The sailors do not line up to go through the Bering Strait. Not many have been through to tell its tail of icing, harrowing seas, converging currents and screaming winds. Generally when a few are caught in a violent storm with a pitch pole or two, we don’t see another for several years as word does get around. Willie pitch poled lengthwise 3 times in the late 80’s or early 90’s and it was years before we saw another sailboat.

The narrow passage between continents is one of the most special places on earth. There are two oceans, two continents, two days, two islands, two super powers, and as if to follow the political correctiveness, two colors of ocean streaming through to the north. There is a spot I have stood on, that put me into all these ‘twos’ at the same time. (It was winter, out in the middle on the ice. I wanted to do it Dec 31, 1999/Jan1, 2000 to add two years, two centuries and two millennium, but Alas, it is two dark and two mid winter in the worst weather and ice on earth) It makes your hair stand on end to even think about it.

To understand the summer Bering Strait weather one needs to look at a map and think to oneself, what will happen if the wind changes a few degrees? There is very high heat in the interiors of both the US and Russia. There is almost always ice in the arctic ocean and there is always a heavy blanket of cold moisture in the Pacific. All these within a couple hundred miles. Add a pressure system or two… or three, stir it all up with a big stick and it becomes impossible to predict, extremely volatile, and violent. I once crossed the strait from the Russian side in full blue skies and dead calm seas. In a total of two hours we first had huge swills, a small cloud appeared over Diomede(s), It grew fast enough it looked like a really bad sickening horror movie, and then we bounced ashore at little Diomede in a gale.(I don’t speak ‘sailor’- I hope ‘gale’ doesn’t mean anything more than a storm).

There are not many places outside a few long fjords at a full moon that it is possible for a standing wave in the ocean. Diomede has standing waves. To stand on the tiny island and stare at the enormity of the ocean going by at the speed of a river with standing waves… I wonder how the tiny Eskimo umiaks ever made it. I did it once and I still wonder.

Today the tiny ship Berrimilla is in a storm, heading north in the middle of the Bering Strait. My prayers are with them and my hat is off.

Pat from Nome

So we crossed the Arctic Circle yesterday afternoon- I was off watch and chilling in my toasty warm bunk and it was pouring with rain outside so I stayed put, spared a thought for Neptune for helping us this far and glanced out the window to see if it was as I remembered. And indeed it was, not dissimilar to the equator infact- just different creatures!!! Balancing precariously atop a giant floating Fox’s Glacier Mint was a big fluffy white bear, an even bigger mosquito with extra long skinny limbs, a huge spike for a nose and a big red belly, full to bursting, resting against the bear, and various other arctic animals playing around them: Walri, foxes, reindeer and huskies, all trying to topple the mint!!! There was a long thick pole sticking out one side and a big circular wooden board attached to the top and into that an arctic lemming was chiselling- “You are now crossing the arctic circle! Welcome to the Arctic!!!” As we passed they all waved and we waved back and carried on. Not quite as flashy as the equator and certainly no neon lights but a friendly welcome nonetheless!!!
What’s more, Kimbra is now officially calling me an Arctic Loon, as opposed to the common variety found further south!!

Its good to be back at sea!!! Chilly but great to be making progress north!!
Hope everyone well,
Lot of love
McQueen
xxx

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May be only temporary – reconfigured whole shebang from first principles ans seems to work. AmodinoSteel boat built in NZ and sailed through the North West Passage with us. around BarrowPoint Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States. More on wikipedia – no ice – 20 knot-- Speed: definition of speed at sea. One knot is one nautical mile per hour. The nautical mile is about 1.15 % longer than the "statute" mile used on land. A knot is about half a metre per second. -- A knot is also the result of winding a rope around itself or another rope to make a join or a loop . headwind and 1 knot-- Speed: definition of speed at sea. One knot is one nautical mile per hour. The nautical mile is about 1.15 % longer than the "statute" mile used on land. A knot is about half a metre per second. -- A knot is also the result of winding a rope around itself or another rope to make a join or a loop . adverse current. So that's what the ExaminerShe who asks awkward questions of the crew and tests them with difficult tasks. is preparing – I have been concerned all along about that easterly and it's not going to be easy. Seems to blow continuously.

