Disenchantment Bay | Issuma

To the left is the intrepid mariner Richard Hudson (no relation to Henry) in a portrait by crewmember Maggie. Here he is at Disenchantment Bay, Alaska. He explains "In 1792, Alessandro Malaspina, an Italian nobleman and Spanish Naval officer, was looking for the Northwest Passage for the King of Spain. Sailing up Yakutat Bay until stopped by the ice from the glaciers, he named the NE part of Yakutat Bay Puerto del Desengano (Disenchantment Bay). "

Below is  a picture of fellow traveler Ivumbu sailing just ahead of Issuma at Yakutat Bay, Alaska.

Disenchantment Bay | Issuma:

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The Tweed Run

Bill Cunningham photographs bicycling about New York in Tweed: The Tweed Run

Rockaways Gaeltacht- NYTimes.com

Ed Shevlin drives a garbage truck for
the sanitation department.  He has been awarded a Fulbright
so he can continue his Irish language study.

Thomas Costello, my great grandfather, came to Brooklyn from Casla, just west of Galway, across a narrow finger of Galway Bay from where the ferry leaves for the Aran Islands. When Taisy and I visited 10 years ago we walked into the grocery store and everyone was speaking Irish, as they called it. Irish kids - who have to study Gaelic as a second language - go there in the summers to live with Irish-speaking families. Today in the Irish Riviera - the Belle Harbor section of the Rockaways in Queens a bit of that world lives. - GWC

Ed Shevlin Polishes His Irish While Collecting the Trash - NYTimes.com: "THE jolly trash man was going about his route in the Rockaways, Queens, when he spied a woman in front of her house."

“Cé hé bhfuil tú?” he greeted her. Naturally, the woman replied, “Tá mé go maith.” “Ceart go leor,” the trash man shot back.

This exchange — roughly: “How are you?” “I’m fine.” “Ah, grand!” — was in Irish, the Gaelic language that survives only in parts of Ireland — and to a lesser extent, along the garbage route of Ed Shevlin, 51. The route winds through the Belle Harbor section of the Rockaways, where conversations were once commonly conducted “as Gaeilge.
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Issuma: Yakutat Bay

Maggie has joined the crew at Yakutat.  They seem to be travelling tandem now with Ralf on Ivumbu, who is more of a diarist than Richard to check out Ivumbu's blog.

Issuma: single-handed from Kodiak

Kodiak Harbor, Kodiak Island, Alaska

Cape St. Elias, Kayak Island

Richard Hudson departed Kodiak harbor - single-handed and headed across the Gulf of Alaska.  Taking the long route - in case the storm to his south headed north, he made Cape St. Elias, Kayak Island in about three days.  My guess is that was a 300 mile run, leaving him about 350 miles northwest of Juneau.  I assume he is going to take the inside passage to Vancouver, a route memorably described by Jonathan Raban in Passage to Juneau.

How to use Pine Tar:

Genuine Pine Tar: 100% Organic authentic Stockholm pine tar.: "An Ancient Pine Tar Recipe: Thinning with organic boiled linseed oil is recommended to obtain faster penetration and reduce stickiness. Apply warm if possible.

Combine equal parts of Genuine Pine Tar and Purified Organic Linseed Oil - boiled, 100% cleaned and sterilized linseed oil from Allback, Sweden.
Heat to 80 degrees F and mix thoroughly.
Apply warm if possible."


How to Use Pine Tar Preservative | eHow.com: "Pine tar, when mixed with linseed oil and turpentine, is sometimes called Old Down East Deck Coating or boat soup. Pine tar is a protective coating for wood and dates back to the nineth century Vikings. Pine tar helps to waterproof and protect wood. This pine tar mixture is also absorbed into the oakum, or rope caulking, and acts as a preservative. It dries in the open air and does not feel sticky when touched."

One quart of pine tar to 1 gallon of 100% mineral spirits, seasoned with turpentine. Yum!

