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.