We left Kugluktuk early this morning, and are now heading to the Beaufort Sea. No ice encountered yet, so I have time to write a little. However there is also not much to report! We had, thankfully, an uneventful trip to reach the ship, and we are settling in to the new ship routine. We found all our gear, and every thing is in working order. So now all we have to do is await the ice.

We did not have enough time in Kugluktuk to visit the village. We did spend a few minutes picking lingonberries by the airport. They were rather good, having had a touch of frost already. The fall colours are magnificent, though perhaps you can not see this from the distant view in the photograph of Kugluktuk I took from the ship. If you want to follow what life is like on the Louis S. St. Laurent and the variety of activities happening on the ship check out the WHOI blog at http://www.whoi.edu/beaufortgyre/dispatch2009/index2009.html . I will try to keep you informed of the ice conditions we encounter on our journey. If you have any questions about this, please do send them my way via the IARC web-master. (webmaster@iarc.uaf.edu)

~Jenny Hutchings