Otherwise, all ok – cold and damp, foggy, misty but more or less on course @ 5 kts.

Love yez all.

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We’re trickling along in the foggy foggy dew at about 3.5 kts, so BarrowPoint Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States. More on wikipedia in 2 days AGW. The latest GRIBWeather files. Graphics in Binary file: GRIB files associate a specific weather datum (eg wind velocity or atmospheric pressure) with a geographic position. Because the resulting file is a collection of these points they are extremely small and so ideal over slow links such as sailmail. predicts a nice westerly around about then. Do we burn some precious diesel to make sure we get there in case the GRIBWeather files. Graphics in Binary file: GRIB files associate a specific weather datum (eg wind velocity or atmospheric pressure) with a geographic position. Because the resulting file is a collection of these points they are extremely small and so ideal over slow links such as sailmail. is right? Or do we trickle along, save fuel and take a punt that we really will get there in 2 days? Instinct says burn, baby, burn – will cost us a lot more fuel if we miss the westerly.

So – if we’re going to burn, when? Best when going slowest to get max miles per litre. Now poled out and still trickling but a smidge faster.

NoiceAlexism for quite a lot of things which taste good or are going especially well to see the lat/long co-ordinates changing in the right direction as last. 164 degrees of longitude does seem to be a large number.

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If the wind does come around to the west it will blow all the ice back inshore. No choice really – we’re burning diesel – westerly due in a bit over two days and we gotta be up there. Would be massively disappointing to get stuck, even for a short time, on the wrong side of the point. Does mean that we will have to refuel at least once before Cambridge unless the ExaminerShe who asks awkward questions of the crew and tests them with difficult tasks. goes on holiday. Anyone care to take her to the south of France for a couple of weeks? And chain her to a lamp post.

I’m reading a book Pat gave me about a man who lived in BarrowPoint Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States. More on wikipedia in the late 1800s and early 1900s and spent a lot of time out with the Eskimos. Quite fascinating to be passing Cape Lisburne and reading about his trip around it in skin boats and sledge and the cliffs alive with birds. The book is called Fifty Years Below Zero by Charles Brower, NY Dodd, Mead & Co, 1942 and probably long out of print but worth looking for if you are interested in what it was like to live here before it was taken over by the gold miners, the whalers and the missionaries. Thanks Pat!

Much later 0045 Nome time, 0845 UTC at 7018 16257 – another try to connect with sailmailSailmail is the system that Berrimilla uses for email communication. It is a non-profit association of yacht owners operating a network of private coast stations in the maritime Mobile Radio Service.. Still burning diesel…still no sailmailSailmail is the system that Berrimilla uses for email communication. It is a non-profit association of yacht owners operating a network of private coast stations in the maritime Mobile Radio Service.…back to iridium…

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I’m not sure of the exact latitude, but I think that for the first time in my life and certainly in Berri’s, we are both beyond the limits of the globe reached by CookBritish explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. He made 3 voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. More on wikipedia.. A moment for pause and contemplation. Or ConsultationA regular engagement with alcohol. One might say this whole epic is a Consultation with a bit of a sail round it. See also Conservation Mode; Linear and Parallel Methods of Consultation. On his way back from here to Hawaii and history, he called in somewhere on the Russian coastline, perhaps at C Dezhneva, where he met a party of Russians and he gave them a package of his charts and despatches for the Admiralty and asked them to do what they could to forward them. The package reached London many months later, possibly after CookBritish explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. He made 3 voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. More on wikipedia. himself was dead. Those papers still exist, probably at Greenwich – I wish they had the (almost certainly canvas and oilskin)wrapping and seals as well. What a story they could tell! Don’t assume, Whitters – find out when we actually get somewhere. One for MJC, perhaps?

