On my own

How it all ends with a whisper!
I had a hard time sleeping last night. I was a little preoccupied with having everything I needed; also, I was overheating in my room. When I finally awoke at 7:40, I ate breakfast, and then raced around making final adjustments to the stuff I was bringing along.

Overnight, the helicopter got its 100hr once-over, thanks to Anthony and his little helper, Josh. They worked on it on the shore of Kiska harbor by lamplight.

I left with my survival pack, a tub for mixing cement, tools that Ed had packed for me, water, a pick, and yesterday's sandwich. We flew from the boat (still parked in the harbor) and had an uneventful flight to the volcano. We circled the crater a bit, so I took a bunch of photos. All in all, it was a pretty foggy day, so I ended up at LSNW instead of either of the other sites (LSKO, or LSPA).

First, though, I stopped on shore to remove cement from all the huts. I also grabbed a Hoe. I piled cement in the chopper with me, and then proceeded to the site. I was under the impression that we'd get to the shovels that were at LSPA. Wrong. The terrain I was digging in was heavily rocky, along with lots of soil. It would have been very beneficial to have that shovel! Instead, I was groping around with the hoe, and using my hands.

Bill showed up with the hut before I had fully prepared the site, and so we left the hut a bit askew, as I continued to chip away at the area with my meager tools. By the time I had finally placed the hut, Bill showed up with a shovel. Next, I drilled holes for the J-bolts and cemented down the hut. While given 5 bags, I used 4 1/2 bags of concrete, since two bags of cement were all but solid rocks.

Afterwards, I started digging a hole for the seismometer -- no luck. Too shallow rocks. Then I started a second hole.
As I nearly finished this one, Guy showed up (with Bill, of course) with the batteries, and news that I was going to be flown to the boat. Something was wrong with the helicopter's electrical system, so our mission has been scrubbed.

With that and a "hook up the batteries", he was off.

With a little radio help from guy, I got the batteries all connected. The air cells were activated and wired in series. The gel cells were wired parallel in threes, with the middle batteries connecting to the power switcher.

I could hear a little chatter. Apparently, guy was up somewhere in the fog and was slowly making his way down to the helicopter. Eventually, the helicopter just came to get me, and went back for guy, who was still off in the fog. I jumped out and hiked up to guy to give him a hand, and vroom! We were off to the boat.

Right now, there is a hut sitting on the beach that has no weight in it. Just air-cells and a solar panel. oh, and an antenna, hut kit, and seismometer cable. It won't likely be there when we return in 2-3 years.

Bill has flown with Ed back to the dock at Amchitka. We'll be spending the night there -- in Constantine harbor, again. The weather is supposed to be really crappy. soon. A storm with 55kt winds and high seas will be here on, I think it was Sunday. We need to be gone before that. And so... the great western Aleutian field excursion has just come to a grinding halt. 4 huts are in the ground on LS, which is amazing, considering that we didn't expect ANY. Two seismometers, I believe, are working there. All 6 at Semi are up and running. All together, pretty successful. Despite the weather.

commuters

Today was also a bit frustrating. Tina and Michelle headed out to the island with the morning flight. The rest of us took the boat over. Once somewhere near LS, Guy and Ed flew out to go finish their sites. Then, Max and 6 batteries went out to the beach. Next, Me and 6 batteries.

We dropped off the batteries, and then Bill took me up to LSPA, where I was to prep the hut. With me, I brought the 3D seismometer, the electronics, and a little water.

By this time, it was already something like 2, and the boat wanted to leave by 4:30. Well, the weather wasn't looking promising, so my hut was scrubbed for the day. I did wander around a little, decided it was a nice site, then hopped back in the copter for a trip back to the boat.

Tomorrow morning, I'll be on the first helicopter out with Jessica. If all goes well, I'll do LSPA. If it goes even better, then I'll do LSKO (which is on top of a hill, and usually inaccessible). If it doesn't look good at either of those two sites, I'm going to find and dig out LSNW, which Guy has spotted today.

The weather was still pretty darn nice, and for that I am very grateful... even if I didn't personally get anything done today.

Onward to Little Sitkin

Wow. Today (yesterday, as of this writing) we made an attack on Little Sitkin (LS). The boat left Paskie and Cyrus up on the hill, and ed on the dock. Meanwhile, the helicopter flew Guy to LS to start prepping sites. Then, it picked up Ed to do the same. Between Guy and Ed, Four sites have been prepped.

Back on the boat, we had a beautiful crossing, though I saw no whales. A rainbow watched us leave Amchitka's Constantine harbor. The crossing took only a few hours, and by the time we reached LS, we could also see Segula beautifully, and Davidoff Island, too. I helped prep the huts, which were then either slung to the locations or to the beach.

Also, en route, I grilled Tina about volcanology and her history.

Each hut has: 5 concrete bags, 4 1/2 air cell batteries, a power switcher, solar panels, mast, hut kit (with Jbolts and other connectors), several gallons of H2O (for concrete), a hoe, an LB connector (Elbow, used to run wires into the hut), an Antenna (with attachments) and a Seismometer cable. Separately, 6 Gel Cell batteries, Shovel, pick, toolkits (electrical, hard-tools, Goop Kit, Drill, (soldering iron?), Seismometer, and McVCO. The repeater station also required an additional antenna and a RF filter.

I helped get the huts ashore, then flew off to help guy. I mixed concrete and dug trench while he attached solar panels (Problems: my radio antenna broke, No green goop in goop kit, and no RF filter)

Just down from us at LSSA (Little Sitkin Saddle) were hot springs that bill reported were hot and or cold, but not just right.
The boat had to leave early, 'cause it was dancing about the various islands with no place to anchor. We then, with an hour left of work, took off in the helicopter to Kiska..

En route, I took pictures of Segula volcano -- a beautiful stratovolcano with snow just barely visible at the top. Also, on Kiska, there was the remains of an old Japanese sub base (complete with sub), and several large cannons. We poked around the cannons while waiting for the boat to show.

We then moved down to the beach, and watched the stars come out. The milky way was prominant, and you could see alllthe stars wonderfully. In the water, you could make out a sparkle of bioluminescence now and then. Sometimes waves would wash a bioluminescent spec on shore... which I then picked up and inspected. under a light I couldn't make out anything.

A luxurious walk

Wow! Today's been beautiful! Guy flew over to Semi with Tina, while Cy and John headed up the hill. Ed and I reorganized the huts, and then joined Max for a long excursion down the beach. Plenty of photos today!

Guy was successful in putting in the station (with help from Jess), so Semisopochnoi is officially DONE!!!! Bill returned everyone from Semi; Now we get to set sights on Little Sitkin.

Working on the Earth Station (again)

Today finally had a little upturn.

The day started off pretty crappy. The weather was socked in, and it was raining. I had no chance to do any real work at a volcano, and resigned myself to another day on this irradiated hellhole of an island. Yes, my attitude had finally sunk to a new low. Here I sit, when I could be doing anything else at all... maybe, dare I say it, Working on my thesis? Yes, I've been starting to realize that I haven't learned a damn thing other than (and I already knew this) the fact that Aleutian weather is unpredictable. Actually, it is pretty predictable. "Crappy".

