Day 11 - Custance Inlet, Maxwell Bay September 1, 2026

We saw a polar bear! But more about that in a moment.

One glance out our window this morning told the story: high winds, high waves, rain. No way we’d get to land on Beechey Island in this weather. And shortly after, the expedition leader came on to tell us we’d be pulling anchor and heading for an alternative spot, hopefully one a bit more protected, where we could launch the zodiacs and Special Operations Boats. Custance Inlet, an arm of Maxwell Bay, was our new destination.

Missing Beechey was a disappointment. Judy and I had spent the summer listening to a recording of Into the Ice by Mark Synnott, a story about a trip through the Northwest Passage in a small, fiberglass-hulled sailboat. The ostensible purpose of the journey was to trace the path followed by the ill-fated voyage of John Franklin in 1845. Beechey Island is where Franklin’s party spent its first winter and where three crew members are buried. We’d really looked forward to visiting the spot.

Franklin’s expedition, which ended in the death of all129 sailors involved and sinking of his two ships, the Erebus and Terror, has been a subject of intense interest and exploration to figure out what befell the trip. Franklin was the victim of an especially harsh, early winter and of an unwise decision to press on for a second winter in the Arctic. Ultimately, the final members of the party died in 1948 after both ships had sunk. He didn’t get much further west, and maybe a couple of hundred miles further south than William Parry (or we for that matter) had achieved in 1819. His ships were found in 2014 and are now closely guarded historic landmarks protected by Canadian law.

But at least we got to feel the conditions of the seas where Franklin sailed, albeit in the heart of summertime. Summertime here in the high Arctic lasts, practically speaking, from July through early September even now with climate change.

Someone on the bridge spotted the polar bear on shore as we entered the bay, rambling along the hill not too far up from the water. An announcement on the PA system brought a crowd to the front of the ship where we were able to see the bear with the naked eye and of course the telephoto lens. Not every cruise is so lucky, so our diversion from plan paid off in the end.

We had two boat rides today, first in the zodiac and then the Special Operations Boat. Both were in bumpy and misty conditions. Earlier zodiac trips saw a mother polar bear and her cub but by the time we went at 3:00 they were gone. We saw a seal poke its head up for a second, a bevy of Eider Ducks and a few of the ubiquitous Northern Fulmar. Compared to Antarctic, this trip has been devoid of much wildlife. There’s always tomorrow and the next day at sea, but all there is left to see are walruses and muskox. Someone said that the Arctic is a novice bird watcher’s paradise: there are only a half dozen species of birds to confuse the neophyte. Most are varieties of gulls which, for the life of me, I can’t tell apart with certainty.

We had dinner in the fancy Restaurant and after attended a classical music performance by the resident duo, a violinist and a pianist. Everything from Amadeus Mozart to Led Zeppelin.

Tomorrow, we visit the ghost town of Dundas Harbor, where Inuit were relocated in the 1930s. It’s our last stop in Arctic Canada before crossing the Baffin Bay on our way back to Greenland.