Cuming Inlet is a deep fjord that penetrates some 11 miles into the
heart of Devon Island. Its steep sides, rising to several hundreds of
meters, are a silent reminder of the passage of a mighty glacier that
had once ground its way through here, leaving behind a sculpted train of
serrated cliffs the colour of dried blood.
After an uneventful 100 mile passage from Arctic Bay, Aventura and
Suilven made their way to the very end of the fjord, where all that
remains of the former glacier is a large dry area scattered with myriads
of small rocks, of all shapes, hues and sizes, that had once lubricated
the glacier’s relentless progress to the sea.
As this was the place where we had reached the northernmost point of our
current voyage (74° 41’N), the crew of Suilven (John and Linda Andrews,
and Max Bentley) produced two bottles of champagne to celebrate not only
this symbolic landfall, but also to bid us farewell. The tardy opening
of the Northwest Passage, and the prospect of a late arrival in the
Pacific, had persuaded them to spend the rest of the summer in Greenland
and Newfoundland and possibly give the Northwest Passage another try
next year.
