Berrimilla Down-Under-Mars

5059.57 179197.45 Sat 31/05/2008 02:35

2008-05-31T09:29:00.000+01:00

A bit tense in the Whitters camp. McQ asleep and oblivious. We're 30 miles from Amchitks Island, about 50 miles west of the ideal spot to push the stick forward and dive the veehicle into the mosh pit (how's that for a three tier mixed metaphor?) and the wind is building - now 15 - 20 apparent as we progress - and we're on the stbd tack, so working the damaged shroud. I've just put the 3rd reef in to minimise the stress, everything softly softly, trying not to pound. Shortish steep sea, not too difficult, water now grey olive greenish but seems crystal clear. Our chart tidal data is set to Sydney time (it would be wouldn't it, when everything else in the software is on UTC!) but if I've got it right, it tells us that the tide turns against us at around midnight tonight until about 0900 tomoz. This more or less correlates with Kimbra's data, (hers set to UTC - 10). and for a different tidal station. Seems to me, therefore, that we can get ourselves as close as we can by midnight, perhaps motor NE to get a better position and start going in around 0600ADT, on the last of the ebb. I think we'll have to motor unless we can get upwind somehow. Then it's all down to Huey and the Examiner.

Wish us luck!

I think I need a calming consultation - it's the Alchemist today.

A couple of hours later - calm prevails, the Alchemist has worked his magic, McQ up and cooking, wind easing, sea still olive grey - like volcanic glass - and I saw Berri's and my very first Puffin - tubby beast, very flappy and with THAT face - if not a puffin, then a guillemot or an auk? 24 miles from Amchitka Island, no spot heights on chart so don't know what to look for but it looks a bit like Lord Howe. Semisopochnoi to the north looks just a bit interesting too. The Plan is to plough on until something tells us to stop. As McQ says, a 50 mile wide pass is just like the Channel, but this one's a lot shallower.

McQ: Corrish-the new english. Hi from the cwampet berri!!

2008-05-31T09:28:00.001+01:00

Engine is off, finally- it's such a pleasure to have just sailing noises (and lizzy whining away!!) Lizzy's pretty amazing- absolutely no engine assistance required to charge the batts so long as there is a bit of wind. We are now averaging about 4 knotters to Amchitka Island!!! Wind is due to be about 15 knots N/NE in approx 12 hours time, probably about the same time we get to the Pass, so likely we will need to tack our way through, which could be kinda time consuming I guess. From the info on the chart (I say 'chart' but I didn't need to do any calculations- just put the cursor over the T symbol for tide info and use arrow keys to get to appropriate time and date on computer- not a purple tidal diamond, breton plotter or set of dividers required!!!) if we get there around 2am local it will be just after LW and just under 1m range at Amchitka Island and at most 0.2knots of current flowing North-east through the pass, but I might have got our time zones totally wrong!! so though it is likely to be wind over tide, with only 0.2 knots flow and the whole thing about 60nm wide I wouldn't have thought it'd be too feisty- famous last words- we shall see!! And of course the info I have to hand may not be accurate/ I may have completely missed some Amchitka Pass oooh chat somewhere and everyone else might know that there is lots of current squeezing the pacific through this little gap- It does decrease in depth from about 4000m quite rapidly to 1000m then averages around 500m for a bit with the min depth about 100m so that could contribute to some lumpety breaking waves!!! We will find out soon enough!!!

Allie: mum sent me a message saying you have organised me some midlayers, so just wanted to say thank you so, so, so much- you are truly amazing (but you know I think that!!!) I shall possibly be forever in your grateful debt and won't forget it when notsocold up north!!! I know I didn't give you much choice tho'!! In exchange I shall wash my Sailing Logic T-shirt and jacket so they are nice and fresh and clean for wearing in port and fully advertise and market you as the only people to sail and race with in the Solent!!! You never know- you might get some Alaskans racing with you next year!!! Thanks again and lots of love Bol xxx

Web: Amazing news re SB engine, so it is said that a bad workman blames his tools, so in this case does VP take any credit or entirely due to maintenance team??? Certainly, I'd like to book in for the diesel engine maintenance course in October, if thats ok? also I don't understand fliders and galloons, gliders and falloons but what is a falloon?? c x

Not much else at moment... pretty grey outside and cwampet too (thats THE new word for cold/wet/damp)- maybe its time I invented a whole new language- soon everyone will be carrying round a copy of the OCD, corrish to english version. (Oxford Corrish Dictionary)

Oh yes, the phosphorescence last night was truly out of this world. wouldn't photograph on my wee olympus tho. but incredible... bright bright white against the black sea, not the usual glowing green, but the sort of pearlescent, iridescent ultraviolet dazzling white- the colour/effect rich and famous people pay loadsa money to their dentist for!!! Never seen anything quite like it- properly mesmerising!! big fat white lines streaking out from the boat swirling miles away into the blackness. And a thick frothy white trail behind us as the prop churned up the ocean. Pretty awesome!!!

Enough ramblings- we've slowed down so am off to deck to speed us up.

lots of love
Corrish
xxx

5106.35 17919.38 Sat 31/05/2008 06:06

2008-05-31T09:27:00.000+01:00

Just tacked out from about 12 miles south of Amchitka Island - lousy angle, only making 120 but we'll play with it as things progress. We will see what sort of ground we can make from here until the tide turns tomoz and then go for it. Everything crossed please. Still bleak overcast, thick mist towards Amchitka so no actual sighting.

Water now brown...

