Still in Dutch

Well we never intended to stay this long, but knew it was a possibility when dealing with parts being shipped in.  We have seen all the boats that were with us in Japan already gone, and two that came later than us.  So it has been a bit discouraging knowing the part is still not here.  But West Marine assures us the part is going to be delivered tomorrow.  So we could leave as early as Friday.  It does look like we might have a north wind on the weekend so we may not be able to day hop across.  There is a nice harbor 40 miles from here but it is exposed to the north.  Of course the weather is always changing out here so we shall see what it is like as the day comes closer.  Anyway we have enjoyed our time here and met some great people but we want to get moving and see some of the wilds of Alaska.  There are many bays filled with bears and fish just a few days sail from here.  We want to get out and view them so we are ready when our guests arrive in August.

We have a resident sea otter here and a sea lion as well that are often around the boat.  Not to mention the ever present eagles.  We have also got a lot of ground squirrels, not sure how they co exist with the eagles but there are plenty.  There are wild flowers and salmon berries with mountain ranges on almost every angle of view.  So it is easy to stay, but we want to get moving.

Below are a couple of photos of Sari Timur at the dock.  It was such a calm day and the reflection created an interesting photo.

Dall's Porpoises

Wow, what a difference a little bit of internet makes.  We have been under the impression that we have been seeing two types of orcas.  The females more commonly seen and the males with the larger fins.  In truth the ones we mistook for females were in fact Dall's Porpoises.  Silly us!

Dutch Harbor

Position  N 53 d 52.197
              W 166 d 33.136

We arrived in Dutch Harbor yesterday at about 15:30.  It was a bit tricky figuring out where to go but room was made for us at the new fishing boat marina and we got tucked in nicely, the charges are much cheaper than in the other place.  We had a great meal last night at the Norwegian Rat Saloon.  Not to mention the great long hot shower before hand.

The customs guy who alerted us that being a Singapore boat we couldn't get the normal cruising permit was wonderful.  He has sorted us out with lots of copies of forms and a way to email back to him remotely.  And there will be no extra charges.  We think this is because Singapore has only recently had yacht registration and have not that many boats cruising the world.  Neat to know that we are a small minority, but like the driving license issue in Guam, it becomes a burden trying to fit into government descriptions of us.  Anyway hopefully someone somewhere in the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority will fill in the necessary paperwork and list us as a legitimate port sometime in the future!

But so far, everyone here has been great.  And the views in Dutch are just as stunning as Mark remembered from 32 years ago.  As we were coming in we had a huge pod of whales all around us cruising west.  We have been told they were humpbacks.  But we are still looking for our whale and bird books.   We did manage to get a few shots of whale bits on the camera but even with a point and shoot it is hard to  get them on camera.  They were just blowing and sounding no broaching so you either get a bit of fin, fluke or head in a shot.  Actually if they're broaching we don't want to be so close.

The other thing Mark remembered most about Dutch are the eagles.  They are still here and we have been able to get up close to some.  Last night we got some pictures of one in a dumpster and he was so interested in savaging that we got real close to him.

Dutch is not the end of the Aleutians but pretty close to the end so we feel our North Pacific crossing is pretty much out of the way.  Of course a large portion of that crossing was actually spent in the Bering Sea!  We are relieved and proud of ourselves and Sari Timur for getting us here.
 

an adult eagle dumpster diving

he is keeping watch while his big brother is dumpster diving

a juvenile trying to eat the antennae

One of the oldest Russian Orthodox Church in the Aleutians

Front of the church with the graveyard

side and back of the church

The Bishop's House, built for the bishop of that time but he was lost at sea and never stayed in the house

We were having drinks with the other cruisers when this eagle decided he wanted to join in the fun

The Wind is Dropping

Position  N  53 d 21.351
         W 169 d 26.333

Actually the wind has only lightened slightly but has come around from behind.  Which would make Hot Springs an ideal stop except we slowed so much we wouldn't make it until morning.  So we are going to persevere and keep heading for Dutch.  Of course we are slowing so much arrival time there keeps drifting out as well.  Hopefully we will be in before midnight tomorrow.  That way we still have light to figure out where to go.

