Snow & Boaters

Hockey Arena.

I think the early arrival & departure of the Rosaire A Desgagnes ship during sealift was foreshadowing imminent change of weather.  (The sealift ships are on a tight schedule and want to get everything done before the start of winter).  I woke up to snow falling on the community on September 10.  It wasn’t the thick kind of snow; more like the very light snow that immediately melts when it touches the ground.  I had to wear a few extra layers under my jacket as I walked to school.  I took a few photographs for my digital records.  A very thin layer of snow covered the ground, reminding me of a white powdered donut.  I assumed the snow would be gone by the afternoon.

Trailer House

Unfortunately, no Terry Fox Run was held on September 15 due to COVID-19 restrictions and the sudden arrival of snow.  (No snow was present at last year’s event).  The Terry Fox Foundation encouraged participants to do a run of some kind in a safe place and showcase it online.  I’m not sure if anyone in Arctic Bay participated.  I probably would have if I had a treadmill in my place.

There was still some snow on the ground on September 17.  I still had to wear rubber boots because of mud.  Snow covered the top half of King George V Mountain and it looked like it was going to stay that way until next summer. 

More snow fell the next day.  This made me wonder if skidoo season would start early this year.  Several of my students asked me if I had started driving my skidoo, to which I replied, “No.”  I still didn’t think there was enough snow on the ground.

The weekend of September 19 & 20 was to be the first cadet field training exercise of the 2020-2021 Training Year.  However, all cadet activities are shut down until early October by order of the Department of National Defence.

I spent some time at school on Sunday, September 20, correcting school work and preparing lessons.  I took a few more photographs of the snowy landscape, familiar landmarks, a dog that watched me walk by, and three people on a boat out in the bay.

New Fire Hall.

Speaking of boaters, I witnessed something for the first time since arriving in Arctic Bay in 2013.  I was walking home from school on September 21 when I noticed many small motorboats in the bay.  They were at least two people per boat.  The boats were spread out across the bay and the occupants were waiting for something.  It didn’t take long for me to figure out that they were hunting narwhals.  I immediately took out my camera and started taking pictures.  Narwhal hunting usually happens much further away from the community.

The boats suddenly rushed in one direction as I neared the Northern Store.  A narwhal must have been spotted and everyone wanted to get it.  I’m not sure if the hunters are allowed to use their guns this close to the community.  They are most definitely allowed to use harpoons.  A small crowd of people watched from the shoreline and the Northern Store.  The boats came together in one large mass and then spread out again.  The armada sped off in another direction as I entered the Northern Store.

The boaters use VHF marine radios to communicate.  Someone on the shoreline had a VHF radio and was listening to the conversations.

The armada continued the “cat & mouse” game as I left the Northern Store.  Since it’s the Arctic, maybe it’s referred to as the “polar bear & seal” game?  I new that some of my students were on those boats.  They had talked about going boating on the weekend & during the week. 

Perhaps, one day, I’ll go boating one time to experience the hunt up close.  I’ll just make sure to take Gravol before I board the boat.  If the water is rough, seasickness is not far away. 

Sealift 2020

The first sealift vessel, MV Aujaq, arrived on the August 31.  The ship is owned & operated by Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping (NEAS).  The ship was built in the Netherlands in 1994 and has a container capacity of 720 TEUs.  NEAS is one of 3045 Army Cadet Corps’ sponsors.  If the COVID-19 pandemic was not happening, several cadets could have been given a tour of the ship.  We’ll have to try again in 2021.

I photographed the large ship anchored in the bay while walking to school.  The ship was packed with sea cans, vehicles, and small boats.  There were probably wooden crates also onboard but I didn’t see them from where I was standing.  What’s always impressive is the vehicles & boats are stacked on top of the sea cans on the main deck.  I believe they’re chained to the sea cans so that they don’t fall overboard. 

There were already a large barge & two tugboats in the water floating next to the ship.  The crew had lowered several loaders, small sea cans, and metal ramps onto the barge.  These had to be brought to shore first.  The small sea cans had been converted into small offices for the shore crew to take shelter from the weather & rest.  They also give the Shore Captain and customers a place to sign paperwork. 