2008-05-30T22:10:00.000+01:00

We're 73 miles from my waypoint. Grib says that the wind goes north tomorrow morning with some attitude (therefore potentially wind over tide so opportunity for renewed pearshapedness), we have flood tide tomorrow morning, we are due there around 0100 ADT - iff I've got the time right - I'm juggling with UTC, Speedy time (UTC + 1) Kimbra time for tides (UTC -10) and ADT (UTC - 8) and my cheesebrain gets confused. But it does look as if we have one good chance of pushing through early tomorrow AGW. Every appendage crossed please, applicable or no! Still no worthwhile wind and I'm playing the tiny bit there is for all its worth to squeeze inches out of it. Motor just above half revs from the feel and sound and I hope being very frugal while keeping 4 knots clicking over. McQ just off watch and asleep so can't ask re BAPTO.

Water sludge brown - must be the edge of the tidal flow from the Bering. Still lots of kelp around. Woolly overcast, patches of light on the water, long rolled almost tubes of fluff SE to NW, rain cloud to the west. Thin dark line of cloud on the horizon to port that wishful thinking tries to make into Amchitka Island but cheesebrain knows that we won't be able to see it from 60 miles.

Have spoken to Lacy Plummer, Harbourmaster at Adak - we have permission to enter from US Customs - yeehaa. Apparently there are 2 sailboats (when in Rome!) in Adak from Australia. Amazing.

MJC - of course! How could I have forgotten!

Speeds - agree absolutely about some aspects of sailing engineering. There's also the ego side that shaves tolerances in order to win...

I'll try to keep these updated but it may get busy, particularly in the pass.

Thar she blows!

2008-05-30T14:29:00.000+01:00

Whales, weed, phosphorescence. nukes, krill, trench, terns, acclimatisation..quick, dash below checklist for this blog.

Too hairy to sit down here while on watch - more on this later. Down in the big trough between two wavest I looked up and saw a dark column silhouetted against the sky out on the port bow about 300 metres away - odd - it disappeared, then another - yesss! whale spouts - huge plumes of vapour and spray, perhaps 20 ft high and cylindrical - then they were white against the sea, from the top of a wave - perhaps 4 or 5 animals, going our way, only the briefest glimpse of one - long back, small fin, very Finwhale. And then - and then there was a black shape beside the boat, perhaps 10 metres away - I now think it might have been the tip of a pectoral fin - and a HUGE black shape surfaced - no spout, just massive presence, no apparent velocity - and then dived and turned towards us as it did - enormous swirl of water, longer than the boat. I had a Moby Dick shiver, but it did not reappear. I could not see any detail - just black.

McQ's weed is kelp - enormously long fronds of the stuff with stems like tree trunks all longer then the boat and highly dangerous if it gets into the prop - hence not being down here blogging. We hit one - big bump and I could see a long sinuous line in the phosphorescence astern - took me a few seconds to work it out and reach for the throttle and it was gone. Lucky,

Phosphorescence - astonishing, amazing, I've never seen it like this. Berri's path through the water is a silver green arrow with brilliant surges from the bow and a long undulating shaft stretching astern as far as you can see. It is bright enough to light up the sails and, believe it or not, the terns milling around the masthead as well. It's they who are making the chirrups I mentioned earlier as the try to land on the masthead. I photographed one in daylight. I went and sat in the pulpit looking aft and just bathed in the raw beauty of it all - like the most subtle firework display, but cold and fierce as well. It seemed, too, as if we were going through a shoal of tiny fish or perhaps krill in terabytes. I wonder if it's all a left over from the nuclear tests at Amchitka!

We're now over the Aleutian Trench - up to 7500 metes deep - it would take me half an hour to run that these days. I wonder how long it would take for - say - a coke bottle to reach the bottom. And I'm deliberately trying to sit out there slightly underdressed to get used to the cold - and the damp. I like McQ's blurky. Needs cold and wet somehow as well.

Mad McQ: in new knicks

2008-05-30T14:26:00.001+01:00

Its getting dark. We are a bit out time wise, would have been more appropriate to change clocks in a couple of stages- say 3 today and 3 more hours in a few days time, but bit confusing really to do that and apoart from the fact it will be quite dark till about 9am for a bit, and its midnight and jsut getting dark now!! makes no odds to us really in the big scheme of things- on watch is on watch whatever time of day or night!!! (which hopefully answers a question I often get asked: do you anchor at night and go to sleep? (No)) I have clean knickers on, you'll all be relieved to hear- so can sleep easy now- perhaps a rash decision given we may well go to Adak and have the opportunity of a shower- we shall see, but had to be done nevertheless.
AW saw whales on his watch. I haven't seen any on my watch yet. boo! Up until this watch I haven't spoken to myself (never mind the walrus) except to recite the Ancient Mariner out loud, which I think is acceptable in society, and doesn't count as talking to yourself. This watch,however, I have been talking nonsense to the whales...chat that goes along the lines of 'whalefish whalefish whalefish' Fortunately, i know that there is one person out there that would believe I haven't gone more mad!!! (Its a song, sort of) but I guessed anyone with their satellite trained in on me from space would think i was mad, hopping about the cockpit to keep warm and muttering ramblings about whalefish to myself!!! And still no sign of any real whales come to say hello!!!
Well, all I really wanted to tell you in this blog was that I have new knicks on, but I said that already in the subject.
Am I going barmy, who knows???
love
McQ and other McQ and other McQ
xxx
PS: i've just invented a new word, 'BLURKY' Its not quite black and not just murky- its that smudgy, fuzzy darkness where there's no discernable horizon but just faint wavy boundary lines in the clouds distinguishing between different shades of dark grey. Its a blurky night out there tonight. Now if everyone could incorporate 'blurky' into everyday usage, eventually I might get my own entry in the OED- cool!!!

