Le Commandant Charcot Northwest Passage Cruises

Lying between Greenland and Iceland, the Denmark Strait was crossed for the first time by the Vikings in the late 10th century, during Erik the Red’s expeditions. In the Second World War, its waters were the theater of a battle between the Kriegsmarine and the Royal Navy, on 24 May 1941. In the wintertime, extremely dense pack ice forms along the Greenlandic coasts and, while the Transpolar Drift sweeps icebergs along throughout the year, the strait is generally clear of ice during the summer. In the depths of the strait lies the world’s largest waterfall, an undersea cataract formed by the difference in temperature between the cold waters of the Greenland Sea and the warmer waters of the Irminger Sea. Numerous cetacean species thrive in this rich ecosystem.

The ship glides silently towards the Greenland coast, in a setting punctuated by pointed peaks and majestic
glaciers… You are on the verge of crossing the Prins Christian Sund, a narrow channel that stretches out and zigzags over some 62 miles (100 kilometers) between Greenland’s southeast and southwest. Fall under the spell of the primitive beauty of these unique landscapes, including rocky cliffs and waterfalls that are fed by the ice sheet and plunge into the icy waters. Here, bearded seals love to lie on the floating ice to soak up the sunshine.

Aappilattoq (Augpilatok) is a small Inuit village of around 100 inhabitants, whose name means “sea anemone” in Greenlandic. Located in a mountainous region inaccessible by road, its picturesque, colorful houses stretch out to the southern tip of Greenland, on the banks of the spectacular Prince Christian Sound. Some 62 miles (100 kilometers)  long, the sound connects the Labrador Sea to the Irminger Sea, meandering through stunning landscapes such as majestic glaciers, craggy peaks and rocky cliffs with waterfalls fed by the ice sheet. This region was uninhabited in the 19th century. The village was created in the 1920s and the main activities revolve around hunting, fishing and livestock farming.

When Erik The Red, the exiled Norse chief, landed on the coast of Nuuk, he found a fertile and welcoming land dotted with fjords. He settled there with a group of his former countrymen, and the Norse remained the principal inhabitants until, over a period of 500 years, their population declined and gave way to the Inuit. Nuuk is situated at the mouth of one of the largest networks of fjords in the world, where the waters never freeze. The town spreads gently out towards the Davis Strait and enjoys a historic center that is particularly rich in national heritage. The vivid reds, blues, greens and yellows of the houses are a lively contrast to the somber waters of Greenland and serve to lift the spirits of the locals during the winter months.

Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard your luxury PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. The ship is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the onboard lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research and discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal.

To the east of Baffin Bay, discover Disko Bay, scattered with countless icebergs produced by the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From your ship, admire the majestic ballet of these ice giants as they slowly drift across the dark waters. This site is a natural marvel of Greenland, and is also renowned as an observation point for the region’s many humpback whales. The encounters with wild fauna and stunning landscapes in the heart of this spectacular and fragile nature will provide pure moments of wonder for you.

Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard your luxury PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. The ship is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the onboard lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research and discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal.

On Baffin Island, located in northern Canada at the mouth of the famous Northwest Passage, there is a small Inuit settlement at the very bounds of infinity. To get there, cross the Arctic Circle, the imaginary line that separates man from lands of mystery and wonder. It’s not so much the way of life that sets Pond Inlet’s inhabitants apart, so much as the setting. Snow-capped mountains, fjords and glaciers combine in a dazzling natural environment that fills space and expands time. Some discoveries change you forever: this is one of them.

Between Devon Island and Baffin Island, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, Lancaster Sound forms part of the Northwest Passage, a shipping route crossing the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, along the northern coast of North America. Coveted for almost 300 years, it saw several expeditions including the fatal one led by John Franklin, seen for the last time near Lancaster Sound in August 1845. Many colonies of cetaceans, polar bears and seabirds have taken up residence in or near these nourishing waters at the confluence of the currents. Situated in Inuit territory, the Sound is the subject of plans to create a marine conservation area intended to protect this rich ecosystem and its inhabitants.

