On June 21, 1999, three couples and one young girl left the Norwegian port of Oslo, aboard a 16.5m steel-hulled ketch, the Northanger, for a year-long journey that would see them overwintering in the frozen ice of a bay along the southern edge of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic. Christened the Otto Sverdrup Centennial Expedition, the trip was organized to celebrate the voyage of the Norwegian explorer Otto Sverdrup, who also overwintered 1898-1902 on Ellesmere Island aboard the 39m three-masted schooner, the Fram.
Giving this talk will be the leader of the expedition Graeme Magor and his wife Lynda.
One focus of the talk will be how couples living in isolated circumstances coped psychologically in the extreme and cramped environment, analogous to space.
Graeme will also talk about the seven-week sled hauling trip he undertook with the two Norwegians. Pulling specially designed sleds, with 200 kg in tow, the three travelled across the frozen sea of Norwegian Bay to Axel Heiberg Island and north across the mountainous island to 81 degrees latitude. This section of the presentation shows some of the spectacular scenery of the territory of Nunavut.
Originally from Montreal, Graeme Magor has travelled extensively in the Canadian Arctic with over 20 trips/expeditions to the north. Lynda has also undertaken a number of trips to the Arctic with her
husband. Graeme and Lynda moved to the Comox Valley in 2011 where he works as a disability management consultant, while Lynda works as a teacher and Nordic ski instructor.
The presentation is in the Stan Hagen Theatre at the North Island College facility on Ryan Road in Courtenay on March 2. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with the show beginning at 7 and followed by a question and answer period. There is a cover charge of $10 per person, students half price, at the door.