4939.31 17832.19 @ 2245 ADT (Z - 8) Fri 30/05/2008 07:48

2008-05-30T09:07:00.000+01:00

We're about 140 miles south of my waypoint in the shallowest part of Amchitka Pass. AGW, we should get there on Saturday around midday local, on a flooding tide so - again AGW - we might just have a go at it. But in this little gig, that's far too far ahead and extra tempting for Herself in the patents with stockwhip. Just idle speculation! Between here and there lies the Aleutian Trench, 7000+ metres deep and only 40 miles or so across - presumably where the two plates are interacting. The shallowest sounding I can find in the pass is 88 metres over a spike in the middle. We'll see. Would be a fascinating place to cruise in the right boat - insulated, heated, big engine, space for wet gear - a proper Boot Room in fact. We're a bit exposed in Berri.

Not much else to report - I wonder at the fortitude of Cook, his crew and all the other early explorers who sailed so far into this and beyond. Without a satphone or polar fleece or 'technical' yachtie kit. What does technical actually mean?

We should cross the international date line about half way to the waypoint on present progress, but that will change. Unless the wind changes, we will probably have to tack to get there.

Will keep this open...4 hours later...Somehow I've deleted the exciting bit so here goes again - where complacency took over and I sat down here writing this and looked up through the window and saw a huge container ship heading towards us. Grabbed vhf command mike, set it up, raced on deck, decided he was actually coming to investigate dayglo orange trisail, still in track tho not set, below main, thinking it might be a distress signal. Tried calling him - no answer, so rolled out the headsail to indicate business as usual and started to bring in the trisail. He turned away and was gone over the horizon in about 20 minutes. Grateful he bothered, but slightly unnerved that I didn't see him first. He was heading along the line of the outside of the islands, so great circling from China to Vancouver or Seattle perhaps.

We have about 60 litres of diesel in the tank and 60 in jerries - decision time very soon. Not enough wind to sail, doing 5 kts almost all vmg motor sailing so very efficient use if the stuff but...125 nm to go to Amchitka - should bo ok to use 60 getting there and through if necessary, but will need careful judgement.

McQ: See Weed!!!

2008-05-30T09:06:00.000+01:00

Just saw seaweed!!! Which is very exciting- means one of two things- either we are in the Sargasso Sea and thus lost or, or we are nearing land!!! How exciting!!! How exciting!!!
Theres a big lolloping swell about too- lake district size perhaps (as opposed to Himalayas), big undulating rollers. Notalota wind but headsail out and making good progress motor-sailing. All good.
Cold outside and its that time of the afternoon where its getting that way inside too, despite the engine. Probably too late in the day for a knicker change- means peeling off lots of layers to get to them, definitely a warmest-point-of-the-day job at this latitude (49 33N- woo hoo!!!) The sea is a general sort of grey colour with a kinda greeny-browny tinge to it all over, shiny though and clear and bright, so not an unpleasant muddy colour, more slightly metallic, dull chrome, in need of polishing, sort of colour, maybe. Sky is pretty much 8/8 cloudy with a twinge of blue occasionally. mostly white with long layers of low grey lines out towards the horizon.
Can't quite believe we've been at sea for 50 days!! That's five-zero!! mental!! That's a long time.
Wondering really whether a knicker change is in order- its a bit like hoping that you'll have your best knickers on if you get run over by a bus- imagine if something happened and we are close enough to civilisation now to be rescued and I got rescued wearing 50 day-old (slight exaggeration!!) knickers?? would be a wee tad embarrassing!!! Right, have decided- knicker change at watch change!!
Lots of love,
(Soon to be wearing clean knickers) McQueen xxx

4923.06 17802.55 @1800 ADT, noon tomoz sydney

2008-05-30T09:05:00.000+01:00

Thanks very much to everyone offering help and advice. The plan - as it stands - is to motor into the Examiner's latest little zephyr coming precisely from where we are trying to go - for as long as we can manage given our diesel reserve, keep some in hand for the pass and for the 100 miles or so in the other side to Adak, assuming Customs allow us in for an emergency fuel stop. If they do, we have to stay on the boat and depart once refuelled. Pity, but them's the breaks - I rather expected as much. I took heart in hand and put the main up again with 2 reefs, having braced the other shroud as well, and we're trickling along. I thought, earlier on, that things could be worse, it could be raining and the Examiner head me - cold, sleety rain for a bit. The grib - I relented, couldn't resist it - is not too favourable but AGW' we'll make it as far as the pass in the next 2-3 days.
Huge, southern ocean type swell from the NE - not quite losing a cathedral in the hollow standard, but pretty big, and it's not helping.
Kimbra, I assume the Gary in Seattle is Gary Ramos - I'll call him and maybe take or send the shroud there if no riggers in Anchorage, as seems likely.
And we've raided the goody bag - randomness prevails - and decided that the occasion demanded that we open one of Hilary's rummy cakes. Rather nice - and it will get us to Dutch.xx I wonder whether, if we do go to Andak, we will be the very first boat - or veeehicle - in the history of the world to travel directly from Sydney to Andak - or, for that matter, to Dutch. A little warm fuzzy for the mighty Berri if so. Certainly seems possible.
We've officially changed from Sydney time to Alaska daylight as well - as we are now well and truly here. It's now 1535 yesterday for all you caffeinators Down There. Old time noon position is now out 1800 position.

McQ: and Whitters, time travellers (to yesterday!!)

