Everything is alright

Pauline was woken up just before 01:00 by the tsunami alert sirens.  An 8.2 magnitude quake happened just south of Kodiak.   The tsunami alert went all the way down to Southern California and Hawaii.  Mark was in Michigan so she had to deal with everything herself.  She quickly called the hotel to confirm the evacuation was in place and then headed to a friend's house to await the all clear. As many people know Seward was badly hit during the 1964 earthquake so no one in Alaska takes these things lightly.  Apparently volcanoes also erupted on the other side of the Pacific in Japan and the Philippines as well, so the ring of fire is active.

200 Tons

Mark passed his 200 ton course.  He is now heading to Green Cove Springs marina to see Isao-san Yamazaki who is arriving on his yacht King Bee from Japan.  Tomorrow he is flying up to Michigan to see the family for a couple of weeks.  Then on the 28th it is back to Jacksonville to take his Celestial course that will give him the full oceans endorsement.

Mark and Isao-san with King Bee just behind us

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.