Mark is heading South

Mark is heading to Charlotte to spend Thanksgiving with his sister Laura's family.  Mom and Dad are going to be there as well.  He was going to spend the whole week, but a course that he needs came up in Jacksonville, Fla.  So after he arrives in Charlotte it is into a rental car for the six hour drive south.  He will head back to Charlotte on Tuesday night

Pauline's Home!

Well, Pauline is finally back on the boat.  It was a good trip back to Singapore.  On the way to, and from Singapore, she stopped in San Francisco to visit with her good friend, Suzie.  They had a great few days catching up.

The weather in Singapore was hot.  Of course, coming from Alaska where temperatures never went above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, it was brutal.

The visit with the family was great.  Pauline got to see everyone in her immediate family, as PJ and his family came down from Hong Kong.  She also caught up with some of her cousins and friends.  She has some great memories to keep her going for a while.

However, it is nice to be back on the boat, with Mark and of course, to cooler weather!

It's Snowing

Well it looks like winter has arrived.  It started snowing a little while ago and it is coming down pretty good.

Termination Dust

Well it arrived yesterday.  For those not familiar with the term.  Termination Dust is the first snowfall at higher altitudes in Alaska.  It signaled to miners and early settlers in Alaska that summer is over.  Actually there was some a couple of weeks ago on the really high peaks across the bay.  But yesterday was the first on our side of the bay.  Guess summer is over.

Pauline is leaving

Pauline is heading out for her vacation.  We have to take separate vacations in the winter or hire some one to watch the boat.  She hasn't been home for a couple of years and October is the slow time for the hotel so she could take a whole month off.  It is a pretty long way to travel for less than that so off she heads tomorrow via San Francisco so she can visit with Suzie and Doug for a couple of days and convince them to come up and see us.  Mark will have to fend for himself and use the time to study for his 500 ton master / 1600 ton mate tests.

Our Igloo

After last winter we decided that we would heat shrink the boat this winter.  By doing this we could leave all but the head sail on, and we would have some usable deck space. We also wouldn't have to bring everything below thus giving us our living space back below decks.  We also hope that it will help us with our heating bills this winter, the down side is we have never done this before.  However, Mark got after it and it has turned out pretty good for a first attempt.  We have learned some things and will do some things different if we ever do it again.  We are reasonably happy and below are some pics.  We have only installed two doors you can see one on the starboard side.  We have to put three more in, one on the bow, one by the propane tank and one on top near the chimney for knocking off excess snow and servicing the chimney.

the before, with the skeleton

the after, with the plastic shrink wrap

Wildlife in Alaska

Everyone who has been to Alaska realizes there is a lot of wildlife here.  But even in the marina we seem to get a fair amount.  It is pretty regular to see sea otters, seals and sea lions.  Matter of fact if you go a day or two without seeing them you begin to think something is wrong.  But a few weeks ago we had a black bear try to wander down the ramp.  He did get into the hotel across the street before the authorities decided he was a nuisance and was removed.  Earlier this summer a  whale got out of wack and swam into the entrance all the way to the fish processing plant before he figured out he was in the wrong place.

But the other day we were working on our boat trying to build our winter cover when a moose swam past our boat.  We later found out some tourists were chasing her through town and she fled down the boat ramp and into the water and swam away.  But now she had a problem because once in the marina she couldn't get out as the docks are too high for her to climb on to.  Luckily one of the neighbors still had his dinghy in the water and corralled her back towards the ramp where she was able to get out.

Mark's Work Trip

Mark and the crew on the tug were supposed to go to Dillingham but the trip kept getting delayed.  He was told he didn't have to go to work, so he stayed home and worked on projects.  Finally after 2 weeks, they were given the go-ahead.  They left on Saturday, September 16 and arrived in Dillingham by Bristol Bay 4 days later.

They are supposed to pick up a barge and tow it back to Homer.  However the barge was not there and so they had to wait.

They finally left Dillingham Monday, September 25.

More updates later.

Northwestern Fjord Cruise

We had dreary weather all week and when we found out that it was going to be sunny today, we signed up for a cruise with Major Marine Tours.

We had missed visiting the Northwestern Fjords when we came across from Homer as we were late in the season.  So it was the first time we were there.  There are 3 glaciers side by side, so it was a feast for the eye and so many harbor seals sunning themselves on the ice floes.  We stopped in front of Northwestern Glacier for a while and it was just magnificent.

On our way back, we have sightings of humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, puffins and other sea birds but we did not take any more photos as we have "hundreds" of photos of them.

