It was foggy with a high probability of polar bears the morning we anchored off desolate Beechey Island and held our breath waiting to hear whether it was safe to go to shore. The tension mounted over breakfast for those who had sailed from Greenland to Nunavut with the dream of seeing the place where Sir John Franklin’s doomed Northwest Passage expedition spent the winter of 1845-1846, and where three of his men are buried.

Piliriqatigiingniq — the Inuit societal value or Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) of working together for a common cause — was put into practice by Parks Canada and Inuit in Gjoa Haven with the resumption of research on the wreck of HMS Erebus. The field work continues to provide insights into the conditions of the wreck and its surrounding environment, and further advances understanding of the evolving story of the 1845 Franklin Expedition.

Beechey Island beckons to all those fascinated by the story of Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated crew whose 1845 journey to find the Northwest Passage ended in tragedy, mystery and death.