BELFAST — It was their curiosity about polar bears that first led Rick and Karen Miles to explore the coast of Labrador and Greenland. But it’s been the friendships they’ve established in the small remote villages there that drive them to return there each year.
The Miles are owners of Wanderbird Expeditions, a Belfast-based tour business established about 15 years ago. Both Rick and Karen are licensed sea captains. Rick fished year-round on the Grand Banks between Gloucester and Newfoundland for a number of years. He later made a career of sailing schooners between Maine and the West Indies. Karen is the daughter of a fishing family from Rockland. Her father is a lobsterman.
The couple met on Penobscot Bay when Karen boarded the ship where Rick was working because she wanted to see his15-year old Labrador retriever named Pilot.
“I thought that Karen had come to see me but I was wrong,” said Rick. “I was able to divert her attention from Pilot and the rest is history.”
According to Karen, the two wanted to work on the water together, so they conceived the idea of a local tour business that would take travelers to remote places.
“We wanted to have a lifestyle that allowed us to continue working on the water together as a couple and with our family [the two dogs],” said Karen. “We decided that converting a former fishing trawler to a tour boat with a beautiful wooden interior that feels like a classic yacht to accommodate 12 adventurers on cruises to remote locations would be our plan.”
The couple purchased a 90-foot fishing trawler in France. It was built by the Dutch and was used by a fishing family to navigate the cold, fierce waters of the North Sea, so they knew it was rugged enough for the trips they planned to take.
The Miles brought the ship back to Nova Scotia where they were living at that time and then to Maine where they stripped it down to the bare steel.
Karen, an artist and furniture maker, was responsible for remodeling the inside, which houses six double cabins, each with a private shower. It also has a cabin area with lots of windows that features a reading library and traditional Danish stove. They now offer both local tours along the coast of Maine and travels to faraway places such as the remote fishing villages along the coasts of Labrador and Greenland.
“There are no roads in many of the places that we visit,” said Karen.
The Miles dock at those remote villages and locals they’ve met over the years come aboard, giving passengers an opportunity to visit with them and learn about their way of life.
Rick explained that most of the people in the villages hunt and fish for a living.
“A few of them have other jobs but for most of them, it’s more like subsistence living,” he said.
Diets rely mostly on fish, seal meat and blubber. The concept of growing vegetables in a hot house is beginning to catch on there, adding a new element.
“There was very little heart disease or diabetes in those areas until they began to introduce processed foods,” he said.
The villages often have medical clinics but hospitals are limited to the larger cities. In an emergency that requires hospitalization, residents of those remote villages are flown to a city. Transport to a clinic by dog sled for less serious conditions also is common.
Rick describes family life in those regions as “solid but fluid.” Children often move in with aunts or uncles and live there for a while and then return back to their original family.
“You may also find several families living in one household,” Rick said.
Among the animals seen on Arctic cruises are polar bears, black bears, seals, caribou, walruses, wolverines and a variety of seabirds.
“Arctic tours last anywhere from ten to 21 days and cost roughly $300 per day,” said Rick, who added that guests come from all over the world and from all walks of life. Wanderbird also offers local voyages.
“Most of our tours along the coast of Maine are six days and cost approximately $1,500 per person per week, all inclusive, with fantastic meals and accommodations with private bath,” said Karen. “We have many puffin, bird watching, lighthouses, fishing villages of the Maine coast, island hiking and fall foliage and local fare cruises.”
When they’re not on the water, Karen stays busy with her art business at Northern Lights Gallery in Belfast where she sells her photographs and lino art, as well as wood carvings and other art from Labrador and Greenland. She also spends the winters making furniture while Rick is busy with maintenance and repairs on the ship.
For more information, see wanderbirdcruises.com