Merry Christmas

 We will be updating the blog pretty soon but until then Merry Christmas to everyone.

Road Trip

 Pauline and Mark finally got together again on the night of the 3rd of December.  They were supposed to get together in the afternoon and make Mark’s Company Christmas Party but Mother Nature had different plans for Pauline.  Dumping lots of snow on Sitka and Juneau caused her flights to be extremely delayed.  

Their car was finally released on the 6th and they immediately set out cross country.  Made it to Idaho for their first night on the road.

Fish Hawk Update

The Fish Hawk crew made it to the inside passage.  They left in bad weather knowing they had a very short weather window to cross the Gulf.  About an hour outside of Cape Spenser the winds increased and slowed their speed but they made it in.  Still lumpy inside and anyone who knows the route will still advise there are several spots they still have to stick their nose out into the big water, but all for short periods of time so hopefully they can time it right.  

Plans

 Well, we are doing it!  Mark made it to Seward, Pauline tendered her resignation and is putting the car on a barge at the end of the week to Seattle.  Hopefully Mark will finish up in Seward and find a weather window to get to Seattle before the car on December 5.  Pauline will fly to Seattle when Mark arrives and they will take a couple of months driving in the lower 48.  First stop Florida for a quick renewal course for Mark and for both of them to thaw out and see family and friends.  It is then on to visit as many places and friends as possible before the return trip.  So if you are going to be somewhere in the lower 48 and want to meet up, contact us to see if we can make it happen!

Fish Hawk is in Monashka Bay

 The Fish Hawk made it in and out of Naknek and King Cove.  They were racing to get through the Shelikof Strait before the weather got too bad.  They didn’t make it so turned their tail to the wind and went under Kodiak.  They are turning circles in Monashka Bay until a break in weather before making the jump over to Seward.

Update

Well, the Fish Hawk made it in and out of Nome.  Some bad weather but they made it and raced toward Dillingham.  They didn’t make it there and had to turn around 4 miles short of the dock as the ice was too thick.  They diverted to Naknek, where they hope to land early Wednesday.

North to Alaska

Well, Mark and crew made it out of Bethel.  They had some ice slush but mostly open water.  Now they are on their way to Nome.  The weather is kind of sloppy but they keep mushing their team of huskies (2 Cummins Diesels) and hope it isn’t 40 below when they are there!

PS Listening to Johnny Horton

In the Kuskokwim River

 For those following.  Mark and the Fish Hawk have finally made it into the Kuskokwim River.  At this time of year weather windows are small and when they appear are still not nice.  They were hiding out so much on this trip they were worried the ice would beat them.  Anyway they are waiting out the tide near Eek and plan to make Bethel tomorrow morning.

This was them in Seward a few weeks ago.

26 Years Ago Today

 Not to be confused with their wedding anniversary, which is in February.  But 26 years ago today my owners met and have been taking good care of each other and me and allowing us to travel.  What a wild ride it has been for the three of us.

Signed 

S/Y Sari Timur

Back to the grind

 Pauline went back to Sitka and work on Wednesday.  Mark and the Fish Hawk crew left the dock Thursday morning towing a barge to Bethel.  

We Are Together

 Hey we are together.  Pauline managed to make it to Seward in time to go out and watch Mark and Crew do some tugboat work for a while.  Then the crew took us out to dinner at the salmon bake to thank Pauline for making the cushion cover for the bridge settee.   Pauline didn't like Mark's bush beard so there is a before and after picture.

Hubby Coming Out of the Bush

Hubby Reentering Society

 

Pauline is Flying In

 Mark is in Seward and is going to get a few days off.  So Pauline is flying up and they will get some time together.  A few days in Seward and then some in Anchorage.  Hopefully they will get a week together.

Status on Pauline

So while Mark is at work on the Fish Hawk, what is Pauline doing?

Well, nothing very exciting.  She goes to work during the week and on weekends, she has chores.

Being apart for so long takes a little getting used to. Pauline had to put on her big girl pants and fend for herself. Some days are better than others, but she is coping.

