Expedition Update: Churchill, Manitoba
Aug. 4 - Day 3

Good morning! The morning has gone to perfectly to schedule - our team rose at 6 am, had a big breakfast and then boarded the buses for the airport. Since we have the whole plane to ourselves, First Air allowed us to drive the buses onto the tarmac and climb right onto the plane! Our group of sleepy travellers perked up at this point - and there was a lot of cheering, laughing, wide eyes and excitement - knowing that we are officially underway, closer to our ship and to the High Arctic!

In Churchill, the group split into three groups and headed out to explore the community and the surrounding tunrda. In the late afternoon, they boarded the Polar Ambassador and steamed approximately five miles, where they lowered the zodiacs and cruised to the mouth of the Churchill River - the summer home to thousands of beluga whales! An estimated 3,500 beluga whales reside in the wide estuary where the Churchill River flows into the Hudson Bay. The whales congregate here for summer feeding, molting, mating and giving birth to calves before returning to the Arctic Ocean in the fall. It is one of the most extraordinary wildlife area on the planet!

After the cruise, they were back on board the ship for a big, hearty welcome aboard dinner! Following dinner, they trooped into the lecture hall for a lecture where Dr. Ingrid Bejwesky introduced the team to the world's oceans. Tomorrow, it will be a sea day - a time for workshops, lectures, exploring the ship, standing on deck and spotting for whales and sea-birds - and after such a busy few days - maybe a few minutes for quiet reflection - curled up on deck alone and watching the sea go by. Next stop: Walrus Island!

Participant Journals!

From: Ophelia Snyder

This morning we got up at SIX am!!! To say the least the whole team was exhausted. Although mostly asleep, we packed our bags and went to breakfast at the university cafeteria. We had waffles, omelettes, fruit, yogurt and a variety of other classic breakfast foods. Once the team was back we got into a set of school buses and drove to the airport. There we boarded a charter flight, provided by First Air, and flew to Churchill. On the plane, part of the team tried unsuccessfully to sleep while the rest were busy laughing, joking or chatting with new friends. Notably there were some great wax sculptures care of the Babybell wax. We all had some brunch on the plane and after a two and a half hour flight we arrived in Churchill.

Once we arrived, we were divided into three groups, the polar bears, the seals and the belugas. Each of these ate at a different restaurant and we offered a variety of options. The food was good but our short lunch was over and we left on a tour of the area. Each of the groups visited several sights, each one in a different order. I was part of the seals and we left for the snare beach. Snare Beach is on the coast of Hudson Bay and we began a walk along the beach. It was rather large and made of stones of many different colors. The beach got its name from the many polar bear snares that were laid there.

After the beautiful walk along the beach, we went to the polar bear compound. It was interesting to see the traps used by the rangers. After this we went to see and old airplane that had crashed nearby. Luckily no one was hurt in the crash but the plane was unusable and remained there. Lastly we visited  Prince of Wales Fort. 

This fort was used by the English fur trade as a headquarters and a defence in the event of a French invasion.  Ironically when the French finally did attack the fort was only manned by 38 men and they surrendered without firing a single shot. The French then destroyed the fort and today only the ruins are left.

Finally, we returned to the bus and were driven to our boat. The boat is called The Orlova. Our luggage had already been put in our cabins. 

We unpacked and then headed out on the zodiacs to see some Beluga whales.

From: Carol Francis, Staff

Belugas!

Wow, what a first expedition day!  We had a day of sightseeing before leaving the dock from Churchill, Manitoba. We had divided onto three buses, our team was called the Polar Bears.  I was hopeful we could spot the Beluga whales first, as I had read that there was a large population of Beluga whales at the mouth of the Churchill River.

So I showed the Polar Bear team what belugas look like, white when  mature at 4-6 years, grey as juveniles, and dark grey as babies.  They don’t send up a spout much when breathing, and don’t have much of a dorsal fin on their backs (like other whales do), but they do have a very distinctive formation on their heads called a melon, rounded, and really cute.  They also are one of the few whales not to have a fused neck area, so they can turn their heads.  I spotted some at great distance in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2004, but had hoped to get closer to them on this trip.

Well, we didn’t find them at the first stop, as we went down to a beach on Hudson Bay that had no sign of whales.  We did get to see how they trap the polar bears that come into Churchill in October, waiting for the ice to harden so they can go hunt ringed seals.  I had my binoculars out, but no luck with the belugas.

After lunch we drove out to the mouth of the river, going into Hudson Bay, and suddenly a cheer went up!  Belugas!  Many belugas!  It almost seemed like they were putting on a show for us.  We spotted some mother and baby combinations, by the colors, and also some juveniles.  As per my whale book, belugas do not often fluke, or throw their tails in the air after they breathe, but I spotted one that fluked three times in a row.  What a thrill!

