We’re sitting nicely to our anchor in Garden Cove on Hinchinbrook Island surround by mountains deep in pines with small pockets of snow.  After spending a few months above the Artic Circle, trees are one thing I’ll never take for granted again.  It’s from this anchorage that we’ll start our next “outside” leg to Sitka.  A nice weather window is opening and we hope to head south around four o’clock this afternoon.

This leg is the start of a new chapter on this trip, a chapter that truly defines the expression “Bitter/Sweet”.  If all goes well (he said nervously looking over his shoulder) Sitka marks the start of the Inside Passage for Bagan and crew, a route that takes us straight down to Seattle via Sitka and Ketchikan.  For those who haven’t had the great fortune to do this Passage suffice it to say it has to be some of the more spectacular cruising grounds to be found anywhere; it’s protected from the weather and teeming with wildlife.  That’s the “sweet” part.  The “bitter” part is that it’s at Sitka that we have to say good-bye to one of the best shipmates I’ve ever had the joy of traveling with, Greg DeAscentis.  Greg came aboard in Sisimiut, Greenland with not a lot of blue water experience under his belt.  Although he has thousands of hours on the water via his own boats as he runs his mooring business, Aquidneck Mooring Company year round out of Middletown, RI, he hasn’t had a chance to make any long passages across open water.  I have to admit that once we left Greenland, for the first few days Greg’s eyes were larger than normal, but very quickly he picked up and settled into the watch schedule and never missed a beat.

Some of Greg’s passions are diving and wildlife photography, interests which blended very well on a trip such as this. Greg served as the official photographer, documenting our travels and simply put, his work has been stellar.  Regretfully we weren’t able to dive as much as originally hoped for but suffice it to say that 99% of the amazing pics you see on the blogs are Greg’s.  It was Greg who voiced our official arrival into The Northwest Passage when, after seemingly hours behind the binoculars, he shouted “Polar bear… ON shore!!”.

Recently Greg has found himself a home down in the engine room and has spent many hours bringing that area up to snuff.  Over the past four months we’ve asked a lot of our main engine, generator, watermaker etc., and in the past few weeks Greg has not only performed routine maintenance on them, he’s cleaned, organized and corralled a few persistent problems down there.

Greg has always arrived early on watch, stayed late and has never missed an opportunity to volunteer for a job, regardless how nasty it may be (he’ll fill you in on that.) But most importantly, he’s been great company, willing to learn and has always found a way to laugh.  In a few days he’ll fly back home from Sitka and will truly be missed.  I also have to say that the whole crew owes Greg’s wife Laura and HUGE “Thank You” for making it possible for Greg to join us for all these months, it truly wouldn’t have been half as successful or fun without him.

Posted on Sunday, September 27th, 2009
Filed under: Bagan, Leaving the Northwest Passage, The Arctic by Sprague
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Dan Veerhusen Sand Point

Shady Lady

On September 18^th we pulled into Humboldt Harbor on Popof Island, feeling every bit the stranger in a strange land.  This small, tucked in harbor was all but filled with fishing vessels of every length and description going.  Docking Bagan among them was a bit intimidating as we were just about the smallest boat in the fleet and perhaps the only pleasure boat.  In short order we were off of Bagan and exploring the town, Sand Point, a small, self-contained, fishing village which is seemingly dedicated to one thing and one thing only; fish.  Every home exhibits gear in some form or another and the fish processing plant is a study in streamlined production.  Having just turned the cornet from the Bering Sea we were all delighted to be back ashore again and actually making use of our legs.  Yet it was with even greater delight that we met Dan Veerhusen.  Dan is the owner/captain of a couple of fishing boats, the “Shady Lady” being the one he and his wife live on.  Dan greeted us like long lost friends and in short order was filling us with local knowledge to help us out on our next leg.  Dan is one of those people who you immediately take a liking to as he’s a straightforward and very generous individual who, when he says he’s glad to meet you, means it… he wouldn’t say it if he didn’t.  Soon Dan was aboard Bagan poring over our charts showing us places to hide from weather as well as cautioning us about capes to avoid and cuts to utilize.  He quickly became so involved with our trip that as we dropped the lines the next morning at 6:00 a.m., there was Dan to see us off. Truly one of the great individuals we have had the opportunity to meet on this trip.

