Issuma: The End of the Voyage

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Richard Hudson has completed  his circumnavigation of the Americas (via Greenland, Antarctica, and Capetown) at Norfolk, Virginia.  The last leg? Two months and 5,000 miles single-handed.

After almost two months at sea and more than 5,000 miles, Issuma reached Norfolk, Virginia. This was both my longest passage and my longest singlehanded passage. 

The trip started with great winds, and was very easy up to the ITCZ (Doldrums). The ITCZ was not difficult, just a little less than very easy. The last third of the trip, when the wind went light while near the Bermuda high, was much more exercise. Light winds made self-steering more difficult, and slowed the boat down in the hot, sunny weather. I put aluminum foil inside the pilothouse windows to lower the inside temperature (lots of clear windows are nice for bringing in warmth in Antarctica, but not so nice in the tropics). "

Read more HERE .

- George

Catch and Release

Mackerel killers

Size doesn't matter.  It's quantity when you take kids out fishing.  Mackerel fishing in the Muscongus Bay can give you the latter.  At the passage between Harbor Island and Black Island, in a spot sheltered a bit from the flood tide, we hit a school of mackerel.  Jigs and mackerel trees were doing the job.  We started off catch and release, but there were casualties, so we switched to catch and eat.- gwc

Launch of the Susan Skiff

My Monhegan Skiff has been a restoration project the last two years.  Frustrated by too much scraping, refastening, gluing and caulking I decided to find a new skiff.  Voila the Susan Skiff, built at The Apprenticeshop, Rockland. ME.  - GWC

Whale watching on the Staten Island ferry?

The Great New York Whale Census http://nyti.ms/29CalQM

Extent loss slows, then merges back into fast lane | Arctic Sea Ice News and Analysis

Extent loss slows, then merges back into fast lane | Arctic Sea Ice News and Analysis
June set another satellite-era record low for average sea ice extent, despite slower than average rates of ice loss. The slow rate of ice loss reflects the prevailing atmospheric pattern, with low pressure centered over the central Arctic Ocean and lower than average temperatures over the Beaufort Sea.

5 knots and the illusion of speed

Sailing has never lost its magic for me.  The glide through the water,  the response to changes in wind, the boat heeling and the rigging straining as the wind rises, easing as it falls.  All are tactile sensations.  But there is also the illusion of speed.  This is what 5 knots feels like aboard my boat, sailing today in a 10+ knot southerly  approaching Kings Point, Long Island Sound.

Boatyard blues

Lilacs in bloom

 

Bird House