Today, any work at semi was out of the question. Instead, five huts and accompanying equipment were brought on board, and the trash was sent to shore to be burned. Meanwhile, I went up the hill with max and Cyrus. The weather was shitty. really blowing, this time from the north, with rain.

We dug holes for the hut, just to the er.. north of the existing structure. Also, we banded the flex-conduit together for the solar panel wiring. Mostly, though, we sat around in the weather port bitching about the weather.

Then, at the end of the day, we (Cyrus, Me, Max as trailer bitch) took a little 4-wheeler trip, and the outlook improved dramatically. We wandered down this-road and that-road in search of a nice beach on the pacific side of the island. After several wrong turns, we found a little collapsed cabin by a lake (more accurately, IN a lake). After exploring the ruins a bit, we made for the beach again. This time, it only took a few minutes and we found ourselves at the top of a cliff. Birds were flying in every which direction ... There were a couple Bald Eagles, and several seagulls. The surf lapped on rocky beaches; the rocks were nice and rounded, of various sizes, and included corals. A fish skull lay there, among much seaweed and other flotsam. A couple plastic bottles lay there, and a great number of old-looking ammunition casings. There were plenty of rock formations between the beach and an island, with the tides playing in and amongst them.
Pretty soon, I noticed that the brown boulders on the next island over were moving -- In fact, they were a whole bunch of sea lions that had hauled out of the water.
I played around here and there, looking at life in the tidal pools (all the while paying very careful attention to my camera...) until we decided it was time to head back to the dock. As we came to the top of our little bluff, an immature bald soared right past, low & slow.
Then we looked out, and noticed seagulls molesting a sea otter. I suppose they were trying to get at it's food. Yeah, it was a really great 30 minutes. Amchitka isn't a hell-hole after all. But I still would like a sunny day with no wind. Is that too much to ask???

unravelling (slightly)

What to say about today? It was a boat ride The seas were rough, but not as rough as they had been. We arrived at Semi by around 2pm, but were unable to do anything, as the ceiling was low, the ship was rocking, and the pilot was tired. Basically, we took the trip over to just refuel the helicopter once. What a waste.

I can feel my own nerves beginning to fray as time just keeps slipping past up here. I could be doing so much more, but when the boat moves, I'm unable to do anything. For the trip back home (home meaning Amchitka), I had to drug myself up with Dramamine. Now I've been utterly useless. Did watch a couple bond flicks, though: On her Majesty's Secret Service, and just now, Dr. No.

Breakfast, as always, was eggs, pancakes, taters, sausage, and bacon. Getting a bit bored of that, and am beginning to even mentally drift wistfully to breakfast in Koyasan. I ended up with a single pancake, two sausages, and a half-bowl of peaches.

Today, rumor is that the cook finally broke down. Don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if he did. We really, really need a nice break to stall our downward spiral. It looks like Tina may go with Guy over to Semi in the helicopter; that way, if they set up the hut, great. If not, then she can take gas samples. Wish I were there doing that. Instead, I guess I'll head up the hill and patrol for rats or something.

these are the times that try men's souls

8:48 AM 9/24/2005
Breakfast at 8am, and now we're going to head over in the boat to Semi. The weather outlook is as bleak as ever; yesterday, Tina called Murray to get a bigger weather picture. Apparently, there's a bunch of lows that are forming and just sort of follow each other in a parade through here.

Been having trouble getting up in the morning, and have found my schedule sliding each day a little more into the night. Last night, I went to bed around 2am.

Paskievitch has requested one of the huts that remain here for use with the earth station -- without actually inquiring; we all assume it's to replace the tough-box as a battery storage locker.

Being out here is beginning to sand the edges of people a little. We had a scrabble game wherein the dark side of the trip came out. Many short, dark words made their way onto the board, like "vomit" and such.

plans

6:07 PM 9/23/2005
Plans change. We got a call today, suggesting it would be nice if we could head on out to Semisopochnoi and refuel the helicopter. So, we recalled Max and Jerry and Tina, hauled in the skiff, stowed all the stuff, and headed out.

lots of discussion this evening, where we tried to make a solid plan.

We'll keep trying for Semi, with an eye to MAYBE doing LS. Continue helicopter ops across the ocean with limited flying over there. Apparently, bill is pretty worn out -- the flying has been quite demanding. At one point, Guy related a story where Bill had pulled down entirely on the collective, (reducing the pitch of the rotor blades to where they're not providing lift), yet the helicopter was still flying straight -- severe updraft.

boat bound

9:21 AM 9/23/2005 - Friday
I forgot to mention how confused I've been with regard to the days here. I thought for sure that yesterday was Thursday... that's after thinking that it was Tuesday in the AM.

Today I'll be hanging out on the boat, since Jerry's heading up to help on the station and Ed/Guy are going out to try to install the last of the Semi stations. If they do then we'll be able to finally start looking at Semisopochnoi. The weather is also looking like, after a couple 40kt days, it'll settle down a bit.

I'm thinking about fishing, but the idea of catching a 180 lb halibut and then having to deal with it is actually a bit unappetizing.

Last night, another boat showed up in our harbor. It was a bit larger than us, but was the first boat I've seen around since we left Adak (oh, except for a few we've seen from the Earth Station that were cruising far out in the pacific ocean)

blah

Today was a busier day. The sun peeked out of the clouds early, portending a possibly beautiful day contrasted with the forecast of typical gloom-doom and wind. Jessica and Michelle were flown over to Semi early today. They'll be camping there for a few days while they finish up the geology.
I headed up the hill to help with stuff up there. I put conduit on solar panels, cut wires, did some soldering, worked on the vault, and such miscellaneous stuff. Meanwhile, Guy and Tina flew to semi and installed CETU (yay!)
Dinner was a great halibut soup, though it's official name was something I'd never heard before. I also got to talk to Katie on the sat phone. She informed me of some of the outside world's goings-on. Hurricane Rita is threatening to squish Houston, which in turn causes speculation that gas prices may go up to $5 per gallon.
We chatted for nearly a half hour ($$$, glad it's not mine; but I don't feel bad, 'cause I haven't talked to anyone hardly)
Not much else to report. The days are really beginning to merge and blur.

Holey Mackrel

I walked outside to find a 71" halibut sitting on the deck. Apparently, Max finally caught a fish worth talking about. I'm looking forward to fresh fish for the next few days... (it came in at 179 lbs according to the chart)

Lucy, I'm HO-ome.

3:30 PM 9/21/2005 - Wednesday
Bill has arrived, back from Adak. His precious cargo: 4-5 day old newspapers, a replacement GPS receiver, and --most importantly -- a replacement pump.

Within moments of his arrival, Jerry was down the hatch replacing the water pump while the rest of us were scavenging newspapers. Gloom. Doom. Sigh. I'm not entirely sure why I was eager to get my hands on the news. The only good thing I read was that the auroras have been fantastic. Not that I've been able to see any from here, especially with the cloud cover we've almost always got.