107 miles from BarrowPoint Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States. More on wikipedia – this time tomorrow AGW. Then the real business will begin – this rather large pedestal we have constructed since April has been designed to get us up to here and launch us eastwards. We’ll miss the eclipse and probably any chance of a rendezvous with the HMPNASA's Houghton Mars Project camp on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic. people but I intend to call them when we get around the corner to find out when they will be leaving. I reckon we are about a month away from BeecheyBeechey Island is an island located in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago of Nunavut, Canada. More on wikipedia if everything goes perfectly and the ExaminerShe who asks awkward questions of the crew and tests them with difficult tasks. is still chained to that lamp post. We have used about 40 litres of diesel so far – about 10% of our load, with another day of certain motoring to BarrowPoint Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States. More on wikipedia. A bit of a punt, but so far it’s looking like a good one.

Again for the first time in my life that hasn’t been grey and overcast, the sun almost didn’t set – it was actually just below the northern horizon last night but reflecting off the low cloud and fogbanks and giving the cloud and rolling fog a deep red inner glow, like the inside of a furnace. It was so vivid that I broke out the Nik and recorded it – would love to send it to you to share the moment, but think wonder and quiet pleasure and Berri happily tooling along poled out (we actually sailed for about 3 hours!)and you’ll get the idea.

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It seems that our HFHigh Frequency – usually refers to HF radio which is long range digital radio that Berrimilla used to send all but a few of the logs on both circumnavigations. The radio was connected via a Pactor 3 digital modem to Alex’s laptop and used the Sailmail software application called Airmail to send emails and pull in emails, weather and GRIB files. Airmail also supports Iridium satellite telephone messaging and Alex used this as backup when the HF radio died approaching England. may not be transmitting – it’s an ICOM M802 with an ATF130 tuner and a pactor 11pro controller. It receives weather faxes ok and I heard TaupoA region in New Zealand but here referring to Taupo Radio, a NZ radio station for sailors with long range capability. a couple of days ago but it won’t connect to sailmailSailmail is the system that Berrimilla uses for email communication. It is a non-profit association of yacht owners operating a network of private coast stations in the maritime Mobile Radio Service. and I have not been able to talk to AmodinoSteel boat built in NZ and sailed through the North West Passage with us., only about 300 miles away, or Cambridge Bay, about 1100 miles or hear either of them. I’ve checked the external connections to the backstay and all seem ok – the microphone appears to be working and the set indicates that it is transmitting. I will look at the internal connections from backstay to tuner next. Anyone got any ideas as to where to go after that? Please keep it short if you have – I’ll have to pull it in by iridium. Thanks.

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And now came both mist and snow
And it grew wondrous cold
And ice, mast high, came floating by
As green as emerald

A somewhat appropriate verse to have reached last night I think!!! Except there's no mist, or snow, yet, thankfully!!!

How exciting!!!! I so, so, so hope we can get round the corner!!!
Lots of love,
McQ
xxx

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I hate fog, hate fog, hate fog, hate fog, hate fog, hate fog, hate fog.

Guess what? It's foggy!!

We're currently nearly almost rounding the top of Pt BarrowPoint Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States. More on wikipedia. "Nearly" because Ray1-The autopilot; 2-Human's name the autopilot decided to tack the boat while Alex was putting a reef-- As a verb – to shorten sail, to use reefing lines or other techniques to make the working part of a sail smaller and so reduce its power as the wind rises. --- As a noun, (1) the part of the sail that has been shortened, folded or rolled. May be referred to as a slab or a slab reef which is a particular way of forming a reef. -- As a noun (2) – a bank of coral, rocks or other obstruction usually close to a shoreline and potentially dangerous to sailors. in the mainsail, so we're currently headed straight for the shoals. Ta Ray1-The autopilot; 2-Human's name. Another couple of short tucks should do it.

Yesterday when we were cruising along with blue skies, glassy seas and wildlife all around, I had this lovely vision of rounding the top in similar conditions and being able to watch the point go by. Not quite like that today. There's a short choppy wind-against-current sea and a pea souper sky!! I did briefly glimpse land about an hour ago in a clearer patch. It looked surprisingly like Carnac Island and the Straglers back home. Only foggier.

K.

