;)
This is where the snowmachine ride from the previous post took me - offshore out onto the sea ice a few miles north of Wainwright. That's whaling captain Jason Ahmaogak walking farthest from the camera to study the thin, broken jumbled ice that has closed the lead.
Just a few days before I arrived, the lead was open right in front of where Jason is. He and other members of the Iceberg 14 crew had launched their boat and chased whales. Under the leadership of Jason's late grandfather, Ben Ahmaogak, Sr., Iceberg 14 has long been an exceptionally successful and respected whaling crew.
Ben died in May of last year and passed the title of whaling captain on to Jason, who has an exceptional crew of both men and women behind him - including his Aunt Mary Ellen, who has thrown the harpoon and shot the heavy, brass, shoulder gun and brought bowhead home.
;)
A jet passes over shards of the thin, jumbled ice.
;)
When wind and current again takes away the ice that Jason stands on to reopen the lead, the edge of the shore-fast ice will be several feet above the water. Before this happens, the crew wants to make a boat ramp. Working with a chain saw, shovel and pick axes, they begin.
;)
;)
John Hopson, another whaling captain, uses the saw to cut into the ice.
;)
You can see the ramp forming behind John.
;)
Taking a break.
;)
Time to eat some caribou roast.
;)
Then back to work.
;)
Finally, the job is just about done. Terry Tagarook gives John Hopson a pat and jokes that they need to make their trails as smooth as John's head. Terry is a school teacher and, with the exception of me, taught every single person working out here this day.
That's not quite true, because Terry has taught me, too, just not in the classroom.
;)
Lolo carries tools out of the boat ramp, the closed lead behind her.
;)
Wainwright whalers.
I am home in Wasilla now, for just three more days. I did not want to leave the whalers, but I have a commitment of the heart in India and so I did.
I also have a commitment of the heart to this community, Wainwright. If I am fortunate enough to enjoy good health and continued survival, I will be back.
Before I leave, I will post a few more images from Wainwright and maybe Barrow, too.