Her oldest (actually longest) best friend came up to Alaska in June so Pauline took a week off and spent time with her in Anchorage and Seward.  It was a very welcomed break as she had not been away from Sitka since December 2019.

Mark’s sister, Chris, took a job as a travel nurse in Ketchikan and she came to visit Pauline in Sitka over a weekend in July. They had a great time playing tourists.

The number of people who tested positive in Sitka is very high. For a town of less than 8,000 we had over 200 active cases. So Pauline is trying to social distance and staying healthy.

Update on Mark

 Today is day 78 on the tug.  Been busy going all the time.  So far a trip to near Kodiak.  One to Seattle and back.  Another up to Bethel, Napakiak, Bethel, Dillingham, Naknek and back to Seward.  Currently heading back to Bethel and Beyond!

Mark is on his way to Seward

 Mark caught the early flight to Anchorage.  He is heading to Seward to join the crew of the Fish Hawk for the season.

A New Alternator

 After ripping out our old refrigeration compressor, we had space to move the alternator back to a more accessible place.  The configuration we had when we installed this engine did not allow for much space for both an alternator and a fridge compressor. The alternator had to be taken out to change a belt and the belts could only be slightly adjusted after that so belt changes were more often than normal, and always required a swear word or two.  Unfortunately the old alternator would not fit any normal bracket so we would have to have a special bracket manufactured locally.  After discussing this with the USA's Perkins genius, we decided to order the bracket and a new 120 amp alternator from him.  We have it and now it is installed and working fine.  

Here is a picture to prove it.

Mother Nature's April Fool's Joke

 Today is April Fool's Day.  And this is what we woke up to.

A New Fridge/Freezer

As many of you might know Sari Timur requires a fridge.  We do not drink warm beer!!! 

Many years ago our only fridge was a big box with a couple of holding plates and an engine driven air conditioner to freeze the plates.  When we set sail for Africa it started to act up.  And we limped with it for another couple of years.  Then Mark's parents came for a visit in Africa so we loaded up their luggage with a brand new SeaFrost system.  After returning to Singapore we added a shore power compressor as well. 

Many years later we cut the box in half and added a door type fridge and reused the other equipment to work in the smaller box.  Well after 28 years the African fridge started misbehaving again.  Since the newer DC powered air cooled fridges made for boats have improved so much we decided to go that route.  That meant we could get rid of the shore power system, and the engine driven system, heat exchangers and water pumps.  

We decided on a CoolBlue unit as we had heard good things about them.  So we ordered one and are happy to say it installed nicely.  At the warmest setting we have, it keeps the box below 22 degrees and it only runs every so often.  Probably too cold for beer but we can dial it down to be an actual freezer. We then can convert our Dometic Portable freezer into a fridge for drinks.  Sounds like a plan.  Here are some pics.

The Compressor,Condensor, and Dryer/Filter

Close Up

The New Holding Plate

It's Been A While

Wow we just realised that we have not done a post since Mark left for Dutch Harbor.  He returned at the end of January.  We have been doing fine.  The winter winds have been exceptional in Sitka this year but the shrink wrap is holding up ok.

We both have had our Covid vaccinations so we are good to go in that department.

Mark has been hard at work trying to fix the starboard side of the coach roof, like he did the port before we left Seward.  He is nearly done, a few more days should see it through.  For those who do not remember we developed a leak on the port side where the deck joins the coach roof. We also had a small leak on the starboard side but it was very small.  

The project entails cutting the glass away on the coach roof from the deck to a couple of inches up.  He has to work in 8 inch sections as that is how much the external heater can heat to make the repair epoxies kick off.  He has to dig out all the rotten wood and dig down to below deck level, then fill all that back up with epoxy, glass, and filler.  On the port side there was a fair amount of rot so the job was bigger but the digging was easier.  On the starboard side the wood is pretty much intact so he has to use the grinder, chisels and drills to get the wood out to below deck level.

To save a 1000 words here are a couple of pictures.

This is a hole dug out

that is all the part finished plus around the corner to the mainmast