2008-05-30T09:04:00.000+01:00

Crikey, its all very confusing. Today it is four o'clock yesterday (instead of 10 in the morning today, or indeed midnight, tooday) Not a worm hole or Large Hadron Collider to be seen and we have decided it is yesterday!!! We haven't got to the date line yet, just seemed wise to go to Alaska time as it was broad daylight at 3am last night and for local tide info etcit makes sense and when communicating with people on land, it stops the probloem that we might be satphone at antisocial hours!!! Fortunately my rather fab pink (to match my thermals) watch has a button you press and the top left hand corner changes from 'SYD' to 'ANC' (Anchorage I guess, its the right time anyway!!) Our noon position is now 6pm pos though!!
So all is well this arvo- even the sun came up out of the sea and is shining bright... we have more sail up, tacked too- so motorsailing upwind on port making about 060 ish, COG same on the tack- darn typical!! still easting no bad thing. going faster too!!
Boiled eggs for brekkie (lunch)- pretty mushy by now tho'!!! And Hilary, amazing cake thank you, we broke into the first this morning and pretty confident that if all else fails, this cake will keep our spirits up and bellies and brains nourished all the way to Dutch!!!
Also broke out my heavyduty norwegian hat that Marten gave me (well, I borrowed then refused to give back) during the Hobart...thank you Marten!! It is the best hat in the world. Thick and fleecy and perfectly snug and now staying firmly on my head!!! the turquoise o'neill is nice and fluffy but not quite adequate during the chilly nights anymore (has become my bedhat!!) Notalot else to report. still on v11 of AM, but recite aloud on deck regularly so know them pretty well, indeed am getting a touch bored of the first 11verses- looking forward to finding out what happens next!!!
Think Adak (approx 51ishN) is roughly in line with Cork- must be Cork week quite soon???
Now my fingers and nose are nicely warmed up, back to deck i go!!
Lots and lots of love
MCQUEEN
xxx

McQ: Fog Solvers

2008-05-29T21:35:00.000+01:00

I spend lots of time whiling away the hours on watch (between checking we going the right way as quick as poss/ the rig not falling down/the repairs are holding/ we not about to get squished by passing vessels etc) thinking about 'what if's' so yesterday morning- I kid you not- my what if's that I were running through were first reactions if forestay goes, backstay goes, shrouds go, minutes before The Big Bang!! Anyway, this morning I have been thinking about fog (Its a clear morning with a dash of sunshine too so hopefully no fog-dramas about to happen!!) Lots of different solutions really, for eg, if i was in the Channel and I had working radar/AIS/both, probably carry on fairly comfortably. If I was in the Solent and had no radar/AIS etc and my GPS's were all broken/out of batteries I'd probably head north (or south, depending on where I was by my last visual) to say 2m contour (assuming I didn't draw more) and follow it to somewhere (Lyminton, Cowes, Hamble) or anchor till it lifted. I'd probably be quite grumpy too!!! I'm still working on no radar/AIS and broken GPS's and definitely in middle of shipping lane in channel...

Anyway, these are all sensible things to think about and every situation is different. up here, according to all our repoorts it can get pretty foggy and grim round the Aluetians at this time of year, so may well have to put into practise various fog-solvers and then these won't seem such ridiculoous thoughts!! We have no radar. Our AIS box hasn't talked to the poot since Newcastle- of this we are 99% convinced but then again ships since then have been few and far between!!! GPS still working (touch wood) and we have a fully charged 276c too, so should be ok unless big president B presses any buttons. Fishing fleets prob biggest concern but through our great contacts in Dutch they know we are going to be around soon and would do all they could to guide us through, so worst case we could radio them and take it from there. Its all interesting stuff to think about really and good to keep us on our toes...

Big A has surfaced so I am going to go and discuss thoughts on putting a wee bit more sail up, since shroud-solution seems to be happy, and going a bit faster...

Top o the morning anyway,

Lots of love
McQueen
xxx

Dunking 4847.56 17722.59 Thu 29/05/2008 14:36

2008-05-29T15:32:00.000+01:00

Does anyone remember reading a scientific paper on the physics of biscuit dunking? May have been one of Karl Kruszelnicki's - certainly his style anyway. Really interesting stuff, but it seems to me that my McVities absorb tea at a greater rate than the very ordinary coffee I'm using. Certainly, my coffees are more treacly than my teas - anyway, an observation for the record - has no scientific value without lots more experimentation and I'm into the last pack of dunkers.

I think our bit of excitement will slow us down by about half a day to Amchitka - could be a crucial half day if the weather closes on us but that is yet to be seen. We are also losing height, which is a nuisance but can't be helped. I'm resisting getting new gribs - we have to cope with whatever we meet anyway and the gribs seem to change radically every update, so better just to get on with it. I'm not too concerned about the pass itself - I can see from the topography why it could be dangerous but we can go in and have a look. Portland and Alderney races with wind against tide are good for the confidence and McQ professes to be on top of those, so we'll just probe gently when we get there - starting, obviously, at low water slack or an hour or so before. Once we're inside, we have to reassess and move on.

The fix - two large cable clamps about half a metre above the swage, clamping a big U shaped through-deck fitting to the shroud. Big turnbuckle hooked on to the U and a spectra strop from the chain plate to the bottom of the turnbuckle, tighten and bobsyer - the swage bypassed. The mast is still in column as far as I can see and I'm tempted to go for the third reef tomoz in daylight. Will do a similar setup on the other shroud as a precaution and put clamps on all the other shrouds so that we can at least buy time if they start to fail. Will take some photos for the website. Speeds, the handycam hasn't been out of its bag this trip - it's just been too busy or too wet - so there won't be any video for this leg.

Getting lots of help and advice from Dan at Westward - thanks Dan - and I think the long term fix is to get the old barge to Dutch as fast as we safely can and I'll take off the dead one and fly to Anchorage with it. Speedy is checking for riggers - there's got to be at least one somewhere - and we have another friend who will know for sure but he's not answering his mobile at the mo.

Water now 6 degrees. Not much warmer than how it comes out of the fridge. Lucky I splashed the nethers yesterday, I suppose.

