Fury and Hecla
Itinerary
Day 1
Overnight Ottawa
Between 1821 and 1823, His Majesty's ships Fury and Hecla, under the expedition command of William Edward Perry sailed to the northern most limit of the Foxe Basin in the Canadian Arctic. Perry's search for the Northwest Passage was thwarted by a narrow unnamed strait blocked by ice. Naming the strait for his pair of ships, he returned to England convinced that the elusive passage to Asia would not be found along the western shore of Baffin Island. The first night of the expedition is spent in Ottawa, at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, in the heart of the Canadian capital.
Day 2
Ottawa to Resolute
Nearly 200 years have passed since Perry named the passage, yet the pack ice of the Fury and Hecla Strait continues to block ordinary vessels. Today you embark a vessel specifically built to crush through Arctic ice Kapitan Khlebnikov. The onboard helicopters will make possible aerial views of the icebreaker crushing through ice should the strait be choked when this expedition unfolds. We fly you from Ottawa to Resolute, where you embark the icebreaker.
Day 3-4
Lancaster Sound
The first of the stories of exploration you will hear is that of Sir John Franklin's expedition in search of the Northwest Passage. The tragic consequences will become all to real as you visit the graves of three of his crew members buried on Beechey Island.
Day 5-6
Gulf of Boothia
During this journey, the Expedition Team will deliver presentations that cover 4,000 years of exploration in the Canadian Arctic. You will learn of the Dorset People, who arrived in 2000 BCE, their successful adaptation to the harsh environment and their mysterious disappearance about 1000 CE. Hear tales of Vikings exploration and the archaeological evidence that suggests fierce Norsemen traded with the indigenous peoples of the Arctic long before Columbus discovered the New World.
Day 7-8
Hecla and Fury Strait
No expedition to the Canadian Arctic would be complete without mention of nearly 500 years of European exploration. You will sail through waters and visit islands named for those who led or financed expedition - Baffin - Foxe, Booth, Davis and their ships - Resolute, and, of course, Fury and Hecla.
Day 9-11
Foxe Basin
The water of the relatively Foxe Basin covers the ancient rock of the Canadian Shield. The limestone sediment that has built up over the centuries stains the Foxe Basin sea ice a distinct dark color. It was here that the last large landmasses of North America were mapped, just 60 years ago. Prince Charles Island, named during that aerial mapping exercise, was named after the British prince born in 1948, the same year that the island was identified. Due to the ice that often impedes navigation through Foxe Basin, the biological richness and diversity of the area remained relatively unknown until recent years. Bearded seals and the largest population of walrus live in the northern part of the Basin. Ringed seals, the favorite food of polar bears, inhabit the Southhampton Island portion. Bowhead and beluga whales summer in the basin. Birders should be alert for Sabine’s Gulls, 10,000 pair nest in the region.
Day 12-14
Arctic explorers Henry Hudson and Martin Frobisher left their names on the maps and charts of the Canadian Arctic. Hudson's Bay and Hudson Strait honor Henry and Frobisher Bay honors Martin. In the 21st century Canadian Arctic, maps and charts are reverting to the names the indigenous people gave to the waterways and communities centuries before the Europeans passed through on the way to Asia. You will hear stories of the impact of the Inuit on the Europeans as well as the impact of Europeans on the Inuit during this expedition.
Day 15
We fly from Iqaluit, the capital of the territory of Nunavut to the Canadian federal capital, Ottawa, where you spend the night, at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.
Day 16
Ottawa
Book your homeward flight from Ottawa after breakfast on this the final day of the expedition.
