiussaq,
Greenland
This
morning we offloaded in the zodiacs at a beautiful spot called Tassiussaq,
Greenland. The weather was perfect, mostly sunny, 4 degrees with no wind to
speak off. Apparently, there are big storms around us, but we are in a little
sheltered space between them. The zodiac ride was about 15 minutes through a
narrow channel to get us into a little inlet. From there we could walk to a
series of three ponds, an archeology Thule site, and a view of the ocean. John
told us he wasn’t going to do the extreme hike or the polar plunge today
because he wasn’t feeling 100%. So, the three of us walked together all the way
in taking photos of where we were and each other. At the end we got separated.
I went down to the beach and when I came back, I couldn’t find either of them.
Bruce had begun to walk back the way he came. John decided to join the extreme
hike after all (of course) and headed up to the top of the ridge on his own,
until one of the guides shooed him down and led him up a safe way. So, I walked
back by myself on the opposite side of the ponds to complete the transit around
all three. The views were stunning, and the area was abundant with small
colourful plants. There was goose poo everywhere, but the geese had already
headed south. I heard a loon at one point, it sounded like our common loon, but
it might have the red throated loon of the arctic. I spent over three hours
enjoying the location before heading back to the ship for lunch. After lunch,
they had the polar plunge. Sure enough, John showed up in his robe and bathing
suit… I could have won that bet. They all jumped off the zodiac launching docks
into the water in front of a large iceberg. Next up was a lecture by Dr Mark St
Ong the geologist entitled How Old is the Earth? He explained the history of
scientists who tried to figure out how old the earth was, and the different
techniques used until we have a date that modern science is confident in: 4.5
billion years old. He also told us that the oldest dated rock in the world is
in the Northwest Territories near Yellowknife. The last talk of the day was
about Ice Charts and the Ocean Endeavor with the Captain. He showed us charts
that indicated where the ice is, what type of ice it is, and how thick it is.
The charts indicate the ice in colours ranging from green to yellow to red.
Each ship has an ice rating. Our ship has a limit of 50 centimetres of ice,
which coincides with the yellow ice on the charts. He explained with modern
radar, aircraft scouting and other equipment he is aware of the ice and its
characteristics from 25 kilometres away. So, it is much less dangerous to sail
these seas nowadays. He also explained that when we went into the ice field a
couple of days ago, the captain and his engineers had to assess all the ice
conditions and enter it into a complicated math formula. The results of which
dictates whether or not we can enter the ice. Whenever we enter an area of ice
the ship enters very slowly so we could push the ice, rather than crash into it
where it might damage the ship. Progress through ice is slow as a result and
when we want to make time, the captain seeks open water. At the Gathering
today, David Pelly compared and contrasted the history of the Inuit in
Greenland and the Inuit in Canada. We have witnessed the colourful, organized,
clean and apparently prosperous towns of Greenland and the Inuit town of Gjoa Haven which by contrast looked very bleak, disorganized, unattractive and full
of jetsam and flotsam. Denmark has been involved in the lives of the Inuit in
Greenland since the late 1600’s, whereas Canada only met them through the RCMP
and Hudson Bay’s Company in the early 1900’s – a three-hundred-year difference.
In addition, the west coast of Greenland is ice free and supports a very active
and prosperous fishing industry whereas northern Canada has been, until
recently, frozen solid in the winter and inaccessible. It hasn’t been until
recent years that mineral and oil deposits have made the Arctic of more
interest and possibly profitable. Therefore, the Inuit of Greenland have
assimilated more and have careers or work based on the fishing industry and
other related jobs. We all know the government of western countries
historically have not been interested in helping indigenous peoples, and only
invest in an area if there was some resource of value to their economy. Then
the local people might find employment. Today, I was forwarded an article that demonstrates
that Denmark was not a benevolent colonial power either and mistreated the indigenous
peoples of Greenland as there is currently an investigation into the involuntary
implantation of IUDs in the 1950’s into 4500 women in order to control the reproduction
rate of the local people. Seems it’s not just Canada who needs a Truth and
Reconciliation Day.
Great info about how the captain knows when to avoid certain ice thicknesses. I was also wondering about the possible differences between how Canadian and Danish governments treated the Inuit under their distinct governances and my google searches failed to answer my questions so thanks, Joe, for highlighting the differences and commonalities. By the way, I think your friend John should have been tethered to his bed that morning although I guess the Brits do know something about the Gulf Stream’s warming affects. Still, his arctic dip only serves to prove my earlier post’s observation about mad dogs and Englishmen.
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