The St. Roch Turns 100, and Adventure Canada Retraces Its Route
A 17-day 2028 voyage from Kugluktuk to Kangerlussuaq marks a century since the RCMP schooner's launch, and puts the Inuit who guided it at the centre of the story.
The St. Roch was a working boat. Launched in 1928, the wooden RCMP schooner served as a floating police detachment, supply ship and patrol vessel in the Arctic. Between 1940 and 1942 it became the first vessel to cross the Northwest Passage from west to east. In 1944 it became the first to do it in a single season, and it was the first ship to circumnavigate North America.
For the centenary, Adventure Canada and the Vancouver Maritime Museum, where the ship now sits as a National Historic Site, are running a special Out of the Northwest Passage voyage from 2 to 18 September 2028.
The route
The 17-day expedition sails aboard Ocean Victory from Kugluktuk (Coppermine), Nunavut, east through the Kitikmeot region to Ikirahaq (Bellot Strait), Beechey Island, Tallurutiup Imanga (Lancaster Sound), Devon Island and Ausuittuq (Grise Fiord). It then crosses Smith Sound and Baffin Bay to Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), with the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, before ending at Kangerlussuaq.
Timing is late summer into autumn, when the tundra turns and the dark returns, with a chance of aurora.
Whose story it is
The voyage is built around a fuller version of the history. In 1944, eight members of the Panipakuttuk family travelled aboard the St. Roch as guides. The museum’s renewed exhibit brings their story forward, and Adventure Canada is supporting that work.
“Inuit knowledge, relationships, and experiences were fundamental to these journeys,” said Cedar Swan, CEO of Adventure Canada. David Jordan, the museum’s executive director, will sail as a special guest.
The numbers
- Dates: 2–18 September 2028
- Price: from US$18,995 per person, with 25% savings advertised for early booking
- Ship: Ocean Victory
Before then, the museum and Adventure Canada are hosting Telling Tales from Arctic Trails with writer James Raffan on Thursday 22 October, 6–8 p.m. PT, at the museum in Vancouver. It is free, but RSVP is required.
For advisors
- Who to pitch: history readers, repeat expedition clients and anyone who has done Svalbard or Antarctica and wants the Canadian Arctic.
- How to sell it: as a one-off. It is a centenary departure, not a regular sailing.
- Watch: the early-booking savings window on Adventure Canada’s site.