I took more pictures in the late afternoon.  The area in front of the Northern Store was bustling with activity.  Loaders were moving and stacking sea cans in various places.  Surprisingly, there were very few people watching the loaders work.  I watched for a few minutes from the safety of the Northern Store.  I wondered if the NEAS crew would remove the large green McCloskey rock crushing machine that’s been sitting in the same spot for a year?  I didn’t ask.

Sealift operations became busier & more complicated when the second ship, MV Rosaire A Desgagnes, arrived on September 1, ahead of schedule.  The ship was primarily built in the Netherlands in 2007 and is slightly longer than the Aujaq.  However, its container capacity is only 665 TEUs.  The ship is operated by Desgagnes Transarctik Inc. (DTI) & Nunavut Sealink and Supply Inc. (NSSI). 

The ship anchored near the Gas Station, further away from the unloading area in front of the Northern Store.  I’m not sure why the captain chose that spot.  There were now two ships in the bay, but still, only one unloading area.  I assumed the captains communicated by radio and came to an arrangement on when their barges & tugboats could use the unloading area.  This wouldn’t have been issue if the community had a deep-sea port. 

The area in front of the Northern Store resembled a large outdoor warehouse.  So many wooden crates, oil drums, steel beams, and sea cans were brought ashore from the Desgagnes ship.  One of those wooden crates were mine.  It appears that NSSI shipped more stuff up here than NEAS.  I think a large portion of the stuff brought ashore was construction materials for the new power plant that is to be built at the Gas Station.  I walked through the maze of wooden crates and found mine.  It was easy to find because there was a blue tarp stapled to the top and my name was written across the box in large black letters.  I made arrangements with Frank to have it moved to my place.

Things continued on September 2.  Two large sea cans, full of supplies & furniture, had been deposited in front of Inuujaq School.  A lot of students were drafted to bring everything in.  The cans were quickly emptied.  A loader would take them back to the barges and they would be returned to the ship.  All the stuff the school ordered lined the main hallway.  They couldn’t be immediately put away because School Administration needed to review & check off all the items on the order forms.  It would be a big help if schools were allowed to close for at least a day to do “sealift stuff”.  That way, students & teachers don’t have to maneuver around unpacked boxes & furniture.

The former owner of the local hotel purchased & brought up a trailer house.  I heard he & his wife no longer wanted to live in their large house and wanted to downsize.  A new square plot of land was created opposite their house by dumping truckloads of earth.  The large trailer was completely wrapped in a blue tarp.  I’m not sure when the unwrapping and construction part will begin.  I’m guessing after winter.  (The local hotel is now being managed by the Co-op).

Seeing a private citizen bringing up a home on sealift is a rarity in the North.  The transportation costs alone are enormous.  It’s usually the Government of Nunavut, Nunavut Housing Corporation, Co-op, and Northern Store who bring up construction materials to build new buildings because they have the money.  Affordable housing and a housing market do not exist in most Northern communities.  You have to be rich to bring up materials & construct your own home.  That’s why there’s been a housing crisis in Nunavut for many, many years.  A Nunavut wide road network connected to the south would bring the costs down.  Unfortunately, past & present federal governments behave like there isn’t any money to construct a vast road network to all the Nunavut communities.  I find that impossible to believe considering Canada has spent billions of dollars fighting COVID-19.  The money was & is there.  Plus, I don’t think a road network will cost that much to build in the territory.  Ottawa just needs to lift its head really high when looking at a map of Canada and realize there’re people living in other places besides Iqaluit.

The Rosaire A Desgagnes didn’t stay long in Arctic Bay.  It arrived early and left early on September 2.  I photographed its slow departure from the bay while I was walking home from work.  If I had access to an atv, I would have driven to the Cliffs and taken pictures of the large trip moving towards Admiralty Inlet.

The MV Aujaq departed on September 3.

I spent the afternoon of September 5 getting my wooden crate opened and moving everything I ordered inside my place.  One of my coworkers came over with a crowbar and helped me break open the crate.  I had my own crowbar.  The loud bangs attracted little kids to come watch.  We removed the top and a side.  My Loblaws order had been packed into Dole Premium Banana boxes.  It took about five minutes to get everything inside my place.  We then moved the empty wooden crate next to my sea can.  I thanked everyone for their help and went inside.

I spent two hours unpacking & putting everything away.  I paid Frank to take the banana boxes to the landfill.  Having all these supplies should save me a lot of money in the long term.