a woman of substance - Issuma

Maggie

Motoring Along | Issuma:

Issuma: Peril Strait, Sergius Narrows

Peril Strait, Sergius Narrows, north of Sitka, in November.  How much more do you need to know to be sure to be careful about when you make that passage.  The current runs about 6 - 8 knots, through a narrow channel, according to the tide tables.  Richard describes his careful timing of Issuma's passage.  He didn't want to make that run when the # 8 buoy laid over like the picture above.  Of course the weather did not cooperate.  He got the tide right but had to pass through the narrows in a snow storm and strong wind. Tough enough as we see in this picture below which he took as they passed #8 Nun which marks a ledge.

3 Small Cameras Come Up Big in Photo Quality - NYTimes.com

3 Small Cameras Come Up Big in Photo Quality - NYTimes.com: "If you’re a camera buff, you can give thanks for the arrival of three of the best cameras ever made: the Sony NEX-7, the Samsung NX200 and the Canon S100."

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She Moved Through the Fair - Van Morrison

with the Chieftains

Siobhan McKenna

Today is the birthday of the late great Irish actress Siobhan Mcenna

Star of the County Down

Man To Sail Around World To Decrease Awareness Of Important Issues | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

pointless, aimless voyager

It's about time!

Man To Sail Around World To Decrease Awareness Of Important Issues | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

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Veterans « tugster: a waterblog

PC 1264 - a subchaser - was built by Consolidated - which now is a yacht yard on Pilot Street, City Island.   My father's sub chaser was built by Luders in Stamford.  The remains of PC 1264 are sunk on Staten Island.  Tugster has the story.
Veterans « tugster: a waterblog:

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Escape from Yakutat | Issuma

Cape Spencer, AK - entrance to the Inside Passage

Richard Hudson and crew on Issuma got a weather window and made the 140 mile run from Yakutat Bay to Cape Spencer - the entrance to the Inside Passage. Looks like winter in Vancouver, not Yakutat. Congratulations, Richard!
Good thing - because NOAA is reporting an epic storm in the Bering Sea.

Away | Issuma: "Late the next day, we approached Cape Spencer (picture) in good conditions, with a tailwind, intermittent rain and hail from a mild frontal passage, and 5m/16' following seas."

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Epic Bering Sea Storm Lashes Alaska's Western Coast With Hurricane-Force Gusts and Blizzard Conditions - ABC News

Alaska Weather: Bering Sea Storm Lashes Alaska's Western Coast With Hurricane-Force Gusts and Blizzard Conditions - ABC News:
h/t Jesse Fradkin

 "On the remote Alaskan coast of the Bering Sea, a storm of "epic magnitude," in the words of the National Weather Service, is punishing local villages with high winds and blizzard conditions.
Winds along the coast reached 40 to 55 mph, with hurricane-force gusts of 85 mph. Forecasters warned of 30-foot waves, and sea levels 8 to 10 feet above normal. Even for western Alaska, one of the stormiest places in America, this storm was unusually fierce.
"One of the worst Bering Sea storms on record will cause widespread strong winds and coastal flooding," said a warning from the weather service. "This will be extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm of an epic magnitude rarely experienced.""

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Leave, Return, Repeat | Issuma

Will Issuma have to winter in Yakutat, Alaska?

Ivumbu hit the road earlier and is now in the Inside passage. But Richard has now made three attempts to make the 140 mile run to the beginning of the Inside Passage. Will they be wintering in Yakutat, Alaska? - GWC

p.s. notes on weather sources for the Northwest Passage are HERE.

Leave, Return, Repeat | Issuma:

"The critical thing to keep in mind about travelling in high latitudes is how easy it is to get into a survival situation. The Gulf of Alaska (and anywhere that far north) is a really unforgiving place in November. We weren't in any danger, but, if we wore ourselves out by getting cold hand-steering outside for hours in freezing spray, the danger was that if anything went wrong (like an engine problem, or taking on water), we would be exhausted, and not necessarily capable of quick, rational thinking and action."

We had tried for several weeks to leave Yakutat, and knew this break in the weather might be the last one until spring.It is really hard to turn back, when you know you are likely to make it if you just persevere and tough it out. But while the risk of something going wrong was small, it was still there, and I decided it was better to return to Yakutat.We turned around. Before easing off the throttle and setting sails (as the wind was now with us), we were making 8.7 knots. We had spent all day coming less than 30 miles, and we were soon back at the dock in Yakutat,Was Issuma going to spend the winter in Yakutat?

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NY Marathon winners

Everyone that finishes is a winner, of course, but here are the top finishers: Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya (a course record - 2:05:06)and Firehiwot Dado of Ethiopia (2:23:15).

Warm Hands - Issuma

Richard Hudson has advice here on how to keep your hands warm and dry.
He says that when he actually handles lines he does not wear gloves.  Not even 3/4 length finger gloves??  As usual practical advice.