hollymathwriter

August 15, 2025 Captain William Kennedy and his second-in-command, Joseph René Bellot, discovered this strait while searching for the lost Franklin expedition in 1852. This strait separates the northern-most part of mainland North America, Boothia Peninsula, from Somerset Island. It was my favorite day of the trip because we spotted our first of the rare bowhead whales, had our closest polar bear sighting. We also saw our first mother with cubs and our first musk ox. The bowhead whales made...

August 14, 2025 Beechey Island became famous as the burial site for the early deaths of 3 members of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition to discover a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. In 1845 to 1846 the expedition wintered on Beechey Island when their ships were stopped by the ice. The graves and hundreds of tin cans were discovered 5 years later by people in search of the lost expedition. Some people believe they may have perished from lead poisoning when the...

August 13, 2025 Today we visited Dundas Harbor on Devon Island. Devon Island is the largest uninhabited island in the world. In the past, there have been small settlements, such as the most recent Royal Canadian Mounted Police outpost. We woke up to a sea of icebergs in the morning before making our way to Devon Island. We passed the Kaparoqtalik Glacier on Bylot Island. Once we arrived at Devon Island, the ship anchored. We took the zodiacs to the shore and walked along the beach to the...