Posts

#25 - ALASKA FANTASTIC

Image
"I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea." - Alaine Gerbault M/V Europa 59’ 14” N 135’ 26” W 8/19/01 15:35 ship time (GMT-9) “Alaska is the largest town in the north” as the saying goes, and we’ve been experiencing that notion in a profound way.  A stay of any length in one of these southeast villages results in small acquaintances, conversations with particular folks, interesting connections, and then you run into the same folks later in the day, in another context. Heddy, the rental car lady in Skagway comes by the boat in Haines “Saw your boat and thought it must be you guys!”; the bike & hiking store guy runs into you at the bar that night. Maybe it’s that people remember your new face when there are only 700 of them in the town, but any anonymity one banks on is a fantasy.  We have been socializing in the upper towns of Skagway and Haines for the past few days.  Jess, our waitress yells “Hello Dave & ...
Post a Comment
Read more

#24 MORE ALASKA

Image
“Some years ago never mind how long precisely having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.” – H. Melville, Opening Line from Moby Dick M/V Europa 57’54” N 133’27” W 8/13/01 07:00 ship time (GMT-9) I am in a fiord.  Hacked and ground long ago from the earth, cut deep into the skin by glaciers through  repeated ice ages.  3000’ walls tower above  pale milky green water, laden with glacier silt.  The glare from the early morning, low angle sun hides the icebergs in our path, and I’m glad that I splurged for the $15 polarized sunglasses in that Texas Stop-N-Go so many miles ago.   The fiord follows the same sinuous path common to rivers and streams all over the world, with U shaped bends making us travel 20 to cover the 5 crow flown miles.  Thousands of chunks of ice clog the waterway, having calved ...
1 comment
Read more

#23 ALASKA ADVENTURES

Image
M/V Europa 56’14” N 131’57” W 8/10/01 18:21 ship time (GMT-9) The first visit to the engine room on this ship brought memories of the Knorr.  Specifically, I remembered the 22 folks who were on board to service the ship and science crew.  My first thought was that I would be half of all the resources available to perform the same functions.  The engine room was a maze of piping, wiring, pumps, batteries, valves, seacocks, diesels, primary engine, 20kW generator, 8kW generator, electric panels, 12v, 120v & 240v systems, water desalination system, fresh cold/hot water system, sea water sys, LP gas,  hydraulic systems for steering, transmission, throttle linkage and stabilizing wings and more in the size of a large 4’ tall closet. Combine that with a wide assortment of electronic gear for communication, navigation, and ship operation & monitoring in the pilothouse and you have a recipe for confusion.  A bit overwhelming, esp...
3 comments
Read more

#22 DA IN AK

Image
“There are only two colors to paint a boat, black or white, and only a fool would paint a boat black.” – Nathanael G. Herreshoff M /V Europa 52’ 42” N 128’ 10” W 09:45 Ship Time (GMT+8) Currently ghosting through Fiordland Recreational Area, a British Columbia Provincial Park.  Narrow green channels; mist shrouded waterfalls, gray green turning blue, the Pacific Northwest national colors. Literally a world apart from the sunny Caribbean and my last update.  I mentally pull myself from this majestic scenery to return to Barbados to bring you up to date.  The final day with my friends on the R/V Knorr was spent cruising through downtown Bridgetown, a crowded, busy third world, work town.  Navigating the bustling streets, we ducked into a shack, the science crew’s favorite domino parlor.  The matron set us up with  Mount Gay Rum and the local ginger drink, as a mid morning refresher, with “Cutters” all round (a cutter is a ...
3 comments
Read more