Today has been rainy and windy. Ed has gone up on the hill with Cy and John. They even brought Josh along to help.

The score

7:44 AM 9/20/2005 - Tuesday
We've been rolling around a little overnight. The door to our stateroom wasn't closed completely, so it's been softly slamming every minute or less. I finally got up to close it, and now am up. I've gotten a lot of sleep yesterday, with the Dramamine knocking me out cold for three hours or so.

Yesterday, we must have played 4 games of scrabble, and --surprisingly-- no backgammon. The scoring is taking place under the pseudonyms which are becoming a little more commonly used. At least it's easier to differentiate "Antonio" from Cyrus than "Celso" from "Cyrus"... Whenever we're on the radio, and a call comes in for me, the name usually uttered first is Cyrus. After no response, an additional, corrected call, comes in for Me. We have several celebrity mags on board, and peruse them for stories on each other.

Recap of names:
Bill Springer -Harrison Ford
Celso Reyes - Antonio Banderas
Guy Tytgat - Steve Martin
Jessica Larson - Demi Moore (pronounced Deh-MI')
John Paskievitch - George Clooney (called Clooney, so as to not to confuse with the Skipper)
Michelle Coombs - Sandra Bullock
Tina Neal- Holly Hunter

When playing scrabble with this rabble, you've got to really keep a close eye on Clooney—I won't say publiclyhat he cheats, but -- at the minimum-- he tries to get by with 40% bluffing. Sandy is a word-master.

Some observations about the helicopter operations. I pretty much have been taking the helicopter for granted. No longer am I oohing and ahhing about working with the helicopter like I did in Okmok. However, when you think about it, it is still intense: flying from a bobbing ship.

Every time the helicopter lands onboard, Anthony has to rush out and attach a ratchet-strap-ring to the helicopter's hook. Josh, then cranks down on it to secure it to the boat. Whenever the helicopter takes off, it has to be just about ready to launch before Bill releases the hook.

When airlifting stuff off of the boat, Anthony gets under the helicopter *as it is hovering* and attaches the load underneath it: there is no room for the helicopter to land with the load also on the landing pad. And when the helicopter is swing loading stuff TO the ship, well... There's wind; the ship is bobbing, and there's not an insignificant mast not terribly far from the helipad. When the load is finally dropped on board, then people scramble to secure it before it slides off the helipad.

On land, these operations are much simpler. the helicopter would land near the load, and then the cable would be attached. Dropping the load involves only adjusting for the wind.

I'm still having trouble with working the silly door on the helicopter. It always takes me a while to get the thing shut.

Disappointment

4:06 PM 9/19/2005
What an anticlimax. I can't complain, but the crossing was as smooth as anyone could hope for. While this was great on the stomach, it leaves you with questions... Could we have stayed longer? Would we have been in danger where we were? Will we be able to get back to the island to finish our job?

The general mood here is disappointment; disappointment at not being able to finish installing stations and disappointment with not getting as much geology done as may have been possible. I, for one, am also disappointed that I've wasted a Dramamine and am therefore in a somewhat drugged stupor.

So, here we are in Amchitka's Constantine harbor. Again. The helicopter should return sometime today /tomorrow with the part we need for repairing the fresh-water maker. (My very last item on the agenda before we left the last harbor was to *finally* take a shower. It'd been a little more than a week since we had news that it was broken, and that we were going on water restrictions.

I can't wait to do laundry!

It's just another Monday

10:28 AM 9/19/2005 - Monday
"I'm going to start throwing up now, and beat the rush" - Ed
Well, Tuman was fogged in, and the weather we were going to avoid has started to creep around to our little island paradise. The boat, still at anchor, has swung around with the wind and is now facing the mouth of our bight. That doesn't bode too well, since with the wind comes the waves.

This morning, (A second red-sky morning), found the boat rocking a little more than usual from side to side. The plan? Drop the geologists off on the far side of the island, get a weather report for CETU, and then create two stations... hopefully before 1 or so.

Well, now it's not even eleven... the beach has been cleaned up, with everything being left here that was required. Everything else has been picked up, except (as of this typing) the geologists. The hatches are all being battened down, and the ship is being made wave-worthy again. Forecast is for winds out of the south, turning to 35 - 40 tonight.... waves in the 10' range. We'll be running against the wind, which means we'll be battered about a bit.

Shore leave

Sometime around 1pm yesterday (today) I was picked up to fly with Guy to Tuman Head, where we were going to set up the repeater site. However, it was totally in the fog, so no-go. We did fly counterclockwise around the perimeter of this island, though and saw what looked like town sites (no photos), and a crashed WWII bomber. Anvil peak was out and clear, and the shoreline around the island is beautiful. The large boulders must give the island a reefish appearance. Supposedly there's a sea lion pull-out, also.... though I didn't see any.

We ended up at CERB and dropped off guy. My help wasn't really needed, so Bill let me off by the cache. I grabbed my lunch and waded through very heavy tussocks towards the beach. By very heavy, I mean knee-high tussocks with grass to the waist. Absolutely terrible walking.

I poked around beachside for a couple hours. There were several gulls that hung out nearby-- they didn't even bother me for scraps of lunch! Plenty of driftwood, and bits of rope that washed ashore. It's always fascinating how mankind's junk can arrive absolutely everywhere; There's not an Island in the Aleutians that doesn't have buoys or plastic garbage of one sort or another.

The waves were breaking beautifully along shore, so I just sort of sat there and watched them for a while. Gull prints were everywhere, but overall life appeared scarce. The only shell I found was a single limpet. There was also a single dead fish. But all else was black-sand. I was very entertained by watching the waves rework and smooth out the sandy beach, erasing gull prints and leaving a fine rim at the edge of its length.

Guy worked a little more on CERB with Max and Ed, while Cyrus and John finished CESW. The location fogged out, so they ended up staying there a while. I could tell that bill was getting tired of running about like an errand-boy with the helicopter... no, today wasn't all that much more organized than yesterday...

Tomorrow, I think I'm going out with Guy to finish CERB and /or install CETU. Ed & Max will install the broken ridge site, maybe. After those two are done, we've got it all...

Tina found a warm-spring today, and will be hopefully taking measurements (and maybe a dip? doubtful) tomorrow. The evening's meal was spaghetti, Scrabble was cutthroat with a very narrow score, and Cyrus is continuing his winning steak at Backgammon. Now, he's only down by 4 games. The movie was It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad world, which Max seems to like as much as I do...

Practical jokes are being played a little more frequently, now. People were messing with Max's line as he was fishing, making him think he'd caught one. Josh crumpled crackers into Anthony's gloves, and apparently the duo did something or other to the chief.

Possibly, John and Cyrus will be flying back to Amchitka tomorrow. Also, tomorrow, I'm taking a shower; ready or not.

G'night.

The Red-headed stepchild

That's what I'm being called today. There's a lot of movement out and about in the caldera, but I'm just sitting here waiting. Forgotten.