That day found us heading northeast up Shelikof Straight, a wide, open body of water that separates Kodiak Island from the Alaskan Peninsula.  When the ebb or flood tide are at their peak the currents can run up to 4kts through the straight and twice that day we had to endure 25-35kts winds against a counter current.  Nasty, nasty conditions.  (Half way up we were called by a fishing boat on the VHF.  The captain of the boat explained the he was a friend of Dan’s and Dan had asked him to keep an eye on us… very comforting to say the least!). That night we beat the sun and dropped the hook in Dakavak Bay surrounded by large, jagged mountains, some snow capped.  But it was the next morning that we took Dan’s advice and motored into Geographic Harbor for the day.  It was magnificent; deep pockets of water, grizzly bears ashore, otters, snow capped mountains in every direction an very protected.  Regretfully we could only stay for the day as we had to take advantage of a weather window and get to where we are now, Home Cove on Nuka Island, another one of Dan’s great suggestions.

So, here we sit, waiting out a gale and will try to head off at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.  We’ve only a few more open-water passages to make and trust me when we say that all fingers and toes are triple crossed that the weather holds.  This time of year the gales come through here fast and furious and can pin you down for weeks at a time.

On a very proud, fatherly note; I have to say that Sefton has become wonderfully adapt at studying the weather charts and finding us great windows in which to travel.  With the added value of Dominique poring over the Coast Pilot and charts, we have been seeing some amazing scenery and having a wonderful, if not a tad bumpy, final third to this trip.

By the way, we’re aiming for Seattle perhaps sometime between November 5^th and 10^th yet even though it’s too early to call it, let me formally invite any and all who might want to see five very happy individuals take to the land!!

Posted on Thursday, September 24th, 2009
Filed under: Bagan, Leaving the Northwest Passage by Sprague
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Filming underwater near Greenland

Walrus climb on shore in the Northwest Passage

Posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
Filed under: Traveling the Northwest Passage, Wild Life by Sprague
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Posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
Filed under: Northwest Passage Video by Sprague
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Before we left Newport last June someone asked me if the thought of trying to transit the Northwest Passage worried me.  My answer received no hesitation when I responded, “Yup, but not as much as the Bering Sea.” Throughout maritime history the Bering has more times than not played a role bordering on villainous and unforgiving. Nowadays such television shows as “The Deadliest Catch” show us graphically all too well why it’s earned the reputation that it has; it’s a very shallow sea which receives a strong current from the south and more times than not, stronger weather systems from the north.  All factors make for an unpredictable, play-for-keeps sort of scenario.

After downloading and studying weather charts for a few days we decided the time was “now” and on Sunday the 13^th we started our leg south down through the Bering.  We had three days to get to the Aleutians before some weather systems closed in from the top. As I type these words, I’m very happy to be anchored in Cold Bay, a protected anchorage in Alaska’s North Pacific Ocean… Pacific Ocean.  The weather charts proved 100% reliable, as they usually do, and the 650 mile trip south was, while I won’t say easy, manageable.  We had nothing over 20 kts from the NW and the seas never reached over four feet.  Bagan made great time and daily, at one point or another, one of us would say how wonderful it’s going to be to get the Bering behind us and back into Bagan’s home waters, the Pacific.  Oh Mother Nature… Always with the sense of humor.  At 8:30 last night we transited Unimak Pass in the Aleutians, crossing from the benign Bering to the awaiting Pacific.

