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.

Ohio, or is it o-hai-o?

One of the real highlights to my year was a trip to Japan.

I created four little vignettes out of the cornucopia of photos that I took. Of course, one vignette is a tribute to Godzilla, which was one of my must-see's while in Japan.

Find them *here* in my travels page...

Tossed salad

Ok. We're being tossed around every bit as much as we were yesterday. THe seas still look alot nicer, but nonetheless I'm pretty much being tossed out of my seat. I still need to make satellite calls, but I'm not about to stand out where there's a clear sky view. It's soaking out there with the waves crashing over around, and through the boat. Though the sun is out -- nice effect. :)

I just demolished some chicken-ceasar type salad; thinking to myself the entire time how strange it might look from the outside to see someone holding on to their plate for dear life, and still able to eat.

Rough seas continue.

Bouncing around again. Cyrus and I spent some quality time staring off the aft of the boat, checking out Chikinagak volcano as we wander on past. The cooks got a chicken Caesar ready for us... though I'm not ready for lunch, quite yet. Downed another pill in anticipation of the rough seas.. So far, so good!

Right now, we're leaning pretty far one way and the other. My laptop is pretty happy on its spot, but I'm nearly thrown out of my seat. Cyrus has a sat-phone that is available for use, and I'm going to use it to call Katie now & then... but more importantly Steve. I don't have his number on me, though. It's on my phone, which is dead. I'm beginning to wonder how many signs I'm going to get that tell me that I shouldn't go to Ecuador. Too many more, and I just might listen -- Naaah.

The space I'm typing in is tiny, an alcove right next to the major intersection on the boat. To my right is a stairway that leads up to the cabin, another stairway that is covered with a hatch that leads down to the engine room, and a curtained door that leads to the forecastle ("foaksul").

a renewed view

Just hanging around, chilling in the galley, showing off photos to Cyrus and chatting with Jerry as he occasionally pops up from the engine room. The sailing has become a bit smoother as we tuck into a cove near Chiginagak.

Breakfast is slowly being prepared, as the boat shifts from being tossed about to just enjoying a minor roll.

Yesterday's Dramamine did wonders, as does a little sunlight and sleep.

After the last post, we went up on the helipad and untied all the huts. They had been trying to make a break for the open ocean so our captain pulled into a beautiful (both in aesthetics and in ripple-tude) cove where we proceded to retie them down. I think they're pretty darn secure now. Slept like a log last night. I suppose I tucked in about 9pm, and woke up this morning at 8. We were in rougher seas again, but nothing like before. The wind was probably blasting at 45.

dodgey

I slept a bit, listening to my music on headphones. Now I feel pretty good. The seas are no longer 6-8' with the occasional 12' wave (according to George). I find out that everyone (maybe other than the captain, and Cyrus - who took a pill earlier) is feeling a bit green around the gills. After having my second d-m, and my nap, I've actually got an appetite. Since the cook's down, I followed Anthony’s lead and fixed a ham-and-cheese bagel, followed by really tasty chocolate cake (left over from the last crew. There was a very fast turnaround for the ship, and the crew --except for Anthony, was changed over).

Not sure if he was kidding, but we may be up for some more waves like that tonight. hmm.

Right now, we're still heading into a harbor just inside Katmai so that we can tie down our huts. They had to be shored up earlier (while I was passed out). We were going to be past Katmai early this morning, but had to go into the waves. That took us up to Augustine (and not in the direction we wanted to go).

The first photo shows Josh (the deckhand) with the huts in the background, trying to make their way out to sea... The second photo shows the harbor where we nipped-and-tucked the huts.

..and so have the plates

I took Dramamine very shortly after last post. Just took a second one. Ugh. We're rocking and rolling, and the deckhand looks greener than even I feel. We're heading toward 4 peaks to take a little refuge and to adjust the huts, which are sliding around on the helipad. The kitchen's got broken plates, and the forward head is clogged. Not exactly planning on breaking into the beer that I brought along. :)

During the night, we didn't get very far at all. The waves had piled up against the inlet something feirce, so we resigned to running in directions other than west.

Starting the music player, and lying down.

Morning has broken

Well, I could talk more abut the loading process, but I really don't want to. I'm pretty proud I haven't had to use the Dramamine yet. Although there’s pretty sky this morning, we're being tossed around pretty well. Every few seconds I'm pressed deep into my bunk only to be invariably followed by weightlessness. Back and forth isn't too bad, but the side to side threaten to throw me from the bunk. I'm typing with one hand 'cause the other is bracing me. I didn't sleep too badly, but I'd be surprised if I'm not terribly sore form holding on for life. Can't continue typing... making me nauseous.

From Homer, heading west

Bobbing. We're finally under weigh. I suppose we left the dock maybe around 9:15 or so... just in time for the beautiful sunset. Our Captain's name is George, Deck Hand is Josh, The cook is Mike, the Mechanic is Jerry, and the helicopter mechanic is Anthony. I'm currently in my stateroom; a tiny room with three bunks, and barely enough room for me to turn over in bed.

Today, lunch happened at 6pm at something Olive's (or was it olive something?) (a fantastic restaurant). I also met Cyrus, who is a neat guy that works with AVO in Anchorage, and will also be travelling the length of the aleutian chain with me.

Oh, and here's a shot of the Maritime Maid, my home for the next 5 + weeks...

Starting the Western Aleutian Adventure

** This is the first post of a long series of log-entries from my trip to the Western Aleutians. The plan was to go set up seismic stations on Little Sitkin and Semisopochnoi. **

I'm now onboard a 737 heading to anchorage. Fairbanks was in fog, and looked beautiful, as Chena ridge peeked out over the Tanana valley. Shortly after takeoff, we passed through A second layer of clouds, a thin yet opaque veil that obscured the details below. I'm excited. Within 3 hours, I'll be in Homer, and starting my trip to all points west. I'll even be on the other side of the date-line, though I'm unsure that Alaska celebrates its true position in the world.

Security was tight, and I raced a bunch of firefighters for the pleasure of having my bags thoroughly searched. I think it took the lady, at a diligent pace, mind you-- a half hour to get through my backpack and computer case.

My baggage became the equivalent of one of those dolls that teaches you how to work zippers and laces, and such. I've had only one hour of sleep last night, as I tried frantically to get my abstract together for the Ecuador trip in Jan. Unfortunately, I didn't really come up with anything exciting. I burned a CD for Steve, but *ack* it ended up just sitting on my table at home.