Well, not really... Max and Ed went to shore to inventory, and set up a different gig. John is off finishing our site (CEPR). Guy and Cyrus are out finishing CERB. If CESW opens up, then I'll be out there with John. We'll see if that happens.

The weather has given the boat a reprieve. We were going to take off this evening, but the real bad stuff has been delayed a day. We'll be able to work on the island again tomorrow, too. I can just imagine our crossing though -- yuck.

CEPR - Cerberus - Perret Ridge

11:11 PM 9/17/2005
Man, am I bushed. Shortly after my last post, I got called away to help Paskie with a different site: CEPR (Cerberus - Perret Ridge). We (Bill and I) picked him up from the staging area up on the beach.

We set up CEPR while dancing in and out of fog. It was still nice enough that Bill slung our hut up to us. Poor guy was run absolutely ragged today; he slung 3 huts to the three groups of us (Guy & Max, near Cerberus; Ed & Cyrus in the NE corner CEAP - Cerberus-Anvil Peak; and Paski & I). Also crawling about the caldera were the geology crew, each in a different spot. Not only did Bill have to get all of us out there and sling huts, but there were other loads of goods that needed to go out also; batteries & cement & solar panels, for example. Then, to top it off, each of us had forgotten something or other and he had to haul it all back to whomever it was. Paskie & I forgot water; Guy didn't have a drill or a VCO, Ed needed solar panels... )

The site setup went pretty well; the hut is facing mostly south, with the antenna shooting the signal just under the solar panels. I spent all my time digging holes for the hut's j-bolts and for the seismometer. Then I mixed and poured the cement for each of the huts corners.... Getting the right consistency was a challenge.

Another challenge was finding the proper place for the seismometer. The digging was great, but my first hole (3' deep) was about 3 feet too far from the hut: the cable wouldn't reach. The next hole was better. I learned that when you bury a seismometer, leave a coil in the cable, just below the sod level. Don't pack the instrument itself at first, rather pack the soil gently around it. John did the wiring of stuff. We had a small glitch in the water (already mentioned) but also with the nuts for the J-bolts; they were just a tiny bit too small. We used nuts from the eye-bolts instead and siliconed the hole.

Cyrus caught a tiny halibut (don't mention it to him...), and then played me some more backgammon. He finally won one, after a 7-game loosing streak; now I'm up only by 6...
Went out to look at the moon this evening. It is beautiful and bright and full. The sea is looking inky black, yet still reflects the moonlight in a ghostly, yet pretty, manner.

Tomorrow, were going back to finish the site (30 mins tops... I need to finish burying the cable, and John needs to change out the voltage controller. Then, weather permitting, we'll head over to CESW and install a hut there.

The rest of the crew will scatter around the island installing the rest of the sites, while the geologists do a mad scramble for their last bit of information.

Weather looks like it'll be getting worse, so we're planning on pulling up anchor at 7pm tomorrow, and skidattling back to Amchitka. Hopefully we can do it before the seas get too rough. Bill will, meanwhile, fly to Adak and get the replacement pump for the boat. Looks like a long day for all of us. G'night.

Site CESW (Cerberus-Southwest)

Unbelievable. The sunrise this morning was beautiful, and the weather very nice. I went up with Paskie to the CESW site (Cerberus-Southwest) to prep for the hut. Unfortunately, it was too foggy to sling, but at least the site is now set up. Meanwhile, Ed and Cy are setting up a hut in the NW that will need to be repeated before reaching Amchitka.


Prepping the site involves locating the general place for the hut, then determining if you can "see" the place you're transmitting to, and also determining which direction the signal will need to travel. For us, there's a beacon transmitting from the Amchitka site that we use to determine if a site is able to communicate.



First, John pulled out a thing that detected the beacon. It was behaving as though it had a loose wire, but was able to detect the signal fine. Next, he pulled out the GPS and calibrated it... He had Amchitka programmed in, so he knew exactly which direction to point stuff.

Afterwards, there was nothing to do but dig. We removed sod over an area about 6' square, where the hut was to be placed. Next, we dug holes in each of the four corners (for cement) and dug a larger hole for where the wires and stuff will be leaving the hut.

The fog didn't seem to have any intentions of clearing, so we hopped in the chopper and headed back to the boat (after a brief detour to some junk that was in the caldera.)

Transferring ashore in Semisopochnoi

OK, it has finally happened! I was seriously beginning to doubt the possibility .... We're sitting in salt-and-pepper bight, off the east coast of Semisopochnoi. Earlier today (maybe around 5:30pm?) we offloaded six huts, 30 batteries, a crate of solar panels, cement, and other various implements of desctruction.

The day started with a fast and furious 4-wheeler ride up to Amchitka's site, where I was to help Paski and Cyrus bolt down solar panels into the solar panel farm. Almost as soon as we got there, the pilot radioed in that the crossing was calm. At that point, I continued to try to bolt down the crossmembers for the farm, while Paskie and Cy gathered their stuff. The new plan?

All hands down to the boat. We're going to get to Semi, and then offload absolutely everything that's required for the island, while there's good weather. The crossing was unevenful; the sun was shining, and I was even able to hang out on deck behind the wheelhouse and catch some sun. Of course, the wind was very cold, so I did so in my mustang survival suit. Less chance of skin cancer that way, anyway.

The process of offloading went fantastically well. It only took us about an hour and 15 to shuttle off something like 12 loads. The wind in the bay was (is) still whipping through at a respectable speed, but Bill made it look like sling-loading was effortless. Anthony was in charge of hooking up the loads to the helicopter, while chief operated the sling, and the rest of us rigged huts and put batteries/cement into bags.

Tomorrow morning, we'll break into perhaps three groups to set up sites. Guy has already reconnaissanced one site, which John and I will travel to in the morning. He'll be doing more reconnaissance while everyone else digs/pours/wires/drills the other sites. I wonder, if the weather is nice to us, will we be able to do almost all of Semi tomorrow? Dare to dream...

Oh, and today we finally got a little recreation in. Several fishinglines were dropped from the boat, though only Max cought something -- only to loose it. (100 lbs?) Crab pot is still on the boat waiting for launch.

thesis work

Today, I just hung around on the boat trying to get some of my thesis work done. If it weren't for the wind, today would have actually been a fantastic day; I sat on the stern of the boat and read my statistics book. Then, I settled down to do a little computing.

For lunch, I finished up the sushi, and had a keilbasa sandwich. Dinner was a fantastic porkloin with some sort of orange-zest sauce and then wonderful chocolate brownie for dessert. Mmmm...

Most of the day was spent inside the galley on the computer. In the evening, we popped in Groundhog day (how appropriate), and powowed on the future plans. It's likely that tomorrow will be too rough to leave, but the skipper will check at 8am.

Guy beat me at backgammon, but I'm now 10-8 with Cyrus. Oh yeah, the entire crew has come off the island (amchitka) temporarily and is on board for the night. Thought it would be funny if we pulled anchor at 4am and dragged everyone, including John, out for a joy-ride on the swells.

Weather report

Weather promises to be not-so-great again... here's an example of the typical forcast...