Trying to take shelter from a growing northerly we motored along Unimak Island’s south shore towards a pre-planned anchorage, only to get battered in the dark by an onslaught of williwaws rolling down the island’s slope.  A strong westerly current also ran along the shore which immediately made for huge winds and higher waves.  We were blown out of our intended anchorage. We struck a course for off-shore to try and escape the grip of the current/wind combination and while we did manage to lose some of the waves, the winds generated stronger and steeper seas of their own.  Bagan slammed along in sustained 40kt winds for about half an hour before we all decided that the ride we had back on shore was, albeit no better, a bit more manageable, which by the time we got back there, it wasn’t.  So, once again, after 30 minutes of trying to find an angle she would be happy with, we again struck off for the off-shore route, edging our way NE towards Seward.  To give you an example of what the winds were like, I came on watch at 2:00 a.m. Within 15 minutes I’d seen every strength of breeze up to 48kts coming from every point on the compass.  Sefton summed it up best when he matter-of-factly said, “This is insane.”

At 3 in the morning, Dominique was poring over the Coast Pilot finding us a suitable anchorage within a 50 mile radius.  What she found for us couldn’t have been better as where we sit now is the perfect respite for all of us, including Bagan who once again performed above and beyond her duties. 

We’re keeping all eyes on some other systems and, for now, the plan is to leave at first light and head to Humboldt Harbor on Popof Island.  From what we can see there’s a good marina there which would be a prefect place to wait out the next few blows.

_____________

On a more personal note: It’s with great regret that we all had to say good-bye to Clinton Bolton before we left Nome.  Clinton indicated he had pressing issues back east which needed attending to. Simply put, Clinton was the person who got us to and through The Northwest Passage. His wit, wisdom and company will sorely be missed.  Life is anything but predictable and as Clinton always said, even while trapped in the ice, “It is what it is.”  All of us aboard wish Clinton only the very best.

Posted on Friday, September 18th, 2009
Filed under: Arctic Climate, Bagan, Leaving the Northwest Passage by Sprague
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We arrived here in Nome on the 10^th and have been exploring ever since.  This city of around 4,000 sits 102 miles below the Arctic Circle and the differences from where we’ve been are dramatic if not subtle.  To take stock of where we were in the trip and what we still have to cover, yesterday I took an aimless sort of walk. I was quickly brought to the present by a remarkably unique scent.  I stopped to try and figure out what this powerful combination of sweet and acrid was when it dawned on me that I was smelling the simple scent of shrubbery and damp earth.  We’d been above the Artic Circle for so long that my nose had seem to have forgotten the seemingly everyday scent of vegetation.  It’s the little discoveries about where we’ve been and where we are that keep me heading around the next corner.

You don’t have to be here very long to realize that Nome has a rich and very strong history with gold. It was first discovered here in 1898 and the search for it today is as strong as ever.  The inner basin of its harbor is filled with just about every conceivable size and design of dredging craft as people still search for gold on a daily basis.  Talking to a local who is still on the hunt we were told that on a “good” day a person could dredge up around $8000 worth of the precious metal.  I imagine the bad days speak for themselves.

But perhaps what Nome is most known for is the fact that it serves as the end of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. On the first Sunday of March a growing number of “mushers” and dog teams start what is known around the world as “The Last Great Race” from Anchorage and, 1049 miles later, end the race here in Nome. The race isn’t without its detractors but once you’ve seen how a pack of sled dogs react when they see their sled and harnesses you know that this marathon holds quite a wonderful and powerful emotional investment on every level.

And then there’s the Bathtub Races. Occurring every Labor Day, bathtubs are outfitted with wheels and raced down Front Street. Some very stringent rules govern the race in that 1) Every tub must be full of water, 2) The “bather” must have a towel, bar of soap and a bath mat and 3) Tubs must have at least 10 gallons of water left in time by the end of the race.  Always wanting to improve things, I think that if they could combine the Iditarod with the Bathtub Races (dogs in the tubs being bathed) that the world would beat a path to Nome.

