Sealift

For those of us from the south going to the grocery store and getting food or any products is easy the store orders them a truck brings them to the store and we go in and buy it.

It is not the case here in the north. All of our food and other necessities are flown in. Well most of the time. Sealift is an easy way to get a number of heavier items or bulk orders of items to the North in a cost effective manner.

Around March and April books start to appear in Northern stores across the North. These books have lists of shelf stable foods and long lasting products such as cleaning supplies and such.  The store it self makes a big order and individuals are able to as well. So you place the order in March or April and in July a ship comes floating up the Atlantic Ocean into the Arctic ocean and on to your community to deliver goods.

I knew a bit about sealift from my information session with the North West Company but to experience the first one was nothing short of an adrenalin rush!

We were anticipating our sealift on July 14thish We got notification that due to Ice in Frobisher Bay into Iqaluit the ship would be hitting Kimmirut first. So we posted our signs looking for additional staff for sealift re stacked our old sealift pop and waited. Well we got another update stating that the boat was going to Cape Dorset due to ice in our harbour. After Cape Dorset we thought that we were next ... nope the boat went on to Coral Harbour.

I had developed tendinitis about a week and a half  before sealift so I was hoping I would be better but that was not the case. I decided that I would still do my best and Sheryl said that heavy lifting would aggravate it so I was not going to be doing that.

Sunday July 15th was our confirmed date of sealift from the Captain of the ship. Sunday Morning I was awake early ( I didn't need to be awake for work until 11am) I called Sheryl to find out what our plan was going to be for the day... She had been out earlier that morning and found that the ship was docked way out around some inlets... We couldn't even see it from town which sucked because we could see the fuel tanker so clearly !

Sheryl let Me now that the barges would not be coming in until 630pm! Wow all day at work I had to answer questions " Is your boat in?" Once we closed the store Sheryl came in and asked if I wanted to go for a cruise to see where the barge was . It sucked because I  didn't have my camera to take a pic of the SHIP! We could see it from the top of the satellite hill.

Once we confirmed where the barge was Sheryl and I returned to the store I asked what my plan of attack would be for the night. She let me know I could go eat for an hour or so or if I could be back in 20 mins I could go with her to the boat launch to meet the barge. .... I will let you guess which option I picked .... That is right twenty mins later I showed up with a hoodie on , hat and bug net and my camera!

 There it the barge coming in from the ship

Its coming!

                                                               
                                                                       Almost here!

 It is here! The three blue things are sea cans it turned out that two of them were ours and they forklift them from here down to the store.

This is Gord our Grocery supervisor stacking some of the 1800 cases of Coke we got on sealift.

Seacans waiting to be unloaded

New Honda ATV's out back of my house .... I wish one of those was mine!

Sealift for me was over at 10pm.. I had to open the store and although I wasn't an active participant ( I was the gofer and made coffee) I still had fun.