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And just around the corner – lucky break – a clear patch and ice all around the horizon. Not a lot, but big, thick floes – the charts would call it open water – easy to navigate until – enter the ExaminerShe who asks awkward questions of the crew and tests them with difficult tasks., stage left – really thick fog, vis less than 50 metres and big lumps of ice all around. Trickling along under motor, Kimbra on the bow, McQ steering. According to the ice chart, we should gradually get past this stuff but it certainly concentrates the mind a bit. We are pointing directly at Tuk – or might be! there’s a big discrepancy between the boat GPS and the computer which gets its NMEA feed from the GPS. In theory, they should agree – seems they both have the same variation, WGS 84 datum so a mystery.

Much later, freckle well exercised – this fog and ice stuff is seriously scary. We were in about 2 tenths ice – easy – then without warning, about 5 tenths of big bergy floes with very narrow leads between them in vis of about 50 metres. No wind, luckily, else things might have been different, but we wormed our way out into some clearer water – them more big stuff and so it goes. And it’s almost worse when the fog clears for a brief moment and all you can see is apparently unbroken ice. One huge floe was breaking up as we passed – booming crashes as massive ledges of ice fell off into the water. A new noise for me – hope I don’t ever get to hear it without being abloe to see where it comes from. From the ice chart, we may have 100 miles of this. Quite tense but we’ll work our way through – one difficulty is that you don’t know where it is coming from so there’s no obvious way out.

Now at 7123 15432 after much snaky meandering at idle revs. Hope we’re through it before the westerly builds in a couple of days.

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We’ve just hit a huge tree trunk at 7 knots. I was adjusting the genoa sheet and did not see the tree, just felt a big impact and a series of bumps with no obvious cause and then a 20 ft maybe 2 ft diameter log appeared astern. It will have blue antifoul all over it and I most fervently hope it missed the prop. We’ll find out soon enough. Fortunately, Berri’s hull could have been designed to minimise just such an impact. The waters around Alaska are full of driftwood of all sorts – Norton Sound with trees coming down the Yukon and up here there are several big rivers flowing north.

Good progress and I think there will be no more ice between here and Tuk – for a start, the water is now @ nearly 7 degrees – almost a warm bath for overworked freckles. Stunningly beautiful though brilliant blue translucent house sized lumps of old ice may be, they are best and most beautiful at a distance!

The Chukchi Sea turned from deep grey green jade to light pearly grey green at Point BarrowPoint Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States. More on wikipedia, then dirtyish grey over the shoals and now in the BeaufortThe first effective scale to estimate wind speeds and their effects. Created by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857). The scale starts with 0 and goes to a high force of 12 we’re back to deep green.

Still no HFHigh Frequency – usually refers to HF radio which is long range digital radio that Berrimilla used to send all but a few of the logs on both circumnavigations. The radio was connected via a Pactor 3 digital modem to Alex’s laptop and used the Sailmail software application called Airmail to send emails and pull in emails, weather and GRIB files. Airmail also supports Iridium satellite telephone messaging and Alex used this as backup when the HF radio died approaching England. radio. Don’t know why – all seems ok.

H & K thanks for message – was feeling a bit like ET.

Later 1433UTC 7107 15041 now we’re in 30 kts from the west – no main, tiny heady, big short rolling sea. Again, good progess and 200 miles to Canada. Makes it hard to see the wood for the waves. Yuk. Life’s never dull out here.

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To everyone who sent us goodies in Dutch and Nome – I have had little packs of stuff hidden in various odd spaces and have now extracted shortbread fingers – thanks Gonzales – for morning tea, hot stuff from Carla’s bag (Butt paste not yet necessary…) and put the snickers away again. We need those for real emergencies. Dig boskets, Sue – last one went with marmelade yesterday and the smoked salmon kept me alive all the way to Nome. IzzAlex's sister, special dark offering still awaiting processing. And Pat and Dave B for books, Steve for your silver dollar, now on the magic wall. Judy for the satphone – Speedy for wearing his best purple frock for us and all y’all for your messages and huge support. I must have left out lots of people – never make lists like this – thanks to you too!

AGW, we will go to Tuk and at least refuel, although so far we have not used much. AmodinoSteel boat built in NZ and sailed through the North West Passage with us. will be there tomoz and will fill up and go because they think the ice is ok in Dease Strait. We’ll check when we get to Tuk. List of Tuk jobs if we decide to wait there. We are 311 miles away and motoring again in the tail of the big low which seems to have come through a couple of days early – might blow past Devon in time to clear for the eclipse. We will be about 600 miles short of Cambridge Bay at Eclipse Time so will definitely miss it. Have spoken to Pascal and we’ve all got our appendages crossed for clear wxShort for ‘weather’ for them. EleanorDaughter of Alex Whitworth is in Resolute – I think – so clear there too please!

