Boat International – September 2019

Length of Northwest Passage – roughly 1,450km

from Baffin Island to the Beaufort Sea

The politics

Whatever the weather, advance planning is essential. Yacht owners

organisingatripatChristmasforthefollowingsummerareprobablytoo

late.Some 30 to 40 licencesandpermissionsmustbegainedforeach

passenger from communal, regional and federal departments. Most

superyachtownerspayanexperiencedfirmtofilethispaperwork.

Treading carefully is key. Relationships between local Inuit and

earlyexplorers wereonesof mistrustandmiscommunication, which

occasionallylapsedintokidnapandtheft.In 1999 Nunavut(whichmeans

“Our Land” in local language Inuktitut) becamethe newest, largest

andmostnorthernterritoryinCanada.Inthisvastlandareathesizeof

WesternEurope,thewishesofamere36,000residentsholdsway.

TheInuitdon’texpectgifts.Rather,asRobynnPavia,fromtheTravel

Nunavut Industry Association, explains, “Visitors to Nunavut should

researchtheInuitculturebeforetheyvisit.”Thisincludesthroat-singing,

film-makingandhavingadeeprespectforwildlife.“Asuujutit”means

“hello”.(Hopefullysailorswon’thavetoutter“qanimmaliqpunga”,which

translatesas “Ifeelsick”).“Other thingsthat shouldbe researched

arethecostofairfaresas[Nunavuthas]noroads,”continuesPavia.In

Canadatheterm“Eskimo”iswildlyoutdatedandpoliticallyincorrect.

Modern Inuitremainexperttrappers,fishermenandhuskydrivers.

That’swhytheyactasessentialguidesforyachtssailingtheNorthwest

Passage, be it for advice on ice navigation, wildlife locations or

community visits. In March 2019, EYOS Expeditions director Kelvin

MurraytravelledtoNunavutaheadofhissummergroups.“Itwas-32°C

and I had to eat fermented walrus,

but face-to-face meetings with

localsimprovedourrapport.Regional

communitiesquiterightlywieldalot

ofpowerbecauseit’s theirbackyard

we’re sailing through. They literally

feed and clothe their families from

thesecoastalareas.”Murrayalsosits

on the board of the Association of

Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators,

whichcreatesguidelinesforpassenger

safety,environmentalprotectionand

interactionswithindigenousresidents.

Apowerfulpairof

binocularsisessential

forspottingwildlife

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