McQ: Snickers and knickers

2008-05-29T14:47:00.002+01:00

I just wrote a blog but it sounded really grumpy and I am not grumpy so I have deleted it and started again. Not grumpy- just tired and my eyes are going funny looking at the horizon and the sails and the instruments and Ray in the blackness outside. Well, maybe a teensy weensy bit grumpy when our COG and heading are 40degrees different- yes four-zero, can you believe it????? grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! And when it says our boat speed is less than 2 knots, though I am adamant that we something tentacly has attached itself to our log impeller and is slowing the rotation of the paddle wheel- this is not entirely unreasonable as we certainly feel we are going faster through the water that it says we are!!! And our SOG indicates current with us, which, well, could that possibly be true, after all this time???????? Can't even comprehend what it must be like to have current WITH us (even if its with us and a lot left!!!)

Trisail up and wee headsail too. Ray has had it too and keeps whining, extending fully and making us want to tack. Can catch most of them but have had to accept a donut too. hmmm. He's alright if we don't try and make him go too high, but of course, if we don't go high we are heading straight for Amchitka ISlAND (instead of PASS- yes, huge difference!!!!)

We've had a Pretty eventful afternoon really- just as Alex described, but it'll serve me right for spending the previous 2 off watches considering the merits of opening the snickers and changing knickers and not sleeping!! Now it is 9pm and I am very very, very, very tired!!! Temporary rig repair, bypassing the unwinding bit on the lower shroud, seems to be working so far (touch wood) and this is the reason we are taking it gently with trisail etc. Do not want to lose the rig. Not a good look for any boat!!! And masts not the easiest things to just pop down to the shops and pick up a new one whenever you feel like it, obviously!!!!

OK, things looking better now- 4knots SOG and roughly making course- yay!!! s'pose I should get back on deck and go say words of encouragement to Ray...

Snickers were for 6 days to go, which might have been tomorrow, but prob not for a couple more days now!! Knickers, still undecided, too tired to decide now, will reconsider in morning.

Nearly got through a whole blog without mentioning my feet, which are, incidentally, as cold as my nose, which is very cold, so cold, infact, that I have to keep checking it is still there. It is.

Is it time for bed yet???

Lots of love
McQueen
xxx

North to Alaska! Thu 29/05/2008 09:59

2008-05-29T10:14:00.001+01:00

[Just before receiving this, got call from Alex, to reassure everyone that they're okay - a little local difficulty. -ed]

We just crossed the 200 mile territorial waters line. USA it is....Kind of special to have actually done it. vTiny remnant of Dr Brian's Med. compound shared between us to celebrate. So far soo good

Interesting how a bit of adversity changes the perspective - before The Event, I was all tenterhooks and anticipation - what will we find at Amchitka? Now I don't care - we'll get there, we'll sort it and maybe call in at Adak - I'd like to do that anyway and we now have an excellent reason if customs are nervous - and then dutch and one more fix than intended.

Much later and a sleep - just re-run various lines across the deck to free up a couple of winches and the trisail is now working as intended. Satphone has just beeped so will go for grib and send this - lots more for later.

Love ysz all. That's a Polish 'yez...'

Pearshapedness in earnest. 4808.41 17658.37 will do as noon as well. Thu 29/05/2008 05:45

2008-05-29T09:03:00.000+01:00

There was this metallic bang. AW in bunk instantly rigid, thinking oooh s..t! I know what that is - and so it turned out. The starboard inner shroud - the big heavy one that supports the lower half of the mast - has started to strand, or break, strand by strand. Happened in the Atlantic last time too - and now I wish I had insisted on staloks but that's life. This despite bungees to stop the shrouds moving. We have bypassed the swage using cable clamps and turnbuckles and we're sailing again, but it's softly softly from here. Really serious problem if it develops. Even worse of the port one starts to go as well. Big, big effort getting it sorted - and in the middle of it all, murphy struck again - cannot imagine how this one happened, but all the line in the furler drum ran out long before we could get the sail all rolled up. Sorted that one too, not without some interesting events.

So the state of play - I have spoken to the rigger who made the rig and he's sending the dimensions of the shroud to the website. I will call our contact in Seattle to see whether we can get 2 new ones made there, or anchorage, and shipped to us, else have them made in Sydney and shipped to Dutch.

Not the end of the world, but may slow things down a bit while we faff around. Watch this space!

Meantime I'm going to Consult - Mcq is cooking noodles for afters. Dr Steve, yours was next in the Medicinal Compound Management Plan and very good it was. The whole set of three brews has aged beautifully.

A couple of hours later - i've rung around the world sorting possible options - the most important thing now is to get through Amchitka and to dutch. From there we can fix anything. We've got the small heady and the trisail up, doing 5kt in roughly the right direction - losing a bit of height, unfortunately, but trying to keep the rig unstressed. Quite messy and still semi violent so taking it very easy. Weather for the next three days is critical - but we'll get there. Wouldn't be a proper Berri voyage without one go at least of trisail-in-anger so I hope this is the only one needed! Next watch, after some sleep, I'm going to put a cable clamp on all the other shrouds so that if any of them initiate recalcitrance, we've got 'em covered and can rig a bypass very quickly.

We're 3 miles from the US of A...wooohooo and yeeehaaaa! By the time you read this, AGW, we'll be in the promised land.

Best option from here might be for me to fly to Anchorage from Dutch with the dead one and find a rigger. We'll see what turns up.