Northwestern Fjord

a waterfall in Cataract Cove

3 glaciers, side by side

lots of icebergs and floes with many harbor seals

the harbor seals are so cute

Northwestern Glacier

close up of Northwestern Glacier

Girdwood and Whittier

This weekend we decided to play tourist.  So Friday after work we headed out to Girdwood and booked ourselves into the Alyeska Resort.  This place is pretty famous as one of the better ski resorts in the winter.  What we didn't realize is that in the summer it is a main event attraction as well.  A quaint town with a lot of hiking trails etc, and usually some event or other going on each weekend. We were lucky to get a room and the price certainly reflected that, but hey you only live once.  The first night we hit the sushi bar for some very missed sushi, sashimi, and sake.  All things we were spoiled with in Japan.  And we're not let down and other than the fact the sushi chefs were not Japanese it was on par with what we were used to in Japan.  By the way they had spent several years under Japanese chefs learning the trade.  The next morning we decided to hike to town for brunch.  Great lunch, great hike and it tired us out enough to take a shot nap before we took the tram up the hill for some more hiking.

the view from above

the resort

After our hiking we hit the pool and hot tub and up to the bar for dinner.

The next morning we set out early for Whittier as we had a cruise set up.  We visited two glaciers Beloit and Blackstone.  Blackstone was used in the movie Fifty First Dates.  The cruises in Whittier are pretty neat and a lot different from the cruises in Ressurection Bay.  Don't get us wrong we like cruising in both places.  It is one of the neat things about Alaska.  Two places offer the same thing but they are very much different.  One of the other passengers kind of made a similar analogy.  At Beloit glacier there was a waterfall, one of the most spectacular ones we have ever seen.  He said, man anywhere else in the world people would drive hundreds of miles just to see that waterfall.  Here everyone is seeing it as an aside.

Town of Whittier, with the Whittier Glacier above the town

Prince William Sound

Blackstone Glacier, featured in 50 First Dates

Beloit Glacier

 

 

part of Beloit Glacier with the gushing waterfall

the waterfall closer up

another neat waterfall

One other thing interesting about our trip to Whittier was this was our first trip through the tunnel.  This is a one lane tunnel, shared by trains, and motor vehicles which have to go in both directions.  It was built as an emergency tunnel in case Seward fell to the Japanese.  It is still the second longest tunnel in North America and it is the longest one that is used by both motor vehicles and rail.

the vehicles are lined up waiting for the tunnel to open in our favor.  right in front of us is this cute dog

Portage Glacier

The Motorcycle Gang!

Justin, a friend we met while on Guam was on a motorcycle tour from Seattle to Alaska.  He came up with his friends some weeks ago and left his bike in Anchorage.  His wife, Lara, had her bike shipped up from Seattle and they are riding back to Seattle.  We had convinced them to come to Seward to visit and they turned up on July 8.

We went out on a glacier tour on the boat on Sunday and it was a lovely day.  Mark had to get ready to go offshore and could not join us Sunday.

Margarita made with glacier ice

big black bear on the island near Holgate Glacier.  he apparently swam out from the mainland

iceberg

glacier

Justin used his drone to take this photo of Sari Timur

From Igloo to Sailboat

We moved once again but this time into a vacant berth.  This means we can go sailing on a weekend without losing our spot.  We only have it for the month of July so Sunday we straightened the boat up and took her out for a sail.  It was a little chilly but otherwise a great day out.  The breezes were between 10 and 15 knots.  The new sails set well and the issues we didn't like with the old sails all seem sorted.  The only thing wrong is the second reefing block is on the wrong side, but we have a work around for that.

Family Visit

Aunt Anita,  cousins Jeff and Linda, Tim and Kelly with their kids, Drake and Madison and even Kelly's mom, Sharon and her husband Bill went on a Princess cruise from Vancouver, Canada to Whittier, Alaska.  Before they headed home to Florida, they came to Seward to visit with us on June 18.

We went out to dinner and took a boat cruise to the glaciers on Major Marine Tours.  We had a great visit with them and enjoyed some quality family time.  Wish we had more time!!

