You may notice in some of the photos of GERALDINE, some unfamiliar flags and burgees. In addition to the US flag which she always flies from the stern, as a courtesy to our host country (for most of our trip), GERALDINE also flies the Canadian flag on the starboard yardarm.

As a further courtesy to the province that will host most of our Canadian visit, we will also be flying the brightly colored flag of the province of Nunavut just below the Canadian flag on the starboard yardarm.

For those who are unaware, Nunavut is Canada’s “newest” province, having been formed in April 1999 with the splitting of the original Northwest Territories. Nunavut is by far the largest of all the Canadian provinces and by far the least populated. It is three times the size of Texas and one third larger than Alaska. Their 28,000 residents live in 26 communities and hamlets with 60% of them being under 25 years of age. Most of the population is Inuit (no, not “Eskimo”) and unlike the other Canadian provinces, Nunavut is self-governed by the Inuit with their own Premier and Cabinet. The capital is Iqaluit where, by the way, the Canadian Coast Guard maintains their Arctic Marine Communications Traffic Services Centre (these are the nice people at the other end of our marine radio transmissions). The red section in the center of the Nunavut flag is an “inukshuk”…a traditional landmark used by the Inuit to help find their way, both on land and on water. The inukshuk is the cultural symbol of Nunavut. Roughly translated, inukshuk means “artificial person” and you can see the resemblance (“Inuk” is the singular form of Inuit). Below is an example of a real inukshuk.

In addition, you may notice a red, white and blue burgee flying from the bow of GERALDINE.

Created as a triangular adaptation of the international signal flag “W”, it is the burgee of the Winnipesaukee Yacht Club in Gilford, New Hampshire where Jim Boselli has been a member for over 30 years.