Underway July 16 18:00

Position  N  52 d 33.768
         W 172 d 42.322

Well we are underway again.  We lifted the anchor at 07:15 this morning and are making good progress.  To where we are not sure.  We have Hot Springs Cove on Umnak Island as our destination on the chart plotter.  However that bay is exposed to winds from the north through to the west.  Guess where the winds are coming from!  They were supposed to back around already and be a bit more from the southwest by tonight but they are still just west of north.  It doesn't matter all that much as this is also the course to steer to get to Dutch Harbor but it is about 30 hours further down the track.  But to be fair it would be nice to get to Dutch sooner rather than later as well.  There is also a low working its way from the west, set to be hitting us either Sunday or Monday so another reason to keep moving.  In any event we are out here at least until late tomorrow night as that would be when we would be nearing Umnak so stay tuned and we will keep you posted.  Oh Pauline saw some more whales again today this time with some large dorsal fins, but once again we are clueless as to what they were.

More on Nazan Bay

Well we made it ashore twice in two days.  There is a store here and most important real (well almost real) internet.  We are sitting on the deck outside the school updating this blog as we speak.  The wind is shifting more north so we hope to be off tomorrow.  We have about four to five days of favorable conditions before the next low and hopefully that will get us to Dutch Harbor.  It is a long two days to get to Umnak where we hope to stop for one night.  Then we will decide how to head the remaining bits to Dutch Harbor.  There are some stops along the way.

We have just received an email from the harbor guys in Dutch informing us that Singapore boats can not get the usual cruising permit.  We have to pay more and pay a fee at each individual port.  This could be very tedious not to mention expensive.  So we will look at our options once we get there.  We also had issues with West Marine holding our inverter order so it looks like we will be in Dutch Harbor for a couple of weeks.  The good news is with the stop here we were able to sort things out with West Marine and our credit card so the order should still be working while we take the five days or so to get there.  The bad news is it takes three weeks for the order!

It is looking more and more like Seward for the winter.  Of course this is seven miles north of our insurance line of 60 degrees north so probably another charge.  Anybody want to employ a couple of Yachties for the winter?!

Nazan Bay, Atka

Position N 52d 11.515
        W 174d 11.201

Well two boats left yesterday heading straight for Unalaska.  We didn't think we could make it before the wind shifted so we stayed put and said we would spend a couple more days on Atka and see if the forecasts changed.  They seem to never stay consistent in this part of the world at this time of the year.

So this morning we lifted anchor and decided to head to Nazan Bay.  There is a settlement here, but it is too windy to head there tonight.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring some calmer weather and we can get ashore.  

For those going to Martin Harbor it is a great spot but beware if there is a west wind and an incoming tide be prepared to fight a three knot current with some chop.  That is about ten miles of struggling.  The plus is once we finally escaped the clutches of Korovin Bay we were off like a rocket with the wind, waves and current behind us. We clocked 9.2 knots at one point.  We also left just as the fog was coming in but by the time we hit the north side of Atka the sun came out and we had a large pod of Orcas playing with us most of the way until we rounded the top of the island.  The top of the island is breathtaking.  Korovin Volcano never quite showed its peak but the rest of her was fantastic.  North Cape and East Cape are also loaded with spectacular mountains to oogle and awe at.  Of course having some blue sky helps.  On the east side of Atka we spotted a huge pod of dolphins.  We haven't seen dolphins in a while so it was neat to see.  There were lots of young ones in the pod and we thought this strange with the orcas so close.  Our winds were all over the place today anything from 12 to 44 knots true.  When the 44 hit we were only about 12 miles to go so we decided to just drop and motor as we would be turning right into the teeth of it within a mile or so.  Of course this meant going much slower but not having to worry about straining anything, including our emotions.  Interestingly enough shortly after that the wind dropped back to 13 True or 17 apparent.  Well inside of the harbor we were also surprised to find a whale.  He sounded showing us his flukes on the starboard side and a few minutes later surfaced on the port side.  Wish we could have caught him on camera but he was a bit bashful.

The settlement here looks interesting.  There is a Russian Orthodox Church, lots of houses and a few larger buildings.  Not sure what sustains the community other than fishing but hopefully we will find out more tomorrow.  The people who used to live on Attu before the Japanese invaded were relocated here after the war.