Located in Baffin Bay, Devon Island is part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Anchored on the Arctic Cordillera, its rocky surface, similar to that of Mars, is of great interest to scientists. Robert Bylot and William Baffin were the first Europeans to sight Devon Island in 1616 but it would be mapped two centuries later by the British sailor William E. Parry, who named it after the eponymous English region. Around 1920, the Hudson’s Bay Company set up a fur trading outpost there, until the departure of the Inuits in 1936. A new attempt to populate it was made at the beginning of the 1950s. Only a few buildings in ruins, vestiges of that time, remain today.

Beechey Island, at the eastern end of Resolute Bay, will call to mind some of the most important moments of
Franklin’s expedition. Sir John set off in 1845 in search of the mythical Northwest Passage and was forced to take shelter in Erebus Harbor for two long years, while he waited for the ice floes to recede and allow him a way through. It is a spectacular location; seeing the three wooden grave markers, bleached by the sun (indicating the burial places of at least three of Captain Franklin’s men) and visiting the memorial that has been erected in memory of Franklin and his men, can only reinforce the hushed sense of reverence. If the surrounding wilderness impresses us, the ochre and yellows of the rocky desert soften the landscape.

At the far north of the American continent, in the most northerly part of the Arctic archipelago, the Northwest Passage is the shortest waterway between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Its crossing has been coveted since the 15th century and Roald Amundsen was the first to do so in 1906. Blocked by thick ice floe for most of the year, to date only a lucky few have managed to sail from one side to the other. The crossing of this little-mapped and little-explored region is a challenge worthy of your ship, which was designed to sail in extreme environments. Sheltered in its refined and protective setting, you will make the most of this exploration of the ice with the inimitable appeal of the first time: just like the first explorers, you will sail in its channels sculpted by glacial erosion and discover spectacular landscapes made up of craggy terrain and monumental fjords. You will be able to measure the privilege of undertaking such an exploration in the light of the experience’s rarity.

Located in the north of Canadian archipelago of the Northwest Territories, Banks Island, also known as Banks Land, offers landscapes that are as sumptuous as they are spectacular. The island, covering roughly 27,000 mi² (some 70,000 km²), offers a landscape of hills and valleys as well as sheer cliffs and canyons, a result of the glacial erosion. To the north of the island, the Aulavik National Park is home to a very rich wildlife mainly consisting of arctic wolves, muskox, caribou, arctic foxes, lemmings and many varieties of birds.

Bordering the north coasts of Alaska and Canada, the Beaufort Sea was feared for centuries because of its extreme climatic conditions. Covered for most of the year with a thick layer of ice, and unexplored until 1914, this part of the Arctic Ocean, named in honor of the British Admiral Francis Beaufort, will reveal its sumptuous icy landscapes. With a bit of luck, maybe you will cross the path of some polar bears, since the region is renowned for sheltering them.

Delimited by the entrance to the Northwest Passage and the Amundsen Gulf to the east, and by Canada’s Yukon and Northwest Territories to the west, the Beaufort Sea makes up part of the–almost–inaccessible Arctic Ocean. Due to its extreme weather conditions, it was not explored until 1914, by the Canadian explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson. However, it was named after Francis Beaufort, a British admiral and hydrographer. Sail on these remote waters strewn with a mosaic of ice resulting from sea-ice breakup. Surrounded by this stunning scenery, you may spot a few belugas and bowhead whales, established in colonies in the region.

Cross the Bering Strait, a 56-mile-wide (90-km) maritime channel between eastern Siberia and Alaska, named
after the Danish explorer Vitus Bering. Sail this strait that people once used to walk across, during the last glaciations, from Asia to North America. The transfer of Alaska to the Unites States by the Russians, in 1867, turned the Strait into a significant geostrategic site nicknamed the “Ice Curtain” during the Cold War. Delineated in 1990, the border between the two countries is located in the middle of the Strait, between the two Diomede Islands, making one of them Russian and the other American. During your crossing, favorable conditions will be conducive to a moving encounter with wildlife, attracted by these nourishing waters.

Located along the Bering Strait, Nome offers the rustic charm of a former gold-mining town, set in the middle of magnificent wilderness. While weaving in and out of the brightly colored houses, discover the pioneering legacy that still marks local traditions. Fishing, reindeer rearing, sledge-racing… People here live from their manual labor. The surrounding plains provide stunning vantage points for observing arctic fauna.