Pine Tar; History And Uses: "Pine Tar; History And Uses

by Theodore P. Kaye

Few visitors to any ship which as been rigged in a traditional manner have left the vessel without experiencing the aroma of pine tar. The aroma produces reactions that are as strong as the scent; few people are ambivalent about its distinctive smell. As professionals engaged in the restoration and maintenance of old ships, we should know not only about this product, but also some of its history.
Wood tar has been used by mariners as a preservative for wood and rigging for at least the past six centuries"

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Bass Fishing Time at Montauk Lighthouse - NYTimes.com

Montauk Light - all photos NY Times

The waters of Gardiners Bay and Long Island Sound rip around Montauk Point, carrying bait fish and the stripers and blue fish that prey on them. And this time - October - is prime time. Keepers have to be 38 inches.
And they're good eating.  Below is a video recipe for poached striped bass. - GWC

Bass Fishing Time at Montauk Lighthouse - NYTimes.com:

by Corey Kilgannon

"REX ADILI of Totowa, N.J., took up fishing several years ago because he wanted a relaxing hobby. Then he discovered Montauk, and bought a crash helmet.

Fishing here is an extreme sport, especially on the perilous rocky shores around the Montauk Lighthouse, where boots with tungsten-carbide spikes are needed for traction, where fisherman wield $1,000 rods, where fights regularly break out over fishing spot"


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Cod Fishing in Massachusetts | Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Cod Fishing in Massachusetts | Hunter Angler Gardener Cook:
 "As most anyone in America knows, the stocks of codfish, haddock and pollock have crashed due to overfishing. Groundfish, as this trio of species are known, once supported the entire region’s economy. They may even have been an impetus for the early exploration of North America. Now they’re gone. We killed our golden goose.


This too tugged at me as we left Gloucester Harbor last Saturday in a driving rain and sullen, oily seas. Do I really want to be targeting a fish so depleted? Do I want to be the guy who caught the last codfish?"

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Columbus Day Weekend

It started with the first frost, followed by indian summer - both great weather for James running across the marsh at full tilt, and doggy paddling in the river.  (More in the slideshow.)
And it was a great weekend for Marilyn and me - celebrating our 20th anniversary at our place in Friendship.  (click on photos to enlarge)

Into the Pacific: Issuma

Richard Hudson reports on September 28 that Issuma departed Dutch Harbor late afternoon and passed from the Bering Sea into the Pacific Ocean.  After a night `heaving to' at sea in the lee of some reefs, they passed through the Shumagin Islands, part of the Aleutian chain.  The rocks to the left are "The Haystacks".
Issuma is southbound, perhaps for Hawaii. 

Dutch Harbor remains U.S. Top Fishing Port

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its seafood rankings for 2010, and Dutch Harbor/Unalaska at the entrance to the Aleutian chain tops the list for landings. Approximately 515 million pounds of seafood crossed the docks here last year – that’s almost 100 million more pounds than Reedville, Virginia, the next busiest port. The community has now been first on that list for 22 years in a row.

Seven other Alaskan communities are also on that list. Kodiak ranks fifth with 325 million pounds, and Cordova is eighth with almost 150 million pounds. Naknek, Ketchikan, Seward, Sitka, and Petersburg also made the top 20.

Northwest Passage 2012 dot com: Unalaska Alaska Remains America's Top Fishing Port:

George Snyder is about to begin a very difficult course of treatment.  Sara, Cree, Jesse, Sam & Toby gathered with George for a blessing ceremony in Native American style at George & Sara's Home in Occidental, California this past weekend.  May the Lord be with you. 
Video by Mike Loisel

Issuma: Dutch Harbor, Aleutian Islands

Issuma arriving at Dutch Harbor, Aleutian Islands

Issuma has arrived at Dutch Harbor , Alaska, having passed through the Bering Sea.  The largest fishing port (by volume) in the United States, it is 1,014 due southwest of Anchorage, near the south end of the Alaskan Peninsula at the beginning of the Aleutian Island chain. 


At 53° 53′ 20.34″ N,166° 31′ 38.06″ W the town is the prime location of Deadliest Catch.  A southerly course to Honolulu seems a likely next port.  From there Chile? And Cape Horn?

Weather Underground reports the weather today as overcast, 45 degrees at 5 PM with lots of rain in the forecast.  the average mean temperature in January is 31.5F and 52F in August.  It rains 250 days of the year.