Everything Sealift

The 2018 sealift season in Arctic Bay began on August 31.  The Kiviuq I fishing vessel arrived in the afternoon, attracting a large crowd at the breakwater pier.  The crowd mostly consisted of children but there were a few adults present.  Several crew members came on deck to wave at the crowd.  The captain blew the loud horn twice to let everyone know of their arrival. 

The Kiviuq I has been visiting the community every summer for the last several years, bringing fish & meats ashore.  The Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO) hires the ship to hunt & fish north of the community around Devon Island.  Several locals even get hired to go onboard.  When the ship comes back, the fish & meats are distributed to the community at a local feast.  The various foods people can expect are: char, halibut, lobster, and muskox.  I toured the vessel in 2015.

On the morning of September 1, a small barge was brought up alongside the Kiviuq I and held in place by several small boats.  The ship’s crane lowered many boxes of supplies onto the barge.  The boxes were brought ashore and unloaded once every space on the barge was full.  The unloading & delivery was completed in one day because the ship had to be somewhere else the following day.

The annual sealift kicked into high gear the same day because the MV Qamutik was also anchored in the bay.  The large vessel is operated by NEAS.  I tried to organize a tour of the vessel for the cadets, similar to last year, but unfortunately, the crew was too busy.  There’s always next year.  The area around the breakwater pier and the Northern Store became a hectic place, with heavy loaders moving around, unloading anything & everything off & on large barges being pushed by small tugboats.  Bylaw & RCMP did their best to keep curious children away from the large machines.  The shoreline in front of the Northern Store is the only good place for barges to come close to shore.  A secure deep sea port away from the centre of town would make the job less stressful. 

I photographed and filmed the operation from a distance.  Off the barges came: personal vehicles, building supplies, sea containers, a new Zamboni machine for the arena, and a new sewage truck for the community!  My sealift order was arriving on the next boat.   

     

The next & last ship to arrive was the Rosaire A Desgagnes, operated by NSSI.  The large vessel anchored in the bay on September 8.  The unloading process was the same: large loaders were brought ashore first, and then came everything else.  Although, there were more wooden crates on this ship.

            

I walked down to the NSSI office sea can and spoke to the shore captain.  I showed him my order slip and he confirmed that my wooden crate had come ashore.  He showed me where his workers placed it.  We went back to the office and signed some paper work.  The crate was officially handed over to me.  Now I had to find someone to move it to my place.  The sealift companies rarely transport items in town because they don’t want to take away local jobs.  Before I could find someone, my crate was delivered, free of charge, on September 9.  A parent of a former student did it.  Thanks!

            

I borrowed a crowbar from the Northern Store and open the wooden crate in the late afternoon.  The large wooden box was held together by nails and metal tape.  A few kids appeared to watch me open the box, curious to see what’s inside.  It took several minutes to open one side.  I took my time with the crowbar, not wanting to damage the goods.  I hired one kid to help take everything inside.  I paid him in cans of pop for his help.  It took me several hours to sort and put away everything.  I felt ready to survive a nuclear winter or zombie apocalypse.  I would need several days to transport the school & cadet supplies to Inuujaq School.

            

The school was also filled with a year’s worth of supplies.  Several high school students were paid to bring in boxes.  Boxes of various sizes lined the walls of the main hallway.  Everything needed to be signed in before it could be put away.  School Administration estimated it would take at least a week to get through everything.  Whatever it takes. 

            

Sealift is the Christmas of summer.