 

Sari Timur and Quicksilver anchored amongst the islands in the bay

The Russian Orthodox Church

The church with the crosses

Martin Harbor, Atka

Position N 52 d 12.563
        W 174 d 17.070

We moved a little over 35 miles today to Martin Harbor, a very well protected anchorage.  Not to mention stunning.  The boat next to us caught a bunch of halibut and some cod.  For those who have not seen Alaskan Halibut you need to know without a freezer we can not catch any as there is no way we could eat that much fish before it rotted.  The good news is they were in a sharing mood and we have a couple of large steaks for dinner tomorrow.  It is wonderful fish to eat especially when it is so fresh.  

On the way over we saw a couple of whales, Pauline even had to alter course a bit to make sure we didn't hit one.  We think they were Minke whales but not sure.  One of the other boats said they were either minke or another one that I can not spell.  we are definitely buying a bird book and a whale book when we hit Dutch Harbor.

There is a low that is supposed to come through within the next couple of days.  As the next port is pretty far we are going to be watching carefully before we head out.  Both of us would like to get a couple of sleep days banked in before we have to head out on a 2-3 day passage.

Bechevin Bay, Atka, Alaska

Position  N 52 d 01.964
         W 175 d 07.820

We just anchored in Bechevin Bay in Atka.  A fleet of us (four boats) set out from Adak this morning.  We had really light winds until just after lunch and then they started to build and keep building until we finally arrived here and were glad to have the sails down as we approached the anchorage.  

Adak was a lot of fun thanks to all the wonderful people we met there.  Especially Alain and Carrie who are going to be starting a B&B here catering to nature lovers.  Mike who laid on a bunch of halibut for us, TWICE!!!, and Elaine who wasn't even there and Clay the guy we talked to over the radio in Kiska who graciously volunteered an address for us in Dutch Harbor to ship our inverter to.

We got to see a lot in Adak our first Golden Eagle, Ptarmigan, and Sea Otters and lots more.  After arriving here we were greeted by a small seal who keeps playing around the boat.

We hope to make our way to Martin Harbor tomorrow which is slightly over 30 miles away.

Adak (Civilization)

Position  N 51d 51.712

                W 176d 38.055

Sorry for the delay in posting.  We got caught up in the “rat race of civilization”.  Not really but there are about 250 people here right now.  They do have an airport with scheduled flights twice a week.  They have a store, very limited Wi-Fi in the community center, a Mexican Restaurant, a Singapore-priced liquor store, and most importantly a fuel dock.

We arrived in a gale, at 0400 am (dark, wet and miserable) but we anchored and caught a couple hours sleep before coordinating with the port people on where to get fuel and where to tie up after.

After fueling and tying up to where they wanted us to be we went for a walk about.  Adak used to be a thriving Navy base and there are loads of vacant houses.  Some of them have asbestos in so are in a state of dis-repair and demolition, but some are rather nice.  As we were walking we saw a guy mowing his lawn and we waved. He quickly turned off the mower and came over for a chat.  Come to find out he and his wife just moved here and are starting some type of business.  They purchase one of the properties here and moved in permanently about a month ago.  But they had been coming to the island for vacations for a few years so they quickly gave us the low down, a map and some advice.  Their house has a good view of the mountain on Great Sitkin Island which is a beautiful snowcapped volcano sort of reminiscent of Mt Fuji.

From there we walked to the former Pizza Hut which now houses the store and found out it is open two hours a day from 6-8 pm.  We met up with our friends from Rhapsody and waited for the shop to open.  Meeting and chatting with some more of the locals.  After getting some essentials it was off to the liquor store to have a look for rum (our supply was deleted in Attu), but at $40 per bottle we decided sober was a good thing.  Then over to the Mexican restaurant for some burritos and enchiladas.  We love the fact a family with Mexican heritage settled here and opened a restaurant.  Great food and a homemade hot sauce that was worth every penny.  Then home for a major sleep.  The next morning didn’t start until lunch time! 

While we were doing chores two of the other boats that left Attu earlier than us arrived.  They had been exploring and island hopping in between Kiska and here so we were able to catch back up.  Then in for an impromptu party, which was aided by the fact that one of the fisherman came by and gave us some huge great slabs of fresh halibut.  So we partied until late. 

Today it is off for the internet and a chance to check weather, maybe some site seeing with our new friends this afternoon (if the weather breaks, it is raining right now).  And either tomorrow or the next day we continue our journey toward Dutch Harbor.

We are starting to think about how we are going to winter over.  We would love to find some winter jobs here but they are probably pretty scarce as most employment here is seasonal.  So we may put the boat on the hard and fly somewhere to try and find some temporary jobs to support us through the winter and hopefully have some cash left over for our journey next year through southern Alaska, Canada and into the lower 48.

