![\"\"](\"http:\/\/cornellsailing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Arctic-Bay.jpg\")
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Arctic Bay indeed proved to be an oasis. After formalities were
complete, Jimmy headed off to the only hotel, the Tangmaarvik Inn, where
Ruth Oyukuluk, whose family own the Inn, provided us with all we
desired. A fuel truck was arranged for Monday, several loads of dirty
clothes were cleaned, and once the crew discovered there was internet
access it was hard to prise them back to the boat.<\/p>\n
Stories of bare shelves proved unfounded as the two supermarkets,
Northern and Coop, stocked all the essentials as well as surprises such
as asparagus and melons. Prices are high up here in the northern reaches
of Canada, as everything is flown in. As we queued to pay the other
customers, and the checkout girl herself, remarked cheerfully, \u2018It is
expensive, isn\u2019t it? Welcome to Arctic Bay!\u2019 Indeed you wonder how the
local population can afford these prices. Jobs are scarce \u2013 some leave
the community to find work elsewhere. Hunting for what is here called
\u2018country food\u2019, such as seals and narwhals, remains an essential part of
life, and must be done for families to survive. There are strict quotas
on what can be caught, and the hunt for the one bowhead whale the
community is permitted to hunt per year becomes an event everyone
shares, as is the meat it provides.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/cornellsailing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/m_Arctic-Bay-family.jpg\")
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Few visitors ever make it here \u2013 in 2013 only 7 yachts passed through \u2013
and now there were three in the anchorage, Aventura, Suilven and Arctic
Tern, soon joined by Revenge. Arctic Bay does not lie directly on the
route through the Northwest Passage, and yet makes an ideal stopover.
One of the best reasons to visit are the people. An Inuit community
where the language, Inuktitut, remains strong \u2013 English is very much a
second language \u2013 and traditions are kept alive. We received a warm
welcome from everyone we met, from the very moment when we went ashore
with the dinghy and a band of boys came wading out into the shallows to
haul us in, heedless of the cold Arctic waters soaking their trousers.
Young women with their babies tucked into the hoods of their traditonal
coats welcomed us, and young men heading out on their boats waved a
greeting. Nera befriended a gang of teenage girls, and when the time
came to leave \u2013 provisions stored, washing clean, emails sent, fuel
tanks full \u2013 she waved to her friends on the beach and said \u2018I really
want to come back to Arctic Bay\u2019. I can only echo her sentiment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Inuit name for Arctic Bay, Ikpiarjuk, \u2018the pocket\u2019, describes this bay best, a deep indent protected on three sides by tall hills. Arctic Bay is located off Admiralty Inlet, on the northern tip of …<\/p>\n