Family photo on the boat tour

Jeff and Linda

Drake and Kelly

Aialik Glacier

Humpback Whales

We Have Moved Again

Well we moved again. This time it wasn't the scenery but the conditions.  The nice little cubby hole they had us in was very well protected and pretty nice.  It was also the closest marina berth to Pauline's work.  We were told there was plenty of water there as well.  Seward doesn't get as high a tide as many of the harbors do in Alaska but they still are pretty reasonable.  At the end of May we experienced some pretty large tides and here in America low water is not zero tide.  Tides go negative and the May one meant a minus 3.4 feet and Sari Timur was firmly aground and leaning over the pilings.  Actually they were  sticking through the rigging.  Luckily the boat was situated in such a way that nothing touched anything over the three days of extreme tides. Even though the pictures look scary all is well.  June also has nearly 16.5 feet of tide with a minus 3.4 again, so when a position became available we jumped on it.  We are now on the end tie of F Dock for those who are coming to visit.  Pauline has to walk a little farther to work but we do get a lot more marine life.  The other day even a whale swam by but we were both at work so no pictures.

This was the worst day

This was the next day's low

May Day

Wow it is hard to believe it's May First.  The weather gods made it even harder today as they made it snow.  We have been having beautiful weather for a couple of weeks but it turned cold and mother nature decided to give us another sniff of winter.  We love snow but come on, it's May already!

If You Blow up this picture you can see the snow in the trees behind the hotel

Our Car is Now an Alaskan Resident

Our car has gone from a Florida plate, to a Michigan plate and now an Alaskan plate all within the space of a year and a half.  It has done all this with Mark and Pauline inside making the trips and allowing them to see a large portion of N. America.

Mark is On His Way to Homer

Mark has a job in Homer assisting a ship into port there.  They leave tomorrow and will be gone through the weekend.

We Installed Our New Cooker

We ordered a new Dickinson Cooker in February.  We had been struggling with our Force 10 stove for many years and Mark swore he would never order one from them again.  Pauline was just frustrated with how irregular the oven worked.  Anyway after doing some research we decided on the Dickinson Mediterranean.  It came today and we didn't waste any time installing it.  Brownies are about to pop out of the oven within a few minutes.  It is the first time we have ever had an oven that heats up to the set temperature and stays there.  And it did it so quickly.  Plus it looks so much nicer than the old one.  Pauline is really doing her happy dance!

We Moved

One of the great things about living on a boat is when ever you get tired of the scenery or neighbors you can move.  This time it was neither, but we had borrowed a spot for the winter and the boat in that spot was coming out of dry dock.  We were just about to move to the most remote part of the marina when they suggested another spot.  It turns out there is no closer spot to Pauline's work than this one.  It does mean we have the inhabitants of the hotel always looking at us.  No running around deck in the nude, like anyone does that in Alaska!  But other than that looks like a great spot.

Mark is Back

Well Mark got back Sunday afternoon.  He has a couple of days off and is going to work on Sari Timur and do some chores on her.  The trip he was on got delayed so much that they didn't do the entire run down to Seattle.  But we are both glad he is back safe and almost sound.

Mark on the move

Mark is busy working.  The tug left Seward on Mar 4 and they made it to Kodiak on Mar 5.  They stayed in Kodiak, assisting a ship in and out of the harbor.  While there, Mark went up a hill and took some photos of the surroundings.

They came back to Seward on Mar 10 but took off again for Kodiak on Mar 11.  They left Kodiak today, towing a barge to King Cove and then to Dutch Harbor before turning around and heading back this way.

More updates later.

3-day weekend in Anchorage

We both had a 3-day weekend, so we decided to drive up to Anchorage.  On the itinerary were shopping, relaxing and some sightseeing.  However, this weekend was a little special as we were going to meet some old friends from Singapore.

We met John and May Hannon in Singapore when we were all living on our boats.  They are special enough that they were part of our wedding.  They and their daughter, Serena left Singapore and cruised up to Thailand and we met them again in Phuket when we sailed up there.

Long story short, Serena and her husband Nick live in Anchorage.  John and May decided that the skiing season is too good to miss (Alaska has lots of snow this winter) and decided that they will come up to spend time with Serena.  We have been in contact with them over the years and they invited us to their place for dinner.  Serena was serving Chilli Crab and Chicken Rice, so how can we say no!  Armed with some sake and beer, we headed over and had a most fantastic visit.  The food was good and so was the catching up.  Thank you Serena and Nick for the lovely sedap meal and thank you John and May for the invite.  It was so good to be able to catch up on good old times.

The next day, we decided to do a little sightseeing and discovered that the Fur Rondy was happening that weekend.  We headed down to downtown Anchorage and found a carnival and some ice sculptures, snow sculptures actually.  They were very well done.

Some shopping and the weekend was over too quickly.  Somebody had to be back at Seward in the afternoon on Monday to move a ship.