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.

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.

Red Green 2005

Ah, The HMS POOP DECK, a fine seaworthy vehicle.... Every year, during Golden Days, Fairbanksans divert a little duct tape from their home repair jobs and use it to create interesting watercraft. The Red Green River Regatta is an annual event that I always look forward to... This year, we created a two-seater outhouse, and floated it down the chena river. Surprisingly, we made it the entire distance without falling apart... :)

If I recall correctly, someone had rigged up a vehicle (yes, a car) that didn't quite make it the distance. Not surprisingly, The entry form specifies that you're responsible for fishing out your craft if it should sink...