Its the Fishing Derby Weekend (known to the rest of Canada as Victoria Day Weekend or the May Long Weekend), which is a big big highlight in Arctic Bay's year. Its been amazing to watch the bustle as the town busies itself in preparation for emptying out. By this time tomorrow the vast majority of Arctic Bay residents will be out on the land, and the town will be pretty much a ghost town.
Two of those ghosts will be Hilary and myself. Stuck once again with commitments we just finished saying goodbye to Leah and Travis. They're heading about 10 hours south by snowmobile from here, to a place called Kugarjuk, which is a fantastic fishing spot.
The House was a frenzy of activity the last couple of days, gearing up for it. I finished putting our four stroke snowmobile back together last night, and amazingly it runs (okay there was the little thing with the throttle being hooked up wrong, but that's what brakes are for, right?). It was great to see it going as it has been pretty much a lawn ornament for the last two years. I suppose the real test of my workmanship will be whether it survives the weekend. I'll either get a glowing report or an earful when Leah phones at 4 or 5 this morning to let me know they've arrived safely.
But for now I'll perhaps get back on my pace for blogging, clean, and look wistfully out the window to the south. Next year.
Photos below the fold…
Safely ensconced in the Iglutaq
Typical Fish Derby Weekend, grey and cold.
Hitching Up
Travis in the Iglutaq, not waving goodbye.
Heading over the tide line.
Leah on the back of our machine, her brother driving and her sister in the box. Ten hours to go.