This afternoon our wet shore landing was in Erik Cove just around the corner from Cape Wolstenholme. It was a sunny, warm afternoon, the wildflowers yellow, cream and purple were blooming in profusion and the water in the river that ran down to the cove from a Fluvial Valley glistened and gurgled making for a very peaceful and enjoyable ramble in this remote but beautiful part of Canada.
In 1909, the Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post called Wolstenholme in this cove. Its first factor was Ralph Parsons who developed the arctic fox fur trade by establishing new relationships with the Inuit, who already hunted the fox. No Inuit visited or traded at the post for 2 years but eventually it turned profitable and operated until 1947.
I was surprised to learn that the Hudson's Bay Company exists to this day as an American and Canadian-based retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, it has become the largest and oldest corporation in Canada, and has evolved into a major fashion retailer, operating retail stores across both the United States and Canada.
Reboarding the Zodiacs proved to be a challenge for guests and the shore expedition team. The tidal range in this area is 8 metres so after a couple of hours ashore the tide had ebbed leaving an extensive shallow beach out into the cove. Silver Endeavour today was probably the first ship to have entered Erik Cove for some time and certainly none of the Expedition team had been here before so again we were pioneering in terms of our exploration this afternoon.
The Zodiac Drivers had to lift their motors clear some 100 metres from the shore and our 'super hero' team of shore minders waded out almost to waist height to haul the Zodiacs close enough for us to board,
We waded out to the Zodiacs for about 10 metres – at least it cleaned the sand and mud from our boots - but with the Zodiacs fully loaded, getting them afloat again took four of the expedition team to haul us across the shallows. Not surprisingly they 'got a shout out' at the evening Recap.
It was a real privilege to be able to explore this remote environment and to be one of perhaps a few hundred people to have done so.
If you would like to read more about the Hudson's Bay Company here is a useful link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson%27s_Bay_Company
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