Traversing the Northwest Passage
1 - 27 September 2025

11 September 2025: Day 11

Cruise Day 4: Port Leopold on Prince Leopold Island

Introduction

Prince Leopold Island lies just off the northeast corner of Somerset Island and to the south of Lancaster Sound. It was named by William Parry in 1819 after Prince Leopold, future king of Belgium. The island is a bird sanctuary, home to around 155,000 breeding pairs in Spring. The coast is dominated by High sea cliffs; only a small bay on the south is accessible by boat. Here the Hudson Bay Company established a trading post, but it was soon abandoned. The James Clark Ross mission to rescue the Franklin Expedition stopped here in 1849, their visit recorded by an engraving in a large rock.

The day dawned cold and misty; -4°C plus wind chill. The ship stopped at the northeast point on Somerset Island so we could cruise below the high cliffs and look for wildlife. We were soon onto the Zodiacs for a cold cruise along the front of the sea ice beneath the towering cliffs. After being entertained by a polar bear the cold got he better of us so we retuned to the ship for a welcome hot chocolate. Then a lecture on what may have killed the Franklin Expedition men while the ship continued north to Prince Leopold Island. After lunch we were again in the Zodiacs heading for the beach.

Somerset Island cliffs, ice and polar bears

The wind chill was very intense as we motored from the ship towards the cliffs. A thick band of sea ice remained against the shore, but we found leads that took us closer, but as we negotiated through the broken ice a young polar bear showed interest in us so we stopped and watched him for a while. He walked, swam and rolled in the snow - not at all bothered by our presence. We moved on a dfound another bear, but this one was older and moved swiftly away from us - perhaps he had previous bad experiences of humans. With cliffs now mostly abandoned by the nesting birds we headed back to the warmth of the ship.

Early morning mist over Somerset Island

Departing the ship: its -4°C

Getting closer to the coast and the ice

Navigating through the ice

The cliffs towered over us

A polar bear!

Look at the size of those paws!

Stas' photos again

The white blob in the water is another bear

Who ran away from us

Back to the ship and warmth!

Videos of the polar bear

It is nott easy taking videos of a polar bear when you are crouched in a bucking Zodiac and your fingers are numb in the -3°C air. The 300mm camera lens magnifies every movement. But I did film te bear jumping into the water - twice!

Port Leopold

Just offshore from Somerset Island lies the small Prince Leopold Island. It is dominated by high cliffs, but its south side has a sheltered bay and beach. We landed here to look around and to view the old Hudson Bay Trading Post and the stone carved in 1849.

Disembarking, the sea was cold and rough