AREA 175 ADAK- KISKA
GALE WARNING
TODAY W35 13' (ex. winds out of the west at 35knots, seas 13 feet)
TONITE SW30 down to W20 11'
FRI NW 20 up to W30 12'
FRI NITE W35 13'
SAT W25 11'
SUN+MON SW20 8'

Usually, the last day has a nicer forcast than the previous. However, as the date draws closer, it always evaporates.

Looks like the pump won't be here 'till Monday earliest.

Semi-working

The word for today was wind. We waited for chocolate chip cookies to come out of the oven, and then hopped in the helicopter for a ride up to the earth station work site (Jess, Ed, Myself). Guy was going to fly to semi to scout out the station locations when the copter returned. Well, the fog came down, and we only were flown most of the way there... we landed at the end of the runway, and then hopped in the back of the four-wheeler for the rest of the trip.

We mixed some cement for the bottom portion of the solar panel frame. By the time we were done with that, the weather started to sour. After lunch, a pelting mist had appeared, with winds gusting to probably 65mph. We couldn't accomplish anything, so we took shelter in the storm port and just hung out for hours. eventually, max took us back to the docks, though not before I was able to check e-mail. Mostly junk. blech.

Steaks for dinner along with a conversation about casting this trip. I (fortunately) got Antonio Banderas to play me. Steve Martin was guy, Demi played Jess, Harrison Ford played Bill, and the rest escape me right now.

The night ended with a great scrabble game (played in teams of 2 with me and Jess on the winning team) and Backgammon (I lost to Guy).

Water restrictions

Still full from last night's dinner. Can't do laundry today, and there's no shower... We're under water restrictions because the water pump bit the dust. That is, the ship has the capability of desalinating seawater in order to create fresh water for use; the pump that does so is what crapped out. We're waiting for a replacement to be shipped to Adak. Once there, our helicopter pilot will retrieve it.

Mission accomplished! (not)

Well, today's weather was absolutely beautiful. We sailed out and got three stations in the ground... and then I woke up.

Actually, today, the weather got progressively worse. Rather than sit around and twiddle my thumbs / play computer / beat my head against the wall thanks to my thesis, I went up to the earth station (with Ed) to help with the installation. We arrived at around 11am, and then put jumpers on a great many batteries. This is so that we can connect them up in parallel.
After that task, we put the frames on 20 solar panels. By then, the wind was howling and the rain (and sometimes sleet) was coming down pretty hard at us. Meanwhile, John and Cyrus monkeyed with the base of the solar panel array.

Riding back to the docks in the back of the four-wheeler was a bit wet, though I was wearing my mustang suit, which protected me pretty well. The skiff ride was a bit rough; the skiff was being pounded about by the surf, making it very difficult to board at the docks... There were enough hands at the boat to make departing O.K., though.

Upon arrival at the boat, we were greeted with platters of sushi, rolled up by the captain. MMmmm... I ate about a half a a plate by myself. And the food just kept on coming... Nachos, Salad, Shrimp Alfredo, and -- after several games of backgammon with Guy and a neandratholic scrabble game with Michelle, Jess, and Guy -- Chocolate chip cookies. mmmm...

I also called mom to say I was alive, and called Katie to take care of the Galapagos trip. I ended up giving her my credit card to deal with it, while she wrote a check for her own part.

Oddly enough, I just realized... I'm in the eastern most part of the United states! Weird.

Grog

7:16 AM 9/13/2005
I wanted to write in my log last night,but couldn't bring myself to do it. I'd been lying in bed listening to podcasts (including Mugglenet's podcast) for about an hour and a half... The whole time the boat is violently pitching back and forth in a fairly good imitation of that very first night at sea. Actually, it was miserable. Other than sticking my head up into the wheelhouse earlier, I never even got a look at Semi. At the time, the mountain was pretty socked in, so there wasn't all that much to see.

After that visit, I headed to bed, and rolled around there 'till the motion finally started to get to me. I headed up to the wheelhouse at 19:00 hoping to get my mitts on some chewable (fast acting, hopefully) Dramamine as well as get a good look at the horizonline. Noone on the boat was having much fun... When it was all over, and we were back in harbor, Jessica had this unbelieving look on her face, and could pretty much only bring herself to say one small word repeatedly while slowly moving her head from side to side.

I should make point to explain the effects of rough sea travel. You can't get anything done. You can't read. You can't write. You can't stand. You can't really think. You're afraid to get out of bed, 'cause you're pretty sure you'll be flung into a wall, or pole, or ceiling, or collapse on the floor. The best place to be is somewhere in the center of the boat, but that's on deck, and that's being pounded repeatedly by waves.

Once the abuse is over, you're thouroghly exhausted. You're not really in the mood to talk much and now you're too beat up to read/work/whatever. And if you've drugged yourself up with seasick meds, you're doubly so. I managed to just grab some food (I was starved, we got in to anchorage back at Constantine at 22:00) and come back to collapse in bed. Didn't close the door. Didn't turn off the light. Didn't undress. Somewhere around midnight I awoke to the inevitable flash of a camera and sill, I couldn't do anything. Next, I awoke at 3am, in the same state, but with the door closed.

Strange dreams swam through my brain last night, putting me a bit off this morning. Some involved past relationships, while others involved moving and appraisals, or native locations where I was until recently unwelcome, or movie houses with some sort movie playing... and pretty much any word spoken or story told in the wheelhouse incorporated itself into my dreams last night. Right now, I'm writing this and still trying to shake it all off.

Yestermorn, I came across a book of Robert Service poems. Wow. Despite being a bit long-winded, he's damn good. Some of them felt like they fit a little too well, though in the end, most turned somewhat sour. "The man who didn't fit in" was one that hit pretty close to the mark.

Anyway, back to describing the day... As soon as we set anchor, we sent a skiff out to retrieve Tina and Michelle - both were lucky enough to fly past our boat as it was struggling to return to Amchitka and both were very happy not to be on the boat. As the helicopter passed us, the captain radioed them "Wish you were here". Bill, the pilot, radioed back "I don't".

Guess I'm about ready for breakfast now, though I'm still groggy...

Crossing and retreat

If you put mirrors on the walls, you'd have a pretty good (or violent) funhouse. We're currently retreating from the bight (er, half-formed bay) on the NE side of Semisopochnoi. The crossing wasn't too bad, having taken us something like 3-4 hours. However, as soon as we entered the bight -- our supposed safe-spot--, we got our a** handed to us. We're rolling in ways that I didn't know possible. I can feel my eyeballs pushing in and out of my skull as they try to work free.
A couple minutes ago, I tried to leave the main area of the boat -- I wanted to head aft to sit, have a soda, and watch the sea move about. I didn't make it out the door. Upon opening the hatchway, we rolled one way and another, and the sea reclaimed the deck. No, I didn't get wet, but I took the hint and came back inside. (It was very hard to control the door enough to close it) Upon reentry, the crew (all taking refuge in the galley) just sorta looked at me. Apparently the deck hand had tried to leave earlier with similar success.

