SPRING/SUMMER 2024 DREAMSCAPES
69
E X P E D I T I O N C R U I S E S
CANADA'S
NORTH
HOW WRITER LUCAS AYKROYD RODE OUT A STORM
IN THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE ON BOARD A QUARK
EXPEDITIONS SHIP JUST IN TIME TO CELEBRATE
THE 10
TH
ANNIVERSARY DISCOVERY OF ONE OF
THE WORLD'S LEGENDARY SUNKEN SHIPS AND
BIGGEST MARINER MYSTERIES.
In the
Footsteps
of Franklin
O
n an August morning, my Quark Expeditions
luxury expedition cruise liner, Ultramarine, was
thrust into a steady tempest of whitewater waves
thrashing breakfast diners to and fro like wobbling high-
wire acrobats in Nunavut's Lancaster Sound. As we
repositioned in tranquil Maxwell Bay on Devon Island's
south coast, I gazed in awe at the world's largest uninhab-
ited island at 55,247 square kilometres. The barren, rocky
landscape evoked Mars with a touch of Mordor.
The almost-unnerving Arctic serenity was soon broken.
Minutes after I boarded a Zodiac cruise, my guide spotted
an impervious polar bear bobbing in the frigid water, his
ominous black snout aimed toward us. As I watched the
world's largest land predator power across the bay, I knew I
was in for more shock and awe on my epic cruise.
This bear encounter was only one of many experiences
on what originally was a 17-day cruise aboard Ultramarine.
But thanks to inclement weather, the adventure cruise
fittingly dubbed "In the Footsteps of Franklin" ballooned to
25 days. Our goal was to commemorate the ill-fated 1845–48
expedition of Sir John Franklin, the British admiral who
perished along with his crew, never to be found again.
INSIDER TIP
Sample delicacies like cured reindeer with mushrooms in
Quark's Tundra to Table dining experience, with proceeds
benefiting food-related charities in Greenland and Nunavut.
