CGS Terry Fox on station in Kojessee Inlet

            The Coast Guard Icebreakers are but little but so very fierce- and important to those of us who live in Iqaluit. 

Everything we need, from fuel to building materials, clothing and food,  is either flown in or arrives by sea lift. As an Arctic port, the harbour is frozen under meters of sea ice for most of the year. The icebreakers of the Canadian Coast guard open and maintain the sea lanes for the summer months.

When the first icebreaker arrives after the long winter, usually followed on by a fuel tanker, the city breathes a collective sigh of relief knowing provisions for another year will  begin to  arrive shortly, along with that crate of goodies purchased in the south that you had shipped from Montreal. 

Its a feeling that few in south would ever have cause to understand.

I remember years ago while shooting street scenes in Liverpool after a city league win over Manchester, an elderly man rushed up to me to challenge my motives for taking photos. He accused me very quickly of being an American based on my accent but like many a proud Canadian I was quick to fix that bit of confusion. "A Canadian," he said pausing briefly, his tone suddenly one of friendly awe. "Let me shake your hand".

He chewed his lower lip briefly and continued. "I was a little lad during the war. Me and the mates used to gather at the docks after school to wait for the convoys to arrive from Canada. When they did, the warship escorts would blast there signal horns in a joyful symphony celebrating another months food and provisions beating the wolf-packs to arrive safely from the Dominions to support old Blighty", he was all teared up towards the end. I was moved by his gratitude and accepted it, a bit embarrassed at receiving the accolades of another generation. 

It was a stirring recounting of the way it was in the darker years long ago that had left a memory's mark of both the insecurity of scarcity and gratitude to a foreign nation. And now as a resident of Canada's Arctic, I always remember that incident in Liverpool and how that young lad and all his mates had felt, when our own ships arrive.   

Its with  glowing pride and a lasting gratitude that I salute the men and women of the Canadian Coast Guard who carry on that great Canadian seafaring tradition of escorting the means to support a civilized world across the sea and through the  frozen straits of the Arctic Archipelago.

Saluti Primum, Auxilio Semper!
 Safety first, service always

Taken in: Canada / Nunavut / Apex (show map)

Taken on: July 5, 2020

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Camera: Nikon D4S, f/11.0, 1/400 sec, 85mm, ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D4S
Lens:	85.0 mm f/1.4
Aperture:	f/11.0
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length:	85mm
ISO:	160
Exposure Bias:	-4/3 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 9.3 (Macintosh)
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