Every time I turn around, it seems that I've screwed myself in some other way with my okmok stuff. I was going to look at some days of data, but I'm missing my tremorindex information. Then, I decided to look at other data -- the pseudoplots for each station... but they're in .ps format, which isn't read by anything known to my computer. What's worse, I don't seem to be improving with Spider Solitaire.... (I don't expect anyone to understand the details of the last paragraph, but the general frustration should be easy to grasp)

Anyway, we're looking for refuge on a different part of the Isle. If that doesn't work out, then we'll have to motor on back to Constantine Harbor in Amchitka. That's more than just a little frustrating -- I want to start working!!!

I tried to call (anyone) on the sat-phone, but couldn't get the system up and working just right. I'll try again when we're at anchor.

I also learned that a survival bag was left for me by Ryan (yeay!) as was the orange flightsuit by Ray. So, at least all that stuff is in order!

Work. Wow. I can actually do work!

Well, yesterday was 9-11. I'm glad I wasn't around normal civilization to hear politicians harp on it. Here on Amchitka we worked on the earth-station. Max was putting in GPS stuff while Ed & Guy cut tubes and Cyrus and I dug holes. It was good work, and I finally feel like I'm doing something. A lot of discussion went into how we were going to get the frame for the solar-panel farm streight. We wanted to build it in one peice, and then set it in place, while john suggests we just build it in place. I think that may be harder, but it won't matter to me soon... we're going to (hopefully) go to Semi tomorrow morning. Max stayed on the island to finish up, though I suspect he was pretty happy to stay off the boat.

The cook seemed like he was in a mood this afternoon. (Lunch: Hamburgers, Dinner: Corned beef & cabbage.) He proudly displays an I'm-never-ever-going-to-work-on-a-boat-again attitude. I'll just continue to smile and play by his rules.

After lunch, Cyrus and I played backgammon on the helicopter deck. What a beautiful day!
Today, I finished our rounds of backgammon up 8-7. Speaking of helicopter deck, today is the first time (on our trip) that the helicopter has parked on the ship.

Oh, and finally... the earth station is up and running enough to get internet. Only John has done so, though. From this island, now that things have cleared up a bit, you can see all the way over to Semisopochnoi.

rumblings

Breakfast was the same as always... I'm beginning to long for something else... french toast, croissants, yogurt, hell... even rice. Mikey doesn't do croissants, or at least, won't do croissants without more practice.

We fueled the helicopter, and now Jessica and Michelle are heading over to Semi to do their rock thing. Tina is wandering around the Island. Guy is bs'ing with the skipper, but will be doing electronic work. Cyrus is delivering a barrel of fuel up to the campsite. I'm on radio watch. The weather outside the bay is supposed to be extremely rough, so we're not going to stick our nose out 'till tomorrow.

Hooking up to the dock was uneventful, but getting us secure took lots of engineering. The bumpers don't reach the waterline during low tide, so our ropes get fouled. Last night we broke two lines and had to leave.

Taking the load off

I've just finished a pork-chop dinner poolside. Ok, well, there's no pool, but I ate on our newly cleared Helicopter deck. Get this -- in the sunshine!

We're docked up against Amchitka Island in Constantine Harbor. The waves are breaking hard on the little islands that somewhat protect the harbor. The sun is out. The wind is blowing cold, across the nuclear island, and over our little boat. I can't help but wonder just what radiation still exists on this little Island...

This morning, I awoke to gentle and persistant rocking, as the boat -- steered by the wind -- sat perpendicular to the swell. Earlier today, we pulled up to the dock, where Cyrus and I disembarked to walk to the earthstation site in order to retrieve the four-wheeler. This boat and this dock don't get along very well. You can hear the ropes complain as the boat bounces off of the dock with horrible grinding noises.

Cyrus and I had an uneventful hike up to the runway -- Amchitka has a huge runway designed for B-29's and such. Along the way there were a great many little mounds, which was explained to me were fossilized bird terds. yeah right. Anwyay, these mounds are all over, and there's occasional signs of human habitation; signs other than the excellent road we're walking, that is.

We found the bike with no problems, after a little over an hours hike. Then we briefly visited the earth site, to find out that everything was in order. There's a beautiful hut which is more reminescent of a pyramid, as well as a large satellite dish and several tents filled with stuff. No rats, thank goodness.

Upon the return trip to the boat, we crossed paths with Jessica, Michelle, and Tina who were making their way up to find tephra sites. At the docks, we found Jerry and Josh, who were loading the dinghy with tires and wood to create bumpers for the boat. We helped and then ferried out in the skiff to the boat, which was now anchored offshore.

Bumpers were fashioned, and lunch was served -- grilled chicken sandwiches with tomato soup. Armed with the bumpers, we tried once again to lash on to the dock. It took several approaches, and a ropeburn (as I tried to attach a line to the cleat, only to have it rip through my hands... apparently I'm not quite strong enough to hold a many-ton boat in place. hmph.) before we could get the maid seated nicely next to shore. Our new bumpers were groaning, but we were held fast. Next, we proceeded to offload 6 of the huts, as well as 40 cement bags and various GPS sundries. This took most of the afternoon, and involved an inordinate number of shackles and half-hitches. Boy, am I impressed with the rope-work on this boat....

By 6pm, the loading had finished, John and Bill had completed their helicopter trip to Amchitka, and the ladies had all returned.

One other item of note: Ed came up with a great stunt to pull on Cyrus. Cyrus brought along a little stunt kayak to use here & there.... Max attached his fishing line to the kayak, and let it drift nonshalantly away from the boat during our unloading procedure. Everyone freaked, and I had to whisper "it's ok" to each person that tried to dive past me to the skiff. I think that Jerry was even more concerned than Cy.

The evening was spent playing Backgammon (5-4, so far my lead) and Speed-scrabble.

Horrrible....

I suppose I should make it clear that we never actually change the date, even if we do cross the date line -- The Aleutian Islands are all kept back in time. Actually, I understand that Technically Alaska is in 5 time zones, though we only celebrate two of them.
Dinner is over, a quick barrel full of Parmesiagn Noodles to go with the medicines. Today was a horrible day at sea. The Crossing from Gareloi to Amchitka is 70+ miles of open ocean... Pacific fighting the Bering sea for control of the area. Add to that the high winds, and you get very rough waters. If that weren't enough, there's some remnants of a typhoon that's working its way into the area over the next few days.

I've been in the Galley most of the day. Actually, this is no different than most days... I try to do a little work, but usually end up playing games or sifting through my music. It is horribly difficult to keep a coherent thought while being pitched about. Today's waves were up to about 20', and just rocked the boat heartily. Water poured over the sides of the boat, causing geysers between the floorboards as it sloshed back and forth. The Galley window was underwater many times thorugh the day -- trading the greys of the arial world for the aquamarine of the water and the white of the foam. While it was entertaining at first, it got old quickly. I was still laughing to myself in general when Anthony repeatedly admonished me that I'd never been in a real survival situation. I have; only I usually never realize it 'till it is all over -- and that's fine with me.