Where East Meets West

Position  N52 d 16.73
         W179 d 59.53  Time 02:45 July 5

Well we left Kiska yesterday morning about 10.  We were going to stay one more day and do some more exploring but when we downloaded the weather it showed our window was opening early.  A bigger concern is it looked like it was closing early as well, i.e we were in for some bad weather if we didn't get going.  So we restored the dinghy and motor and packed everything away again and were off.  We left Kiska in a heavy fog sneaking out like the Japanese did 70 some years ago.  Anyway shortly after departing Kiska the fog lifted a bit and the day was rather nice.  We soon had a pod of Orcas escourting us away.  We again tried to get pictures and were mostly getting their splashes so in desperation we recorded some video so others can see.  When we finally get to some internet we have lots of photos to post.  Anyway the Orcas stayed with us for about an hour and then we saw a large whale blowing in the distance.  A great way to start a journey.

So what is up with the title?  It's a phrase that is often used, but in this case it is because we have officially entered the Western Hemisphere.  Now we have to remember to type a W instead of an E after our longitude readings.  This is where the dateline is supposed to be but as we said in an earlier post we have crossed that a long time ago.

We should arrive Adak Monday morning and we will probably stick there for a couple of days waiting for the weather to open up again.  There are actual people who live on Adak.  Though not as populated as it was when the Navy was there apparently there are 60 or so permanent residents and a bunch of contractors.  So hopefully we can get some internet and order an inverter.  Ours died the other day and it kind of cripples us as we need to run a generator to get any ac power to charge anything.  We can not get it shipped to Adak but hopefully will be able to arrange it being sent to Dutch Harbor so it is there when we arrive.

Kiska Walk

We went ashore today and wandered a bit.  We found lots of gun emplacements and tried to imagine a bit what it was like here during the war.  Kiska is famous because it is one of the two of the Aleutian Islands occupied by the Japanese during WW2.  In fact at one time there were over 5000 Japanese troops here.  The other island they occupied was Attu (where we just came from).

The difference was Attu had a very bloody battle by the Allies to reclaim it.  However once Attu fell it left the Japanese quite vulnerable on Kiska.  They were being blockaded by the allies while they prepared to reclaim the island.  But as is normal here there was some extreme fog and the Japanese snuck away.  The Allies could not believe they were able to escape the blockade and there were some casualties due to friendly fire from their own troops.  Not too mention the money that went into the pre landing bombings.

We think we found the ruins of the underground hospital and we saw a bald eagle.  We didn't find the two man sub that is supposed to be here.  Right now we are waiting on a weather window if it doesn't happen maybe we will make that a mission tomorrow.

a wreck on the beach, picture taken from top of the hill

Sari Timur and Rhapsody at anchor in Kiska Bay

gun on the hillside

remains of the underground hospital

a gun sticking out from a collapsed bunker

Anchored Kiska

Well we finally made it.  After bragging about how things were going for the first 20+ hours they sure went not so nice after that.  The seas were a bit confused but still large enough to make pointing very high near impossible.  The winds were strong enough everything still needed to be double reefed then we ran into the 3.5 knot current that is famous around here but caught us completely unaware.  So we are here now, will sleep like rocks tonight I am sure as neither of us got much over the last 36 hours.

When we arrived we noticed a rather large vessel at the mouth of the bay.  They receive the fish from the boats fishing out here and transfer them back to port.  Talked on the radio a bit with them tonight, and hope to meet up with them tomorrow.

We Have Left Attu

Position N 52 d 30.222
  Still E 176 d 00.734

Well we finally had a weather window and shot out of Attu.  The winds we from the Northwest at first and blowing pretty strong but as they were from behind we could use them and were broad reaching at high sixes and low sevens.  We even touched 8 knots at one point.  That's when I knew we had to shorten sail!

Anyway the wind is lightening now and veering so it is a bit more on the beam at present.  A little less comfortable but the autopilot likes it better.  It is 1 am and we still have just under 80 to go before we hit Kiska.  The wind is supposed to continue lightening and veering.  Let's hope it holds off on both for a little longer.  We are still making mid 5s at preasent so if we can keep it up will be in Kiska before 4 this afternoon.  Fingers crossed!

Post Script I have waited until 0730 to send this and yes the wind has veered.  Our arrival will be late