As always we’re keeping an eye on a weather window which we may try and take advantage of tomorrow, Sunday.  Our next big event will be exiting the Bering Sea and entering the Pacific where we’ll head up to the east and eventually work our way down The Inside Passage, something I did years ago and am greatly looking forward to.

Posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009
Filed under: Findings from the Field by Sprague
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Seeing a weather window on the wind charts we took full advantage of it, left Barrow the afternoon of the 7^th and started in on our current leg to Dutch Harbor, via Nome.  We’re now in “Delivery Mode”; no sightseeing, no trips to shore to film, no nuttin’ but hammer down.  Due to their very shallow depths and strong weather patterns, the Chukchi and Bering Seas, where we are now, are notoriously unpredictable. Winds allowing, our aim is to scoot through them as quickly as possibly… winds allowing.

The next morning and in a building NE breeze, we anchored just off the coast in the lee of Kukpowruk Pass. The original thought was to enter and anchor in a small lagoon there but very quickly this proved unwise to attempt as the entrance was sided by heavy breakers suggesting a shallow bar and what opening we could find was about 8 feet deep.  Discretion hopefully being the better part of valor we chose not to enter but anchor off instead. The swell from the NW was still in evidence so we all grabbed a full if not bumpy ten hours of rest.  Around 4:00 p.m. we downloaded more weather charts and saw that the next window had started to open a bit sooner than we expected, so we up anchored and once again got back on the road.  Unfortunately our timing wasn’t exactly spot on as by the time we reached Cape Lisburne we were taking quite a pounding (but not a thrashing); 25 – 30kts of wind with 8 to 10 foot seas.  That lasted most the afternoon and through the night. By the time we rounded we were able to take full advantage of being in the lee of the land and with the dieing breeze, left the swell behind. 

At approximately 3:00 a.m. this morning we entered the Bering Straight (passing by Big and Little Diomede Islands – I guess you could say we saw Russia from our boat – if you really wanted to. We’ve also left the Artic Circle which I’ve very mixed emotions about. More on that in another blog.) and have now officially left the Chuckchi and are motoring quickly towards Nome with a hoped for 4:00 p.m. arrival.  Not much planned at Nome except to officially check into the U.S. as Barrow didn’t have a Customs Office and stretch our legs.  Still too early to make plans but we’re keeping an eye on a promising weather window which may allow us to head out for Dutch as early as this Sunday.  Dutch Harbor will mark the end of this less than visually exciting leg and once away from there we plan to hop our way down through Alaska taking full advantage of the beauty of The Inside Passage.  Said it before and it bares repeating, it will be wonderful to see trees again!

Posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2009
Filed under: Arctic Climate by Sprague
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We arrived here in Barrow, AK September 4^th and have spent the past few days catching up on email, picking up a part that was shipped to us (and again, a very special thanks to Judge Karen Hegyi for allowing us to have it shipped to her office), restocking the fridge and walking around town learning as much about it as we could.  With its dirt streets, Barrow is an amazingly self-contained town which at first glance seems rough and tumble but on further investigation offers up just about everything towns twice its size would.  A fully stocked supermarket is just up the road from a well known commercial bank, The Barrow Arctic Science Consortium can be found on the edge of town, and yes, the even world renowned “Pepe’s North of The Border” Mexican restaurant is here as well.

Yesterday Chaunce, Sefton and I went out to film Point Barrow which was quite an eye opener to say the least. I’m sure I’ll get some facts wrong as well as inadvertently offend someone but will tell you what we came across nonetheless. From August 15 to October 31, Alaskan Natives still engage in what’s referred to as “subsistence whaling” here in the Beaufort Sea. In fact when we were about thirty miles north of Barrow, we were warned-out of the area over the VHF radio.  It seems there was a possibility of our interfering with the hunting of the Bowhead whales; it was felt that our engine noise would scare the whales off. 