Right now we're at anchor in Constantine Bay, a somewhat protected area of Amchitka Island. Arrival was just after sunset. The wind was blowing against the docks, so we're hanging out at anchor. This is also good for one other reason: Rats. Apparently, the Island is absolutely overrun with rats. The foxes were exterminated (after having been introduced), but the introduced rats remained and grew strong. We'll have to be careful to not let any on board, 'cause it would be devistating to birdlife if we accidentally introduce them to Semisepochnoi.

Another item of note: birds land on the boat each night. One of them, the storm petral, is a cute little thing, with a funny nose (normal beak, but nose comes off & up at an angle in some sort of cone structure) is a mild mannered bird... The ship is periodically swept, and all birds are tossed overboard (set free, that is). Otherwise, they crawl into the cracks-crannies, and get squished or trapped or whatever, and die.

The others are doing fairly well. Hardly a peep was heard from most, as the bunks were the popular hangout spot of the day. Feeling headachy, and tired of the rocking, I passed out this afternoon for a few hours, too.


Movie: Red Dragon.
Breakfast will be served at 9am. See ya there.

Waiting for my noon-time dramamine to kick in

The whole ships being massively rolled around. About an hour ago, Guy and Cyrus had to go up top to secure the huts which were shifting about 6 inches or so (frighting to see); Chief tossed his cookies; every little while the galley window is nearly submerged (or is partially submerged). This is truly navigating the aleutians. Speaking of navigating, we've just crossed the 180 date line and none of the navigation equipment really likes that. (So, technically, it's 9/10/2005, I suppose)

Unfortunately, I have no photos to add on this ugly topic, though videos may find their way to my regular website...

No one is to be seen; they're all clinging to their bunks, most likely. I've been occupying myself with cleaning out my computer's music files.

out and about again

We've been under weigh since midnight. The fish & chips weighed on me heavily, so I lay in bed wondering where I stashed my dramamine. I never looked for it, I'm happy to say. The seas were rough, and I was wondering when we'd turn back; though I now know we didn't. Josh reports good time (11 knots), so we just might be in Amchitka by midnight.

Yesterday, we found a backgammon game. Horray!

VFW

Just came back from the VFW in town. We ate some fish & chips and played a little pool. Being the garbage-disposal that I am, I plowed through my meal; others snubbed the fish -- apparently it wasn't that great.

The plan now? Midnight departure: weather depending.

venturing forth

(time adjusted to Aleutian / Hawaii time)
Well, we just made our first attempt to leave Adak; and have just turned the boat around to return to dock. Seas are probably 25' up ahead. Now absolutely everyone has had the pleasure of experiencing the joys of seasickness. Somewhat amusing, but not very. The smell of vomit is now begining to seep throuout the boat. blech.

Maybe we'll try later, but my guess is that we're in Adak one more night.

Adak

Actually, it is 11:32 9/7/2005, Aleutian Time. We changed our clocks this morning. Sometime really early this morning, I awoke to the blatantly obvious lack of rocking, as well as a relatively quiet engine. The reason? As surmised, we were approaching Adak.

We arrived into port around 7:30am, and ate breakfast with John Paskie, who came on down to the boat. Cyrus' idea of waking him up to a full-moon didn't quite come through; instead he just called John on the sat-phone and informed him of our arrival.

Adak harbor is pretty, with very few ships (5) and a sparkling clear bay. Plenty of Sea anemonies are attached to the piers, and lots of jellyfish flop about in the waters here.

The town of Adak is pretty interesting. It used to be populated by about 7000 navy personnel when there was a base here. The Skipper tells of how he'd been here in the 80's, when it was really hopping. He was offered a job making pizza. He also told an interesting story of an engineer who made good with the wife of the captain in charge of something or other. The guy ended up buying the gun of the captain, for self-preservation reasons, as much as anything.

In 1996, the base pulled out. Now only about 70 people live here. Only, there's still a huge modern town here. The suburbian buildings are in pretty good shape for having been left here 10 years. Slight signs of decay are around... cars are all dented... There's a health-trail whos equipment is rusted and signs are ripped... Lawns are completely overgrown with weeds... very few people walk the streets. All in all, it is a very interesting ghost town.

The old Fish and wildlife house is a good example of this decay. Some while ago, they pulled out of a large building. Now, it's a mostly-unfurnished building. Mustang suits still hang in neat rows... displays at the visitor center are still halfway assembled. The list of local animals remainswritten in chalk in the lecture hall. It is in this building where our communication hub lies.

Several times over the course of the day, I --in various combinations with others-- logged on in there to access the internet. Among the news items: More info was needed for my Chile registration. Also, Steve sent in an abstract for me.

There's a bunkhouse with a really nice kitchen where the others stayed. Today we caught up with Max, Ed, Guy, Michelle, Jessica, and Tina. They'll be coming on board tomorrow morning for our trip to Amchitka. Yes, the weather outlook is still bleak... We all hung out and had Pizza for dinner.

I've moved into a different cabin for the duration of our trip. There are still 3 bunks, but they're staggered,so I can actually sit up and type.

Atka area

The sea ahead and to port is whitish grey. The sea ahead to starboard is dark. The sea behind is a deep beautiful aquamarine. Today I napped. After waking, I consulted with the skipper, who thinks we may be in Adak by midday tomorrow. We'll see... The waves have smoothed out a bit... well, amplitudes are still sorta big, but the periods are long enough that the boat is rising and falling with them, rather than breaking against them. Right now we're approaching Atka, on the north side. Fog and clouds are preventing a good view of the Island.

Called Katie and Mom. Both were surprised to hear from me.

Still bouncing along

I'm *still* amazed I can sleep on a trip like this. I was afraid to actually get out of bed, because of the abuse received when standing or walking the hallways. At some point yesterday, I nearly knocked the stuffing out of myself trying to get to the bathroom. Sitting here, in my room, I can feel my spine expanding and contracting by an inch or so, depending on the wave action. We're migrating a long stretch without much protection- -and I haven't been up and outside to see if there were any whales. This morning's breakfast: oatmeal & toast.

Movie: "Free Range". a bit over cinematic and overdramatic -- typical Costner. However, there are a couple nice gunfight sequences.

Darkness descends

Skipper brought our course in close to Cleveland. Unfortunately, it's been both too dark and too cloudy to tell much. By morning we should be long past this place. I actually caught a glimpse of the weather charts. Lots o' pins on the flags. Also plenty of triangles. pins - 10mph (I think), Flags - 50mph. Gonna try to sleep tonight, but I don't have my hopes up.

The Islands of the Four Mountains

We're in the cradle of the Islands of the Four Mountains. Unfortunately, our mountain of choice - Cleveland - is shrouded in clouds; as are all the other islands. The water has smoothed out enough for us to eat, though I can't say that I'm extremely eager to do so, even with a moment of peace. Tonight: Rueben & stroganoff. Yesterday we had ? Day before was Steaks (mmm) -- I think. It all mushes together. Somewhere in our dinner menus, we've had Corned beef, too. How many days have I been out here?

