NORTHWEST PASSAGE — ROBINSON 229 



During the 1943 navigation season the St. Roch had a change of 

 scenery while patrolling the eastern Arctic detachments. She entered 

 Hudson Strait after most of the ice had gone, and had little trouble 

 in sailing around in this new region with no ice impediment except the 

 huge bergs met off the eastern Baffin Island coast. The eastern Arc- 

 tic, however, is not always so friendly. 



During the spring of 1944 the St. Roch was provided with greater 

 engine power, one mast was removed, and she was fitted with the 

 luxury of a new gyrocompass. The R. C. M. P. were going to patrol 

 another route through the Arctic islands as part of Canada's work in 

 maintaining sovereignty over these barren, uninhabited islands, and 

 the partnership of Larsen and the St. Roch was scheduled for another 

 history-making voyage. 



On July 22, 1944, the St. Roch left Halifax, but developed engine 

 trouble which forced her to put in to Sydney. She left there on July 

 26, but had to moor again at Curling Cove, Newfoundland, to make 

 further engine adjustments. On July 28, she put to sea once more, 

 and thereafter had no further engine difficulties. Numerous bergs 

 and thick fog were found off the Labrador coast, but Larsen navi- 

 gated around icebergs just as efficiently as he worked through floes. 

 Cape Chidley, the northern tip of Labrador, was passed on August 2, 

 and the next day the patrol was greeted with the familiar sight of 

 pack ice off Hall Peninsula, Baffin Island. The ice was broken, but 

 tightly packed, and progress was impossible, so Larsen swung over 

 to the usual open water off the Greenland coast on August 4. On 

 August 6 he turned westward toward Baffin Island, and again met 

 pack ice and fog slightly south of River Clyde. For several days the 

 gyrocompass had been unreliable, and would suddenly change 10° to 

 20° ; finally it had to be ignored as useless. Larsen's navigation from 

 then onward was by sight, experience, and the wavering magnetic 

 compass. 



In trying to work through the ice to travel near the coast off River 

 Clyde, Larsen found that the land-fast ice had not yet broken up and 

 he had to stay offshore. His difficulties were further increased by an 

 amazingly strong mirage effect which made the leads difficult to pick 

 out. Progress was stopped on August 9 by floes that were very large 

 and unbroken, although only about 2 feet thick. Bylot Island was 

 glimpsed through a thick fog that evening, but the St. Roch remained 

 moored to a large floe off the entrance to Pond Inlet until August 12, 

 when she slipped forward and anchored off the post settlement. 



Detachment supplies were unloaded at Pond Inlet, and the police 

 picked up a native, his family and 17 dogs. The Eskimo was quite 

 willing to adventure into the unknown, and so, in case the St. Roch 

 should be forced to winter, he was taken along to hunt food and aid 

 in winter traveling with his dog team. The expedition left Pond 



