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To a crazy-busy 2017, the eagerly awaited, double-whammy climax will come in
September. First, we go voyaging Out
of the Northwest Passage with
Adventure Canada. And this being a celebration year (something about Canada's
150th birthday?), we get to enjoy a special, spectacular treat. Assuming the
weather behaves, we will don a dry suit and, accompanied by folks from Parks
Canada, go snorkeling over the wreck of the HMS
Erebus -- John Franklin's ship, which is just eleven metres beneath the surface.
Don't take my word for it. Instead, try clicking here: As you can see, those on board will have
"the rarest of experiences at the site of
the recently-discovered wreck of HMS Erebus. Here we will be the first
expedition voyagers allowed to snorkel the wreck, or for those not keen to get
in the water, observe the wreck from the newly-constructed observation platform
and via an underwater remote operated vehicle (ROV)." Are you kidding me?
But wait: did I say double-whammy? Also in September, we will see the publication of Dead Reckoning: The Untold Story of the Northwest Passage. But I will let HarperCollins Canada handle the reveal: "With this book—his most ambitious yet—Ken McGoogan delivers a
vivid, comprehensive recasting of Arctic-exploration history. Dead Reckoning challenges the conventional narrative,
which emerged out of Victorian England and focused almost exclusively on Royal
Navy officers. By integrating non-British and fur-trade explorers and, above
all, Canada’s indigenous peoples, this work brings the story of Arctic
discovery into the twenty-first century. . . . [The book] encompasses such forgotten heroes as
Thanadelthur, Akaitcho, Tattanoeuck, Ouligbuck, Tookoolito and Ebierbing, to
name just a few. Without the assistance of the Inuit, Franklin’s recently
discovered ships, Erebus and Terror,
would still be lying undiscovered at the bottom of the polar sea."
Anyway, September. Double-whammy. Are you with me?