I found out later, that perhaps cleveland had an eruption. No sign from down below, though...

more weather and bartering

We eased out of Mutton Cove and cruised past Okmok en route to the Isle of four mountains (Cleveland Volcano and friends). We expect, as usual, bad weather and large waves. What we find instead is sunshine and whales. I spent time 'till about noon hanging out in the sun in one place or another. At first, I was laying up on deck, just behind the wheelhouse on the starboard side. Later, I was chilling aft With Cyrus. Lots of whales have been making their presence known, though very few come close to the ship. I shot some video of orcas, though I think several different species have been nearby. Crazy.

Right now, I think the whales are still around, but there's no hanging out on deck. The boat is being tossed about pretty fairly. Early in the day, each person on board joined one of two camps.

Camp#1: "Oh sh**. We're going into some huge water. Gimme drugs!". In this camp, which included Josh, there was haggling of this-type of dramamine/bodine/patches. Patches were applied, drugs were popped in anticipation of a rough day.

Camp#2: "Hah! I've survived this far. Forget drugs!" Well, one by one camp#2 succumbed. First Anthony gave in, then, a short time later, I caved... and finally a somewhat greenish Cyrus took his bodine.

I'm surprised at how quickly the days seem to pass. I mostly spend my time watching movies. I was trying to edit a movie for Kamchatka, but that $&#@# movie maker program keeps crashing. I've also been entertaining myself with moves... let's see... so far I've seen: Slap Shot, Swing Shift, The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly, American Wedding, Scratch, The Bourne Supremacy, The Italian Job, and From Russia with Love. Maybe there's been more, but I don't remember.

I keep trying to start working on my school stuff, but I can't seem to string two coherent thoughts together. I'm still a bit worried about having left my abstract to Steve. I know he can pull it off, but he was (and ALWAYS was) really busy. plech.

Waves are up to the point where now and then you hear the skipper cut the engine. Whenever I hear that noise (er... lack thereof), I just hang on.

From Mutton Cove past Unalaska

Good morning. I'm on anchor/wheel watch right now. Cyrus and I have volunteered to help out the crew by taking on a bit of the night watches. The skipper is up front and in charge all day. While he's asleep, the rest of the crew take turns babystitting in the wheelhouse.
Tonight, were anchored in Mutton Cove, off Chernofski. This is a pretty nice little safe harbor in Unalaska across from Ft. Glenn.

As we were pulling in, a fog was over ft Glenn (surprise. surprise.) and Ship Rock couldn't be seen. However, Tulik stood out rather nicely.
Todays' traverse was pretty smooth, on the grand scheme of things. Yeah, we rocked and rolled and pitched, but it was not nearly as violent as that first night. As reported earlier, though, the weather is supposed to be wretched for the next few days (week). It'll supposedly be blowing 35 or so, with associated big seas. We'll continue down and around Umnak Island, traversing it N & W, until we get to a tiny bay past Okmok. That'll be our best safe harbor until we can make a mad dash across the Islands of the four mountains, and on until a largish Island further down the chain. There's something like 140mi of open water to cross. That means.. uh.. at the MINIMUM like a 20 hr traverse. If we have to cut back on the throttle, it could be 30 hrs or more.

Little by little, I'm easing myself back into work. I've had MatLab open, and have started looking at my data again.

Thar she blows!

Piles of birds and tonnes of whales. We're passing Dutch and Unalaska right now. There are a great may birds all around. But, more exciting than that, there are a great many whales. I'd guess we've passed maybe 20 or so. Only the last few made it to film, though. Judging by all the life, there's plenty o' fish to go around.

anchors away

Maybe my wish was granted. Awoke at 0730 for an early breakfast, only to find that the sea is very calm. Like glass... or, more accurately, like seran wrap. Anchor's already up and we're heading out of the bay. BTW, there was an amazingly huge starfish on the anchor, and (I didn't see them) killer whales in the bay.

Still Parked

We're staying in an inlet somewhere near Akutan (Trident bay) waiting out the storm. Only thing is, the skipper just came back with the weather forecast. Winds from the SW and W, seas no less than 10' (up to 17'!) with winds at 30 or so 'till THURSDAY. Today is Saturday. (sigh)
Anyway, we'll poke our nose out and see if we can't make some progress tomorrow. The cows on the nearby isle don't seem to care one way or the other.

The day was passed watching movies, showing movies (I gave a small presentation on Russia and another on volcanoes), and video games. I'd love to get to where we're going and do what we're going to do... Oh, and I gave my Gumby suit a test drive. It's not to difficult to put on in good circumstances.... however taking it off and folding it back up into the bag can prove troublesome.

Pass the Puffins

Not sure what's up. We must be at a pass. The ocean is ripping past us at high speed, but we're not going anywhere. Upon investigation, we're moving through the pass, and the water isn't moving quite as fast. Puffins and other birds are everywhere.

rough & beautiful

Breakfast about to begin. We're ducking between Akutan (in a bit) and another A__ island. Beautiful. There's two ends of a rainbow up ahead, along with some pretty rocks sticking 50' up out of the water. Everywhere, birds are swarming around us....

Surprise, surprise...

Guess what? We're rockin' and rolling still. Last night we only made a few hours progress, and are now past Westdahl. Today the clouds look particularly ugly, and the waves are coming at us from the northish, giving us a nice roll. I was wondering if I could fall asleep last night,, since I was nearly being tossed from my bunk pretty often. I did, though More than once last night I had to latch on to the bulkhead or side of the bunk.

Once again, in order to allow us to be fed, the Skipper is going to find a bay to anchor in. The weather outlook still bleak. Also, yesterday, Cyrus came in after having talked to his sister. Apparently New Orleans is still suffering big-time after the dikes broke.What is really going on out there??? 'cause it sounds like people are even dying at the superdome. Where's the gov't? And here I am, away from absolutely everything and any & all news...

Finally, some sightseeing

Ah. During the calm, I got a shower in. Later, after dinner, I hung out with Cyrus and the Skipper on the bridge. We saw Shishaldin (1), Isnotski(2), and several whales(later posts). I happened to spot the first ones - Killer whale. Soon after, we could see much larger blows from other whales.



Shishaldin












Isanotski

Running from the wind

We're taking a slightly different route, north of Sanak island. This provides us some shelter and keeps us from traversing the waves along beam. 

still rocking and rolling

lunch? who wants lunch?

Stealth CPR

Last night was a good sleep. I woke up about 2:30, and went up to the bridge to hang out a bit with Jerry. He was just getting ready for a course adjustment. A radio station was still coming in, and playing 80's retro music (I vaguely remember "My Sharona" coming over the radio.

This morning I awoke to someone doing chest compressions. The ship is in heavily rolling seas now, and I find my breaths are regulated by our speed. Up = exhale, down = inhale. exhale, inhale, exhale, down, up... by 7:30 I had to get out of bed.

It's wet outside.

aah...

It's been mostly smooth sailing for a while now. Dinner was fantastic - a pot roast... mmm.. almost makes up for the (well-intentioned) gustatorial abuse received during a trip to the Russian backcountry. This evening's sunset was unremarkable, but it was nice to hang out at the stern of the boat sharing a beer and stories with Cyrus and Anthony.