A floating lumber yard out here – huge trees every hundred metres or so and little lines of smaller stuff everywhere. At Cape Nome, I found two bits of silver birch on the beach that had been cut by beavers – somewhere up the Yukon.

And imagine if you will crusty old whaler 100 years ago in one of the hundreds of ships there would have been around here. He’s 150 feet up in the crows nest, cold, in what then passed for wet weather gear – if he was lucky he would have had Eskimo gear – ‘Thar she bloooows! Two points on the larboard bow, Captain, about 2 miles…’ and the ship jumps to life. Transfer said whaler to Berri’s foredeck in yesterday’s ice, sit him on a milk crate and give him my Mustang suit to keep warm and dry and a little mobile phone sized gadget with buttons on it and show him how to press the buttons and the boat alters course. ‘Now steer me through the ice and no more of this ‘two points stuff’!

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That forecast westerly started rolling in just about as soon as Corrie "it's been snowing" McQ found her bunk. Trickles of wind started to show on the water, so I put the mainsail back up to try and get some wind propulsion happening. As soon as I found my bunk, Alex put three reefs into said mainsail, and the next watch it was dropped altogether! So, we're now back to running downwind with a tiny hankie of headsail poled out, and the sea is building a bit behind us. Oh – and it's very cold. Extra socks, gloves and balaclavas all round.

Yesterday's floating lumber yard has thinned out for a bit, but we nearly collided with a seal who chose the wrong time and place to surface as we were hooningAs far as I can gather, if Berri were a horse, she’d have the bit between her teeth to be hooning down a wave. Luckily he/she took evasive action and dived again so we missed each other.

Something else interesting that I noticed in yesterday's calm and rain. The rain drops didn't "dissolve" as soon as they hit the ocean surface. The temperature/density difference between the rain and sea was enough that the drops hung around on the surface like beads of water on oil. Nifty.

Today's shade of grey: silver-grey (the sun came out for a bit and most beautiful all the lumpy shining wavy grey was).

K.

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McQ said it all except that we are now hand steering. I have seen sustained gustsShort increases in wind speed – or people who signed the Gust Book. of 40+ and some huge breaking waves. Southern ocean stuff – not in the brochure for up here. Another 36 hours of it according to the gribWeather files. Graphics in Binary file: GRIB files associate a specific weather datum (eg wind velocity or atmospheric pressure) with a geographic position. Because the resulting file is a collection of these points they are extremely small and so ideal over slow links such as sailmail.. Still no hfHigh Frequency – usually refers to HF radio which is long range digital radio that Berrimilla used to send all but a few of the logs on both circumnavigations. The radio was connected via a Pactor 3 digital modem to Alex’s laptop and used the Sailmail software application called Airmail to send emails and pull in emails, weather and GRIB files. Airmail also supports Iridium satellite telephone messaging and Alex used this as backup when the HF radio died approaching England..

H tks for relay gust bk msg, IzzAlex's sister, just had goonish scoff. Ta.

Now going to take heart in mouth and try to send this by iridium. Have to take whole system down to do so so always a bit grey knuckle when try to bring it up again.

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We've crossed the border and entered Canadian waters. Actually, we did so about 10 hours ago, late last night, but things only calmed down enough to swap the courtesy flags over this morning. I did get a brief glimpse of Canada a couple of hours ago – purple-grey mountains with snow. Inspiring. Wish the rain would stop so we could see more of them!

Fairly frustrating night's sailing. The wind came around on the beam so we had to drop our nice stable poled out hankie and put the main back up for some sloppy reaching. The sea is very confused, with swell running in two directions, about 90 deg to each other. We've been lurching and rolling around as the wind dropped down, picked up, shifted a bit, etc, etc, etc. If Huey is out to make our lives miserable, he's succeeding! Anyway, we changed the sail plan after changing flags, so we're now backed to a pole out hankie, no mainsail, and lurching along at 5 kts in the right direction.

