Category: Arctic Exploration

This season in Greenland wrapped and with it we have a few photos to share from Wild Actual’s adventures filming “The Songs of Giants”.

We didn’t do much ourselves other than living vicariously thru Wild Actual‘s team. Sure, Inflatable Boat Center was the source for the R.I.B.s, inflatable boats, and Yamaha Outboards but honestly Wild Actual is responsible for all of the great footage.

If you’re interested in learning more about Wild Actual and their upcoming missions check them out and see how you can help.

Enjoy the behind the scenes looks!

Copeland’s Journal

Journal Entry: Nuuk Harbor – 9 September 2024
The cold, briny air hit my face as I launched the ZODIAC MilPro SR4.7 into the harbor, its
reinforced aluminum transom settling into the frigid water like it had been here before. Around me,
Greenlandic hunters returned from the sea, their boats loaded with seals, fish, and seabirds. There
was no excess here-no trophies, no waste-just sustenance. They nodded as they passed, their
expressions unreadable but knowing.
I ran my hand along the CSM/Neoprene-reinforced tubes, feeling the battle-proven design that has
carried men through warzones and wilderness alike. I’ve trusted this platform from military
operations to teaching my own children how to captain their first boat. Out here, the MilPro system
was more than a vessel-it was a promise. The 70hp Yamaha hummed as I powered into the fjords, where
the real work would begin.

Journal Entry: Disko Bay – 12 September 2024
The SR4.7 sliced through the Arctic chop with precision, its deep-V hull absorbing the impact of
ice-laden waves. Navigation in these waters is not for the careless-bergs shift unpredictably,
currents play tricks on even the most seasoned mariners. But the ZODIAC’s agility was impeccable,
allowing me to pivot and maneuver between ancient towers of ice like a shadow slipping through the
cracks.
Tonight, I return to Whale Island with nothing but the sound of my own breath and the distant howl
of the wind. The fjords have been empty. No sign of the humpbacks. No song beneath the waves. But
something tells me they’re still here, waiting in the darkness.

Journal Entry: Whale Island – 15 September 2024
Days of searching, and I was beginning to feel the weight of the Arctic silence. Then, beneath the
auroras, a sound-a single exhale breaking the surface near the ZODIAC’s pontoons. I froze, ears
straining against the void. A whale. A single survivor in the fading Arctic light.
The SR4.7 sat motionless on the black water, its reinforced keel holding firm. It was built for
stealth, for endurance. For this. Tomorrow, I will find her.

Journal Entry: North End of Whale Island – 18 September 2024
There she was. A lone humpback, weaving through the fjord’s icy maze. I trailed her for hours, my
ZODIAC gliding just outside her path. She was deliberate, using icebergs as cover, diving deep only
to surface unexpectedly, leaving me chasing ghosts in the water.
I adjusted my approach, using the SR4.7’s shallow draft to slip ahead and wait. When she surfaced,
it was directly beside me. Then, the unexpected-she bubble-net fed around my boat, the emerald ring
of bubbles circling the ZODIAC like a ritual. I was inside the hunt, inside the moment. As the sun
dipped, I turned for camp, the MilPro’s bow cutting clean and true. Today
was a victory.

Journal Entry: Icefjord Channel – 21 September 2024
The Arctic was showing its teeth today. Winds howled down the fjords, waves rolling higher than I
would have liked. Many boats would have turned back. But the ZODIAC’s heavy-duty keel guard and
deep-V hull handled the punishing conditions with the confidence of something built for battle.
Out here, no one is coming to help. No coast guard, no rescue team-just the reliability of your
equipment and the decisions you make. I trusted the SR4.7 with my life today, and it didn’t falter.

Journal Entry: Whale Island – 25 September 2024
The ZODIAC sat beached on the black volcanic shore, its frame coated in a thin layer of Arctic
frost. A testament to resilience. As I ran my hands over the CSM/Neoprene tubes, I considered where
this boat had taken me-not just across these fjords but into moments of stillness, of discovery.
Greenland is a place of ancient whispers. The island I stood upon had once been a whaling station,
where hunters carved giants into history. Now, I was here, listening to their voices in a different
way, using technology instead of harpoons. The MilPro’s reinforced design had bridged time,
allowing me to navigate between the past and the present.

Journal Entry: Nuuk – 28 September 2024
The expedition was coming to a close. As I pulled the ZODIAC from the water, I couldn’t help but
run my fingers along its worn hull. This boat had been more than transportation-it had been my
scout, my refuge, my lifeline. In an unforgiving land, the MilPro SR4.7 had proven itself over and
over, enduring cold, ice, and relentless seas without a whisper of complaint.
I came to Greenland chasing whispers in the water, and I leave knowing that some things-like the
reliability of a trusted vessel-need no words at all.
The ZODIAC MilPro SR4.7 was more than a boat. It was a silent companion in a land where
silence speaks the loudest.

As I pack up my gear, I think of Tonga and the seed that was planted there. The journey of “Songs of Giants*” continues, not
just as a project but as a mission to inspire change. The haunting melodies of the humpbacks are not just songs; they are a
call to action, urging us to protect their world and, in doing so, our own.

We are immensely grateful to each of our sponsors for their unique contributions to this initiative:

·      Helinox

·      Expion360

·      HEST

·      ScubaPro

·      Patagonia

·      Inflatable Boat Center

·      Leupold

·      My Medic

·      Nosler

·      NRS

·      SALTY

·      SCHUTT

·      Canadian Goose

·      GoPro

·      Captain Paul Watson Foundation