Blonk:4723.44 17608.40 @ 0200 Wed 28/05/2008 17:20

2008-05-28T17:38:00.000+01:00

Soft, woolly darkness - a bit like reading under the bedclothes with a fading torch as a kid - there's almost no light from above so the sky is only just grey - uniform, dark, dull grey and the horizon merges into it so there is almost no frame of reference either - the boat's movements seem randoom and you can't anticipate and brace. Gyrations subdued in a fairly gentle sea but difficult nonetheless. Thick, dense overcast, base almost at sea level and we're in and out of misty low cloud all the time - vis from perhaps 1/2 mile out to maybe three at best so constant vigilance needed. Berri's masthead is a little platform about 6 inches wide and 9 long. It has the tricolour light at the aft end with the windex behind it, the VHF stub aerial in front to the right and the lightning conductor to the left and the anemometer sticks out ahead of the mast. In the mist, the effect is eerie - the tricolour streams its green, red and white sectors which reflect from the mist, and each bit of equipment casts its own shadow, so we seem to be sailing along under a glowing set of spokes and coloured lights. Very good check too, that the tricolor sectors are properly aligned. Looking up, I saw a ghostly glimpse of a big bird - unexpected and surprising - and there are the very occasional but very bright dino sparkles out to the sides in the surge - we're doing 6 knots and long may it last!

All quite soft and gentle, but Lizzie makes it seem a whole lot more serious - she whizzes and whirrs and howls down at the back and it sounds just like quite strong wind in the rig so I'm always slightly edgy until I've got the different sounds isolated and sorted. Berri would be almost silently slipping along just now but for out tame banshee!

Given all this, I must get the raincatcher radar reflector up into the rig in daylight - I have already checked that all the christmas tree lights on the mast are working in case we get into a close encounter and we need to advertise with attitude.

The grib ain't so rosy - the low is deepening and we need to get through that pass by Friday evening or we may have to sit it out this side. Not really much better the other side either, but the passage through is critical. Then Adak or Dutch depending on conditions and our diesel reserves.

Thanks to everyone who has sent us information on Adak and tides - Chris, H, Mjc, Speeds - and I'll try to contact various authorities tomorrow ADT

Ann - assume you meant N Pacific - Dutch is on N side of island, so must pass through Aleutian chain to get to it. 3 passes close to it are all very dangerous for small boats - google Unimak, Akutan - so approaching through a less dangerous one - originally intended Amukta but current & wind have pushed us way west and Amchitka beckons. Sort of.

Australia operates 2 massively powerful transmitters, VMW @ Wiluna and VMC @ Charleville to coordinate distress, safety snd wx info- they have to put them on the edge of the desert s they doon't fry all the local sheep. I was listening to VMC loud and clear and undistorted on 4149 earlier this evening. Must be nearly 6000 miles away. We're now closer to Belgium sailmail stn than NSW.

lift off and excuses for our course!!! Wed 28/05/2008 13:10

2008-05-28T13:18:00.000+01:00

We have lift!!! Its now 2100 Sydney time and the wind has come further round behind us than expected at all for now- thank you wind gods!! Long may it continue and fingers crossed that the weather gods aren't just toying with us and we will get a battering of some sort from them over the next few days- now, if everyone can concentrate on sending them good and happy vibes, so they remain nice to us, that would be great!!

Also neglected to draw attention to the fact, in my last witterings, that we are not actually useless sailors but the reason our angles are so bad relative to the wind is current!!! (is true, is true) So whilst we might reasonably sail 045 in a strong E wind and a bit of a sea, what that actually gives us (currently, (haha)) is around 020 over the ground- not good. On the upside, unlike the entire length of most of the Pacific, this current was expected (think it might even be called the Aluetian Current) and we can be pretty sure we are in it since the water pretty quickly changed from 18C to 8C. brrrrrr!!!

Whatever happens,all appendages, as Whitters would say, crossed for the SSE breeze to last, well forever, round here would be nice!!!!

Much love again
Mcq
xxx

4654.19 17525.17 Change of vegetable Wed 28/05/2008 10:53

2008-05-28T11:00:00.000+01:00

The time has come, the Walrus said, to speak of other things: of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of mushy peas and kings...

As I write, there's a can of mushies sitting on top of the cooling engine (yes!)getting its preliminary charge of heat before I stand it in hot water too really get it hot. Then it gets slipped into a polar fleece sock and down to the end of my bunk and - magic really - warm feet.

JG, thanks for camera advice - problem is that when you half press, it locks the focus and when you don't know the distance or if its further than a boat length, it gets tricky. My albatross in the sun was about 50 metres away and there's nothing that far out to focus on...bummer.

And if I'd had my brain in gear for the last few days I'd have realised that we have the phone number for US Customs in Dutch in the digital chart info. I will call them first thing tomorrow ADT and ask about Adak entry and they might even know about credit card facilities. There's no Adak data in the chart.

McQ's lift arrived and we're sailing reasonably above our required track for the barn door. As McQ says though, the Examiner has a real chance to get fancy with us if she plays fast and loose with the big low forming ahead. We'll see, I guess. It's all grind from here.

McQ: Whether the weather be...and, of course, my feet!!