Our third stop was seeing the polar bear jail and traps.  Most bears behave themselves when trapped, but the repeat offenders are well known to the authorities.  Once the ice forms, however, they are all  quite content to head out onto frozen Hudson Bay to hunt the seals.  

Our bus driver said that both the polar bears and ringed seals are doing well, and the polar bears he has seen are fat.  That sounds like good news. However, that is not what the data from the scientists is telling us about the Hudson Bay Polar Bear population.  

It shows a definite impact on these bears due to Climate Change…

When we got to our ship, we only had 25 minutes to throw our gear into our cabins and get dressed warmly for the zodiac ride out to see the belugas.  We were suddenly in the midst of all sorts of belugas, some of which swam right underneath us.  We could see their bubbles.  

Once we saw three belugas comes straight at us, I wondered if they could be a grandma (white), young mother (light grey) and baby (grey).  The only time we had to move the zodiac was to keep from drifting into the buoy in the channel.  The sight of all those belugas peacefully feeding around us will be in my heart and mind forever.  What a start to my fourth expedition with Students on Ice!

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From:
Friedrich + Jakob Hansen                                           

We woke up at 6 am and packed our stuff in order to get ready to take the bus to the airport. The bus drove us through the VIP entrance straight in front of the plane. Without any security check we got on board the aircraft and took off in direction northwest to Churchill Airport. After three hours in 30 000 feet above the ground, we landed in a much colder place as we started.

Before we left the plane we got divided into three groups, the Polar Bears, the Belugas and the Seals. Three buses were waiting for us to pick up each group to show us around the area. The first stop was a little restaurant to recharge our energy for the little trip. After another short bus drive we arrived at a coast line, where two polar bear watchers, equipped with guns, were already waiting for us. Together with the polar bear watchers we had a little hike along the seacoast, where we saw a lot of birds, for example the Arctic Tern. At our turning point, we saw an old polar bear trap and the guide explained to us how they have been used to protect the garbage dump. After this we headed back to our bus and continued the exploration of the area around Churchill.

After another short bus ride, we arrived at the polar bear compound, in which in the main season polar bears are being kept, which troubled the town. In that compound the guide also showed us some new polar bear traps which were a bit more sophisticated than the old one we saw before and also the trap was not as painful for the bear. Succeeding a little stop at “Ms.Piggy”, an old airplane, which crashed during the cold war but still in a good condition (almost one piece), we arrived at the Prince of Wales fort.

The most important act of the day was to get aboard of our ship the “Polar Ambassador”. Aboard, we got our room numbers and the stewardesses showed us our rooms, in each room there are two expeditioners accommodated. A little bit later, we got out on the “Zodiacs”, some smaller boats, to get a closer look at the Beluga whales, which was fantastic.

The day ended with our first dinner aboard and a lecture about the ocean currents and an information session about a sealed bottle with a message that already has been dropped into the water and more bottles will be dropped by us and hopefully someone is going to give an answer to theses messages in the bottles. Before we went to bed we got to see how our ship left the harbor, and we are right now cruising through Hudson's Bay.

Gruesse an alle die uns von zu Hause verfolgen!!! Vor Allem an unser Geburtstagskind Willi!!!

From: Phillip Iatridis

Well, today we finally got to Churchill, Manitoba. But that’s not all we did today. First, we woke up at 6:00 in the morning, and went to breakfast. After that, we stood around for a bit, and got our bags. 

Then we got on the buses, and went to the special airport for the SOI… the tarmac! We got on the plane, and flew for 3 hours to Churchill.

When we got to Churchill, we split into three groups:  the Belugas, the Seals, and the Polar Bears. Each group got onto a separate bus, and went for tours of the town. My group, the Seals, went to eat at restaurant for lunch first. Then we went for a walk on “Snare Beach.” It was pretty cool, and we saw some neat things. Our bus driver Claude also acted as our tour-guide. He explained about all of the local plants and wild-life. He told us about the lime- grass, which only grows around the Hudson Bay area. We saw arctic terns, and gulls. Scobie even found a tern’s egg. We didn’t see any polar bears but we got to see the polar bear jail. It was pretty cool. Most of us sniffed the cell vents, just to say that we have done it. It really wasn’t that bad. Then we went and saw “Miss Piggy.” Miss Piggy is an old plane that crashed on some rocks, and is still there. It’s right beside town, so lots of people go out to see it. Then we went to the Prince of Wales Fort, on the bay. We learned a bit about that, and then we went to the dock.

We boarded the ship, the “Students on Ice Ambassador.” 

We all got our cabins, and anybody who had missing baggage spent a tense couple of minutes looking for their lost baggage. I’m pretty sure everybody found them though. We all got settled into our cabins, and started exploring the ship. Now, we are all hanging out in the library, while the groups go out on Zodiac trips. I can’t wait till we go out at 6:00 when its my turn to go! It’s 5:30 right now, so it won’t be too long. I guess I should go and get ready… Bye for now!