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.
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| Sari Timur and Quicksilver anchored amongst the islands in the bay |
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| The Russian Orthodox Church |
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| The church with the crosses |
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