August 14^th, 2026

Northwest Passage

In the morning they announced that there were bow head whales on our starboard side. I was very excited. I have never seen one before – which could be related to the fact I have never been in this region before. They tend to hang out in the Arctic. All I knew about them was that they have the largest mouth of any mammal (good trivia question). Another good trivia question is the fact that they considered to be the longest living mammals, they can live for over 200 years.

I could see them spouting quite clearly, they seemed to have a sort of 2-pronged spray rising quite high in the air, but I never saw any bodies as such. Still, it was a real treat to see them even at a distance.

After the whales our next excitement was going through the Bellot Strait where we were assured, we would see some wildlife.

Near the mouth of the strait, on the north side is Fort Ross. This is an abandoned former trading post on Somerset Island. It was founded in 1937,  and was the last trading post to be established by the Hudson’s Bay Company. It was only operational for eleven years, being abandoned in 1948, as severe ice conditions in the surrounding waters made the site hard to reach and economically unviable.

During our passage through the Bellot Strait we were all on the lookout for wildlife. One of our friends spotted a polar bear in the distance. To the naked eye I thought it looked like a little white car. The expedition team denied its existence, declaring it to be a rock. But I know what I saw, and it was definitely on the move.

That was our only sighting unfortunately.

However, I was excited to note that we went past the northernmost point of continental America, Murchison Promontory. It was stopping at Cape Spear, the easternmost point, that inspired this adventure, so it was only fitting that we should also see the most northerly point. It was also very cool that the promontory was named after the Scottish Geologist Roderick Murchison. When we lived in East Africa, we frequently visited Muchison Falls National Park in Uganda, and here we are in the Arctic admiring something else named after him. What a man!

We decided to have afternoon tea in the Constellation Lounge. This was an excellent choice, and despite my good intentions most of the goodies disappeared.

It was an excellent choice also because the ship came as close as it was allowed to a spit that was known for whales and polar bears.

Well, there were apparently “hundreds of belugas” out there, including baby belugas. Cue up the Raffi song Baby Beluga which is now stuck in my brain. At least it is better than Baby Shark doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo………… Oh no, now that’s in my brain.

We spent a long time watching the polar bears and belugas – I just wish we could have gone closer so we could really see them well with the naked eye, and not just through binoculars, but those are the rules, and I am all for keeping these animals safe.

They have this amazing camera at the front of the ship, and luckily they were showing the video from the camera in the suites and in the Discovery Center, so we were able to see them on the big screen if not in real life.

We had our expedition recap and briefing as usual at 6:00. This is where Luciano, our expedition leader, goes over the events of the day, and prepares us for what’s ahead tomorrow. After this several members of the expedition team give little talks on relevant topics. Today instead of a talk one of the expedition team members, Greg, sang his very own version of “Lady Franklin’s Lament” a traditional folk ballad which recounts the story of a sailor who dreams about Lady Franklin speaking of the loss of her husband, Sir John Frsnklin. Another piece of trivia. Bob Dylan recorded a song called “Bob Dylan’s Dream” in 1963 (it is on the album The Freewheelin Bob Dylan) which is thought to be based on this song. He was inspired to write the song after he heard British folksinger Martin Carthy singing Lady Franklin’s Lament when Dylan was visiting London in 1962.

There was a movie on polar bears this evening instead of musical entertainment, but we missed it as we were still at dinner. I must say the food on this cruise has been up to the usual Seabourn standard. It amazes me that here we are up in the arctic and there is a never-ending supply of fresh vegetables and fresh fruit. It’s not like they can replenish stocks at our next port – that won’t be until Nome on August 25^th.

So we went to the Constellation Lounge for a nightcap, and I had an early night. All of this looking out for wildlife is quite exhausting.