We have Arrived in Dutch Harbor Alaska!

After sailing 3950 Nautical miles from Osaka Japan we arrived in Dutch Harbor Alaska at 1630 yesterday and tied up to the dock in the small boat harbor.  We were a little disappointed when we didn't see the crab boats made famous on the TV show made up here, but apparently they fish off the coast of Washington State in the summer time and only come to Dutch Harbor for crab season in the winter.

We will still find somewhere to feast on crab while we are here!

We are still about 2000 NM from Vancouver BC and will take a few days here to get a few things repaired on the boat and re-supply the larder....

The scenery here in Alaska is breathtaking! Eagles are everywhere and the local folks here are amazingly friendly.

 We splurged last night and went out for hamburgers and chicken wings.  After weeks of noodles, good old American food was quite a treat!

We will leave you today with a picture of "Fred", our local Otter who seems very well fed and happy....

On Our Way To North America.... Part 2

After 20 days we have now reached the halfway point in our journey. We have sailed some 2400 NM and have about the same to go. The weather now dips to the low teens (celcius) each night and the water temps have fallen below anything we have had for years... We are definitely not at the equator anymore.

We are however, now on the same day as everyone in North America. After crossing 180 longitude our time zone is now the same as Hawaii. We have adjusted the ships clock 4 times since leaving Japan and suspect we will adjust it a few more times as we continue east.

We have settled into a comfortable routine here on Blowin' Bubbles. As captain, I am ultimately responsible for everyone's safety, but the whole crew are now making most decisions on their own when it is their watch. This has made my very uncomfortable life much easier. The constant motion of the boat makes my back and ribs very sore and sometimes laying down is the only way I can manage.

Watches are broken up into 3 hour shifts. Beginning at 1900 (7pm) I take the first watch until 2200 (10pm) when Shelley takes over. I sleep on the quarter berth in the main cabin in case anyone needs me during the night. Also, in our cabin at the back, Myrtle (our hydraulic motor on the auto pilot) constantly moans back and forth as she steers the boat and keeps me awake. Shelley's watch goes until 0100 (1am) when Derek takes over until Christina comes on at 0400 (4am)until 0700 (7am) when I take over again until 1000 (10am). Between 1000 and 1900 during the day (assuming the weather is behaving) one of the three of the crew are keeping an eye on things. I usually bury myself away somewhere to sleep and read...

We don't sit outside much anymore at these latitudes. It is getting quite chilly even during the day. We have come to really appreciate the pilothouse on this boat, as we can do everything except manage the sails and tend the fishing lines from inside the warm boat.

Speaking of fishing, we have caught only 1 fish! We troll from sun up to sun down and mostly NOTHING! Hopefully once we get nearer the protected waters of USA and Canada there might be a few more fish to catch.

We will hopefully post again when we get closer to home. Cheers!

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