Newfoundland and Labrador on a Ship

Writing Life: 5

Somewhere in Northern Labrador near the Torngat Mountains.

Doug Gibson, my editor for my first six novels, has been a publishing heavyweight in this country for decades. Without him, I’d have never been on this extraordinary voyage aboard the Ocean Endeavour in July of 2015. Adventure Canada may well be the premier adventure/expedition travel/cruise company in the world. For years now they have been taking travellers to far-flung parts of the globe including the Northwest Passage, Greenland, Anarctica, the Arctic, Iceland, Haida Gwaii, Baffin Island, Scotland, and many other exotic destinations.

Late in 2014, Doug Gibson somehow persuaded Adventure Canada that a floating bookclub as part of their 2015 Newfoundland and Wild Labrador cruise, would be a great idea. I heartily agreed because he then convinced them that I, and my first novel, The Best Laid Plans, would fit in well with the concept. I’m grateful to Doug Gibson for many things—not least his editorial guidance and friendship over many years—and you can now add getting me on a 13-day once-in-a-lifetime adventure cruise around the coast of Newfoundland and up into Northern Labrador.

A piece about the cruise in London’s Daily Mail.

You may have read a bit about this adventure and seen a few of these photos in my earlier post about Margaret Atwood, as she was on the cruise, too, as part of a family vacation.

Here was our route aboard the Ocean Endeavour:

The three writers on the voyage were Doug Gibson with his first book, Stories About Storytellers—a great read despite a chapter about working with me—Giller finalist, Kathleen Winter for Annabelle, and yours truly with The Best Laid Plans.

Now, to be clear, Doug, Kathleen and I were considered part of the crew and worked every day, helping passengers into and out of the Zodiacs, distributing equipment and rubber boots, giving our book talks, and a variety of other tasks. We had a crew meeting every morning at 7:00 and we each carried a radio so we could easily be reached.

A quick pic just before one of my onboard book talks. You can see my crew member’s radio hanging off my shoulder. It was always with me.

The cruise was amazing, as you might expect. At each stop on the voyage, the Zodiacs were launched and we whisked the passengers to shore for guided excursions.

The Zodiacs we used nearly every day for our shore excursions.

Kathleen Winter and I, and Doug Gibson in our Zodiacs. Bundled up in July.

To understate it, the scenery was stunning, breathtaking, desolate and beautiful.

Hebron and what’s left of the Moravian mission founded there in 1831.

Various shots including Hebron and the Torngat Mountains.

The people we met and worked with were also beautiful and kind and so eager to share their culture and way of life in the north. We have so much to learn.

We did see wildlife, including whales and a few polar bears from a distance. On each of our excursions as we moved north towards Ungava Bay, we always had a guide and a couple of armed polar bear spotters for our own protection. Thankfully, we had no close range bear encounters.

Our armed bear spotters. Nary a shot was fired.

When we finally made it to our final destination, Kuujjiaq in Ungava Bay, a plane was waiting to take off from a very rough, nearly dirt airstrip and fly us home. It was in Kuujjiaq where Margaret Atwood and I took the selfie you may have seen in my earlier post.

A shot of the legend and me that you may have seen before in my earlier Atwood post. But you can never have too much Margaret Atwood, right?

This was a peak experience for me, all because I decided in 2005 that I wanted to try to write a novel. To quote Dr. Seuss, “Oh the places you’ll go.”

A last shot from my amazing voyage. Apologies for my gargantuan cranium.

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