Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Hay RIver (June 17/02) - Some people in Hay River are shaking their heads over the ice conditions on Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River.

The tour boat Norweta - and George and Margaret Whitlock, who own the boat with their son Greg - were still in Hay River late last week waiting for ice conditions to improve on Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

"It's very unusual, extremely unusual," said Capt. Les Wylie of the Canadian Coast Guard.

Wylie captains the Dumit, which places navigational aids along part of the Mackenzie River.

In the 45 years or so that the Coast Guard has been performing the task, the latest one of its vessel has left Hay River to place the buoys had been June 12. But as of June 13, the Dumit was still in Hay River.

Wylie said a helicopter was to fly ice reconnaissance on Sunday or today to update conditions.

Without the navigational aids in the river, vessels cannot use it safely.

"If we don't go, nobody goes," Wylie said.

Noting that it has been a very cold spring, the captain explained the problem is there is still a lot of ice on Great Slave Lake and it is flowing into the Mackenzie River.

One possible remedy would be if the wind moves the ice towards the eastern end of the lake.

About 80 per cent of the lake is still covered by ice, Wylie noted. "That's unusual."

By this time of year, normally no more than half the lake is still covered by ice, he said, adding, "That's not much in this big a body of water."

The Coast Guard places about 800 navigational aids along the river from Hay River to Tuktoyaktuk.

Among those affected by the ice conditions is the tour boat Norweta, which had planned to depart Hay River June 12 for Inuvik.

As of late last week, the Norweta was waiting for ice conditions to improve and the navigational aids to be placed. The Norweta's 16 passengers were also waiting, tourists from England, the United States and five Canadian provinces.

Margaret Whitlock, one of the owners of the boat, said she was born and raised in Hay River and had never seen such ice conditions.

"I've never, ever seen ice in the lake this late."

The Norweta normally sails from Yellowknife but was leaving from Hay River this spring to get a week's jump on the season, she said, noting the boat would have still have been delayed sailing from Yellowknife.

As for the passengers, Whitlock said they were being kept busy with tours of the Hay River area.