Make that a double

STILL ABOARD CCGS AMUNDSEN—“The flight from Inuvik has been cancelled. All those people who were scheduled to leave will still have to vacate their rooms. Please see me about finding some place to sleep.”

That was the unwelcome inaugural announcement by Dave Barber, the new chief scientist on the Amundsen research icebreaker.

The ever-efficient Amundsen office staff did find me — and the half-dozen others also marooned here — a place to lay our heads for the night.

But it could be more than one night. The forecast is for the poor weather to continue, after three weeks of nothing but sunny skies.

Such delays are par for the course in the Arctic. As well, we were a day late getting here three weeks ago because of mechanical problems with the charter flight that brought a crew change and a new team of scientists to Inuvik.

So the Arctic is simply getting that day back. Luckily it’s bar night on the Amundsen, and I believe new stock arrived on one of the two charter flights that did make it in earlier today.