Still Waiting…

Still Waiting…7/27/22

Today was another day spent waiting on the permits to be approved.  The team is just biding their time until they can get on the water.

Unfortunately, the weather will be unfavorable to launch in the next day or so.  Headwinds up to 20 miles per hour are expected, bringing some discussion on whether to wait until the winds pass.  While the team is disappointed, they are collectively making smart decisions for a successful expedition.

In the meantime, we have been learning about the community and Titus has shared some of his pictures.  In all of our expeditions, learning about the culture and sharing what we learn is very interesting.

Char is a cold-water fish and is part of the salmon & trout family.  It’s a great source of protein and the fats of the Char keep the heart healthy and is good for brain development.  Titus is holding up a large Char he caught.  Then, we learned about Narwhals.  Narwhals are part of the whale family.  Narwhals are strange.  They look pretty ugly.  They have, what looks like, a unicorn horn.  It’s actually an extension of a tooth.  It’s a little softer on the outside and gets tougher as it goes in.  It can bend up to a foot in either direction.

Narwhals can grow from 13 to 18+ feet.  They eat cod and halibut and can stay under water for up to 25 minutes.  They can live up to 50 years but, at times, suffocate after being trapped under the ice.   Titus is getting ready to harvest a 24 foot Narwhal he killed in the pictures.  The meat, in this instance, was given to families that need it.  The meat from this Narwhal can last up to a year.  He catches 3-5 a year.

I’m on several Facebook pages in the Inuit communities that the team will be going through, Pond Inlet—Cambridge Bay—Inuvik.  In all communities, the residents offer the meat from the fish to each other to help each other out.

Other wildlife in the area are Caribou, Polar Bears, Fox, Walrus, Seals, & Beluga Whales.