2008-05-28T10:58:00.000+01:00

From our the latest grib we have, it seems there is a bit of a low low forming (might already have formed, but outside of area grib shows?)to the SW of us. In the grib for 10pm this evening (Sydney time) we can just see the easterlies on the edge of the page. Over here where we are we should have easterlies, or with a bit of good luck, SE, and thus a bit of a lift, at about 15knots. Grib for the next 24 hours shows low arc'ing northeast- up towards the Aluetians and where we will potentially be, will be in strong (20+knots) E wind- so we try and make as much easting as we can now, as it is likely we will be forced north, (and to the left of Amchitka) tomorrow. Though, its too early to say, and the gribs change all the time, but the outlook for friday 10pm (72 hours grib) show the low moving NE still and even stronger Easterlies, but just below, as you would expect, moderate S/SW around lat 49...which we may or may not be north of, depending!!
So, now listen up wind and weather gods, this is what is going to happen: we'll have a wee lift tonight and tomorrow then the low is going to move a teensy wee bit quicker so in a couple of days we shall barely have a chance to think about where strong E winds are forcing us and soon enough we shall be swept up by S/SW winds straight up to the Aluetians, through Amchitka pass- the low will continue to pass over the top of us and S winds will veer SW then W then NW: all of which will have us stonking East and in to Dutch!!!! My ETA is the 5th now!!!
Now, where's this afternoon's lift, so we can turn the engine off...???
hmmm!!
We'll see what the next grib says, but there is also the possibility that the low will go under us and in a few days we will be stonking along east in a northerly wind but unable to make any northing!!
Of course, if things don't go quite according to my plan and we have to deal with full on easterlies then, I guess we make our way north towards the islands and then at some point, either sit out the easterlies or tack back and forth to try and make our way to the east, which will be close to soul-destroying in a strong E wind (we'd be pointing SE or worse on port tack !!!) but then again, that's sailing for you- a certain proportion of the time your destination is inevitably close to where the wind is coming from!!! It's all part of the challenge and thats why we love it!!
Lots of love to everyone,
McQueen
xxx
ps forgot to mention my feet!!!
pps: kimbra, please may I have a ski mask and balaclava too, if you have room- was just thinking such thoughts during the chilly night watches!! Thank you. x

noon 4624.15 17503.44 Wed 28/05/2008 05:00

2008-05-28T08:51:00.000+01:00

dtd 852 dmg 96 - still going sideways relative to Dutch. 136 to Alaskan waters.

From this rather uncomfortable, cold and damp little grot behind the Cone, things ain't so good. IFF we can climb high enough to make it through Amchitka without having to park and wait, we're about 9 days from Dutch. If we get lucky, that is!

Real headbang stuff. Engine running, heady now rolled in, boat set up to just slide the swell rather that pound into it and stop with every third wave. So we're still 10 deg. below the direct track required of 028. Small chance from the grib that we will get a lift tonight and then again a couple of days out off the big low but it will be a close run thing. We have about 120 litres of diesel so in deep conservation mode. That is about 70 litres for distance and the rest for contingency - 70 litres is about 150 miles if we get the right conditions and we're 400 from the other side of the pass, so Adak is looking like a definite if they will allow us to enter. And if we can pay by credit card - all our $US is waiting for us in Dutch. Been trying to contact our local friend but no luck - would be a real help if someone could please let us know if Adak has credit card facilities, so that we know whether we can burn diesel to get there.

Pearshapedness looms large! All applicable appendages crossed for the next week or so please.

I've taken the punt and rolled out the headsail, cranked it right on with the autopilot following the windvane to chase every lift and 33 deg off the wind with the engine running. We're getting 015 - 025 with 5+ knots so while it doesn't get us uphill far enough, it's a lot more efficient than before and I hope we'll get the lift tonight and be able to climb far enough under sail to make the pass. Iff all goes well, we'll be in Alaska sometime late tomorrow with 220 odd to go to Amchitka.

4609.28 17453.50 and pearshaped Tue 27/05/2008 23:30

2008-05-28T08:49:00.000+01:00

Seems that pearshapedness prevails, at least as far as Amchitka goes. To hit the centre of the barn door, we need to track 030M but current, wind and sea state only allow us about 015 - 020M. This means we will make landfall some 70 - 90 miles west of the pass and have to fight our way into the teeth of the easterlies in front of the low developing to the west. Poo! I have the engine running, full sail just at the point of stall, squeezing every inch of height we can get while the wind is soft. We may well have to do a Cook and park while it all blows through. No word from anyone re Adak entry yet, but we may well need to go in there for fuel.

Kimbra - agree with you, Tom and the other naysayers. We'll go without a rifle - you can carry the oxo cubes and I'll push the wheelbarrow with the pepper spray, McQ can be the advance Party - did I really say that?. And yes, ski masks (3 better than 1) but better still windsurfer helmets with visor - unlikely in Anchorage! May be a fisho equivalent in Dutch - will advise. Cd you please buy 3 metal half litre camping water bottles for hotties, hand warmers etc - they'll need reasonably heatproof tops and the wider the top the better for dekettling into. Thanks re fleece.

Carla - thanks - thought it must be ice! And it certainly looked like bushfire smoke. We must be in some sort of propagation hole unless there's a bug in the calculator - unheard of in Jim Corenman's stuff, so I'll go for the hole. The whole thing went red as we crossed 43 degrees.

Pascal - probably too late but if you do ring our satphone, please keep ringing back until someone answers. The person who hears it first will be in their bunk, the phone is sequestered in driest possible spot and awkward to get at .... but someone will get there eventually. Don't leave a voice message - we'll never get it. I'll try your cell after this. We're not in Dutch yet - I'd say about 10 days from here, all things considered.

Blunky Tue 27/05/2008 19:06

2008-05-27T19:38:00.000+01:00

Looks as if we will be at or close to amchitka on saturday. we have tidal data from argos stations either side but not for pass itself - seems low water slack is around noon utc sat 30th = 0400 alaska daylight time so if we're there it will be a dawn entry - locals advise not at night. Can anyone pse confirm low water time sat, sun, mon - Kimbra/Tom perhaps?

water temp 8 deg and now more current from NE so probably in the Aleutian slope flow, though still a long way out. Hands too cold for more - will do another in daylight. Water at Cape Horn was 7 deg.

Anyone for a tour of old nuclear testing sites? Jump aboard! First the Marshalls, now Amchitka. I doubt whether we could get to New Mexico, but there's Mururoa and a few others to go.