97 NM until we reach the first lead mark into Tuk. Then another 40 miles up the leads through the shallows. But in the grand scheme of things, we're getting close to that hot shower. And the boat to-do list is getting longer too. Ray1-The autopilot; 2-Human's name the autopilot seems to have chucked a semi-permanent wobbly. Will find out when things calm down a bit. In the meantime we're still hand-steering (ye gads! how primative).

Chicken cup-a-soup and a muslie bar for breakfast. We've eaten all the easy-to-reach instant noodles.

Today's shade of grey: damp smudged newspaper. Ick.

K.

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There are Arctic Terns swirling around the boat and making tern noises – a high pitched rather squeaky squeeerky cheep. They have come a long way around the world – ever further than us. The GPS reads 8080 miles so far.

Tomorrow is Eclipse Day. With a bit of luck we will be tied up in Tuktoyaktuk – Tuk to its friends, so tucked up might be better. We will be 600 miles short of actually being under the path of totality which starts at Cambridge Bay and about 1200 miles short of BeecheyBeechey Island is an island located in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago of Nunavut, Canada. More on wikipedia. Not our year – there’s no way we could have made CB even though I think we left Nome within an hour or so of exactly the right moment and have made astonishingly fast time to here. We needed BarrowPoint Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States. More on wikipedia open at least 10 days earlier and no sustained northerlies for it to have worked. However, I still think that it was a neat idea, as we all did in the bar in Baton Rouge last October and there are still lots of just as important things to achieve – we have to follow the dotted line on Pascal’s chart and see whether we really do end up in the UK, perhaps with a visit to BeecheyBeechey Island is an island located in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago of Nunavut, Canada. More on wikipedia. This would complete a transit of the NW Passage and it would wrap the circumnavigation Pete and I started on August 20 2005 when we left Falmouth for Hobart. IFF we can get that one together, Berri would become one of very few, if any, boats that have circumnavigated via both Cape Horn and the NWPThe Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. More here.. Not strictly in accordance with Hoyle, as the 2 circs would share the Falmouth – Hobart leg, but each complete in itself. Interesting thought, but there’s a lot of water and ice to be negotiated before that can happen.

And an absorbing trip from Nome – history, lifetime special moments in the Bering Strait, Point BarrowPoint Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States. More on wikipedia not seen in the fog, then ice and fog and sunlight all together – still ethereal and not quite believable, yet it happened and I was certainly frightened by the possibilities. Seals, birds, jelly fish (how do they survive in icy waters?)and McQ hit a whale and I hit a tree. And three days of grey, drizzly cold damp westerlies that have blasted us across the Canadian border almost to Tuk. In marketspeak, challenging sailing, dead downwind in very big breaking waves with sometimes over 40 kts up the chuff. Seems to be easing now.

Lots of jobs to do in Tuk – the last few days have worked poor old Berri pretty hard.

Later 7005 13522
Have finally made contact with Peter Semotiuk in Cambridge Bay on the HFHigh Frequency – usually refers to HF radio which is long range digital radio that Berrimilla used to send all but a few of the logs on both circumnavigations. The radio was connected via a Pactor 3 digital modem to Alex’s laptop and used the Sailmail software application called Airmail to send emails and pull in emails, weather and GRIB files. Airmail also supports Iridium satellite telephone messaging and Alex used this as backup when the HF radio died approaching England.. Yeeehaaa. He says there is no ice at CB and it’s breaking up to the east and north. Fingers crossed and back to appendages as well all y’all.

Next day – 6950 13332 and the eclipse has been and gone. We’re motoring through the approaches to Tuk – about 5 miles west of the safe water mark at the entrance to the long channel. To get here, we crossed the mouth of the mighty Mackenzie River that runs across northern Canada. The water has just changed colour from deep muddy brown to the more usual rather dirty greenish jade. I think the muddy brown would be from way down inside Canada and mostly fresh water.

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for information see: http://www.sailmailSailmail is the system that Berrimilla uses for email communication. It is a non-profit association of yacht owners operating a network of private coast stations in the maritime Mobile Radio Service..com