The hunting of the whales is not only a time-honored but a culturally honored event which, when we got out to Point Barrow, were reminded of all too readily.  We had been told that the Point was a bit of a whale burying-ground as that is where the whales, once killed, are brought ashore with small boats.  It’s here that they are cut up and dispersed.  I have to say I didn’t know what to expect until I got there and once there was stopped in my tracks by what I saw.  As promised the area was strewn with an incredible amount of whale bone in every shape and form, yet not the clean, antiseptic, bleached-out bone that I semi-expected, but the relatively, freshly-stripped carcasses which, by this time, were going through the long processes of becoming that which I did expect. 

To be perfectly blunt, it was not a pleasant sight nor smell.  The bones, many still with sinew and fat on them, were dark with decay. I have to admit that for the first ten or fifteen minutes I was pretty much taken aback at what lay in front of me and in the air around me, equating it with that of nothing more than left-to-rot, road kill.  Slowly though, this dismay started to turn and I soon began to realize how foolish if not culturally chauvinistic I was being.  All around me was not the litter of rot but in fact was one of the more tangible examples of a cultural act which has been time-honored and rightly respected for untold years.  Granted, from my vantage point it was not a pretty sight, but from the vantage point of a person whose ancestors have been hunting and feeding themselves in this manner since time immemorial it is a way of life which rightly should know no judgment.  As with just about all the meat taken from the whale, the bones too get put to hundreds of uses; whalebone sod houses, whalebone art, baleen baskets, even a baleen Palm Tree.

Barrow is a remarkable place, lessons and treasures lay just around every corner, perhaps even below the surface.  Make the effort; come here and experience it. Weather depending, either tonight or tomorrow morning we leave for Nome where we may actually tie up to a dock… at a marina… something we haven’t done in almost three months.

Posted on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
Filed under: Findings from the Field by Sprague
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After spending a day in Tuktoyaktuk we left at 6:00 a.m. to start the trek to Barrow, AK. “Tuk” was a small village peopled with again, some of the friendliest and accommodating folks we’ve had a chance to meet on the trip. While the landscape was still fairly flat and rock-bound we did start to notice that the greenery was becoming more in evidence. Now there was actual color to be seen in the groundcover. We stretched our legs, Dom hit the Northern store for some more supplies and I think we all at one point or another took some time to reflect on the event of the day before.  The emails I’ve received from people congratulating the crew of Bagan for a successful transit of The Passage have been staggering; many, many thanks to all of you and trust me when I say we could feel you behind us, urging us on!

This morning when I came onto watch I was greeted by this view (see attached picture) off to our port.  That’s the North Slope of Alaska. After more than two months of traveling it’s an incredible feeling to be back in the U.S. We still have a very long way to go and a lot of potentially big weather, but for now it’s a wonderful feeling knowing that we’re in home waters.

File this under: Mother Nature Always Has The Final Word.  Last night at around 8:30 Chaunce came into my cabin to get something and very casually said, “Ice ahead.” I have to admit that I partially thought this was a well aimed joke but when I got up to the pilothouse, indeed there was ice and lots of it.  We’d found the southern end of the large artic ice and were skirting along in what turned out to be less than 2/10ths coverage.  The “bits” were car or bus sized, and very blue meaning they were very old… and hard.  The on-watch crew got though with very little effort and it wasn’t four hours later when the next watch came into more. With Greg and Clinton in the pilothouse, Chaunce and Sefton took to the bow with spot lights (we now have four or five hours of night which is the last thing we need for maneuvering through ice packs).  All worked out well but sheet ice is something that none of us have any need to ever see again on this trip.

We plan to be in Barrow late Thursday or early Friday but have our eyes on a low pressures system which is going to bring some strong wind to the area. We’re picked a nice hoe to hide in if it gets to us before we get there, so Thursday and Friday may be more Saturday or Sunday.

Posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Filed under: Leaving the Northwest Passage by Sprague
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