For ages now, I've been hearing a strange squeaky chirruping noise at night. Unable to place it but assumed that it was not threatening and probably coming from some part of Kevvo's wheels and pulleys. A couple of night ago, in the yellow cheesy moonlight. I saw a ghostly, tumbling black shape silhouetted against the moon's reflection - yay! got it - it's the Stormy Petrels talking to eachother. They must congregate around the boat at night attracted by the lights.

We're now nearly at 46N - way past Tasmania and approaching Stewart Island in our southern equivalents. Berri's highest latitude was Cape Horn at 57 and a bit south, and the Fastnet at about 51N so we're getting close to one and closer to another. Shame there's no gin.

Through the water log now reads 6343 after starting at 342, so 6000 miles - would be at Dutch if no current -we couldn't have gone much straighter. Must work out our average speed ttw - must be better than 5 kts.

A cold, wet, grey gloomy morning out here beyond the boonies. Manchester as I remember it, every Tuesday. Supposed to be midsummer - but I like it heaps as long as it keeps bringing us wind and keeping the nasties south of us.

Hey, Austin - glad you've found us again - pass the word around! Would be really interesting to know who else is out there - sign the gust book please everyone!

McQ: Ship Ahoy!!!

2008-05-27T16:16:00.001+01:00

4452N, 17423E- just had an enormous container ship cross behind us from west to east. He was huge and so fully laden with containers that the bridge was barely visible over the top and he looked as though he had containers hanging over the back too- literally full to bursting!! He was dark blue and he passed close enough behind us for me to read CMA CGM (just, and I think!!!) on his side (but not close enough to stress about) He did come absolutely stonking out of nowhere though- I guess they don't expect to encounter anything out here and it really is full speed ahead... wasn't long before he was gone over the horizon at the other side either. I watched him for a bit after he passed, partly to make sure he didn't do anything crazy like turn around and come and have a look at us (like MV Beryl, once before in the Atlantic!!) and partly cause, in about 45 days, that is really the only tangible evidence I have that there is still a world ticking over out there!! If they'd been able to see me close up they would have wondered what this random michelin man-girl with bunches was doing sipping coffee and staring at them intently but a bit glakit from the cockpit of this tiny boat!!!

Sailing again, all good... should prob get back to deck to watch for more ships, would not be good to get mown down and squished here, so near to a large glass of red juice!!!

lots of love
McQueen
xxx
ps is seymour out there at all??... miss your chat seymour, if you are!! will try call from dutch. xxx

noon 4439.10 17413.12 Tue 27/05/2008 03:57

2008-05-27T09:14:00.000+01:00

dtd 948 dmg 91

dmg much better for Amchitka as we are heading more or less straight towards it. Now only 250 nm from US territorial waters - we're only a couple of days from Alaska at least, touch wood and lick me nose...

What to report - good wind, benign sea for the last 2 days - unimaginable. Real progress, although the bloody GPS keeps telling us we're not getting any closer timewise. Blood red sunrise - rather like sydney bushfire effect - obviously particulates in the air but what and where from? Indonesian forests? Chinese industry? I took a photo of the sun with an albatross just about to cross it - perfect timing but out of focus and just a splodge so worthless. Pity.

Found a way to get the fuel filter off the engine to fix the oil leak, which had been getting worse (obvious really - put a hose clip around it and was able to turn it by hand) and cleaned up the contact areas and replaced it with a new one so I hope that's sorted.

We're in a propagation hole - not a patch of green anywhere on the calculator and almost no orange. Checked the co-ordinates and all ok - anyone heard about unusual sunspot activity?

Carla - yay! re Phoenix. What it is looking for? And thanks re Dall's porps. They were dazzling.

Kimbra - thanks for Gary R stuff - really useful contact - and for fleecy inners. Have mine in my Chinese slippers from Beijing that keep my feet off all the damp floor inside.

Duncan - thanks heaps for all that research - basically confirmed my own opinions - I have raincatcher as well and have just assembled it. Will remove the cylinder in dutch. Also have AIS gizmology, but it seems to have gone to sleep so will have it checked.

McQ: Yep you guessed it- more about my feet

2008-05-27T09:13:00.001+01:00

Oh Kimbra, how wonderful you are!!! This morning we opened one of Kimbras parcels, on her recommendation, and what were they?? A pair of fluffy insoles for each of us- AMAZING!!! I have never been so excited!! Have just finished watch and am about to cut down to size... then the question remains, will they fit inside the ziplocs or do I risk removing the ziplocs and hopefully it will be a long time before the damp (not wet anymore) insides seep through my new woolly insoles... whatever happens, boy they look like they will toast my tooty toes a treat!!!! Thank you!!!
Its starting to seem as if I am a bit obsessed about my feet.
Was a bit over excited this morning, got up, made coffee, oatcakes and marmalade as a treat for brekkie- a change from museli and undried fruit, back to the museli for a few days tomorrow tho, then crackers for a bit, before any more oatcake rations, I think. Had my vitamins too, went on deck and then realised it was only 0400, usually wait till 0900 watch before doing all of the above!!! Got a bit ahead of myself this morning tho- think it might be cause we've stuck to Sydney time but realistically we must be a few hours ahead by now, so it's pretty light pretty early. We've got a 6 hour time change between Sydney and Alaska (and also it'll be yesterday, if you see what I mean!!) Might be sensible to change the clocks when we cross the dateline, or we might end up very confused as we near Dutch!!
Right, must get on the woolly feet case.
Sailing again- woo hoo!!! Gentle 5.8 knots boat speed, in the right(ish) direction, not loads of wind but all our sail up... all good really!!
Lots o love
McQueen
xxx
ps dave bright: what are your words for fingers and toes? I think i remember but I won't announce just in case I am totally wrong and then people really would think I was mad!!! Oh, am contemplating talking to the walrus, what do you think??
pps: mum, Frozen in Time is by Owen Beattie and John Geiger