NORTH STAR of Herschel Island: Last of the Canadian Arctic Fur-Trading Ships

R. Bruce Macdonald, owner of NORTH STAR, will present, “North Star of Herschel Island: Last of the Canadian Arctic Fur-Trading Ships,” from 6:30 to 8 p.m. In 1936 NORTH STAR began her working life in the icy and stormy Beaufort Sea transporting a whole Inuit village—including sled dogs—out to sell fur and obtain supplies, then race to get home before the passage re-froze. NORTH STAR went on to be an oil-exploration vessel and an Inuit sail-training ship, to participate in the survey of the B.C./Alaska boundary, and to take Cambridge University researchers to look for mermaids. During the Cold War she was asked by the Canadian government to assert Canadian Arctic sovereignty by sailing to and holding a remote island for Queen and Country. The author’s extensive research included interviews with Inuvialuit elders in the High Arctic. There will be a question and answer period and an opportunity for book signing. No admission fee.