Posts by Ken McGoogan
Hunter-historian Kamookak joins voyage to Franklin’s first-found ship
Can’t wait to travel again with Louie Kamookak! He’s the Inuk historian who pointed the way to Erebus, the first-found ship of John Franklin. Louie will revisit that site in September while sailing Out of the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada. You can find out more about this looming adventure by going here. I’m excited because…
Read MoreDead Reckoning goes orange thanks to hard-fought Facebook battle
So there you have it. Orange has won out over blue. The choice was difficult, the battle hard fought. But in the end, our scientific Facebook poll delivered a decisive result: 61% orange, 39% blue. And this on well over 200 votes! If the Brexit debacle or the 2016 American election had produced such clear results, imagine…
Read More‘Franklinistas’ are surfing an Arctic tsunami
KEN MCGOOGAN Special to The Globe and Mail Published Saturday, Mar. 18, 2017 Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition, by Paul Watson. M&S, Penguin Random House, 384 pages, $34.95. Minds of Winter, by Ed O’Loughlin. House of Anansi, 481 pages, $22.95. The headline is telegraphic: “How quest for Northwest Passage turned into…
Read MoreDead Reckoning cover leaves author gob-smacked & thrilled
Any writer will tell you that, in the life of a book, one of the great moments is when you first see the cover. In this case, wow! Hats off to Alan Jones at HarperCollins Canada, who designed this cover for Dead Reckoning. The judges were unanimous, apparently — the sales-and-marketing folks, editor Patrick Crean,…
Read MoreKerouac’s Ghost tracks the King of the Beats into the Sixties
News flash: The newly revised, final final final edition of my novel Kerouac’s Ghost has just become available via Print on Demand. Yes, you can still get the ebook. But if you prefer to peruse a physical artifact, voila: here it is from Bev Editions. For the rest, I offer incontrovertible evidence that I am an…
Read MoreDead Reckoning takes us to the wreck of John Franklin’s Erebus
To a crazy-busy 2017, the eagerly awaited, double-whammy climax will come in September. First, we go voyaging Out of the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada. And this being a celebration year (something about Canada’s 150th birthday?), we get to enjoy a special, spectacular treat. Assuming the weather behaves, we will don a dry suit and, accompanied by…
Read MoreOur Northwest Passage voyage reaches for the Beaufort Sea
[Here endeth this series about our 2016 Adventure Canada voyage. Next September, we sail Out of the Northwest Passage, bent on finding the Hand of Franklin (or at least visiting the location of the Erebus).] DAY SIXTEEN . . . Cambridge Bay We saw the wreck of the Maud, recently brought to the surface after…
Read MoreGjoa Haven highlights this Adventure Canada voyage
DAY FIFTEEN — Gjoa Haven The people of Gjoa Haven welcomed our on-board Inuit singers as if they were rock stars. Come to think of it, they ARE rock starts. Susan Aglukark has an international reputation and following, so the screaming was no surprise. But young Kelly Fraser was also accorded a tumultuous reception. This…
Read MoreBeechey Island graves testify to the demise of the Franklin expedition
[Beechey Island is the most visited historical site in the Arctic — and with good reason. Last September, we got snow. In 2017, when we sail Out of the Northwest Passage, we will call in there once more.] DAY TEN– Beechey Island Sixty or seventy beluga whales stole the show at Beechey Island. We floated…
Read MoreVoyaging through history in the Northwest Passage
Looking back at our 2016 voyage Into the Northwest Passage, I find myself driven to juggling dates. Why? Well, because I love this image (left) of Dundas Harbour, which Sheena shot on Day Nine, and I think it deserves pride of place! DAY NINE — Dundas Harbour Under grey skies, we landed zodiacs on the…
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