ICE. VOLUME THREE.
I think this is my favorite photo of the ice-capades. I think I probably have about 100 variations of this exact shot. Not too many at all.
This series was labeled 'artistic browns'. Pretty self explanatory.
An Instagram RoundUp
This post also could have been titled: An Alaskan LoveFest.
I have quite a few readers who aren't social media addicts like myself so, I decided to do a little roundup of what's been recently posted to Instagram (and therefore Twitter).
I was most recently in Dutch Harbor and then went through the Shumagin Islands - the weather was gorgeous -and my iPhone camera got a workout.
Dutch Harbor
Dutch Harbor can be stunning...it can also be miserable. We were lucky and got stunning.
Fishing Gear Galore
Dutch Harbor is a fishing vessel Mecca. I mean, you've seen deadliest catch right? The show is obviously dramatized for television but it's got some reality in there too. Everywhere you go in town you'll see that fishing is king. Take this pile of fishing nets....located in front of the Safeway parking lot....
Dutch Harbor
Just another example of stunning.
Boat Sports
While in Dutch we had a little downtime. The Captain used that time for training exercises so we got a fair amount of 'stick time'. Doing touch and go's off the barge, simulating breaking tow, twisting and, walking. It was a total blast.
Shumagin Islands
Leaving Dutch we were into the Shumagin Islands in about two days. We got a mixture of weather but even the drizzle was great because we had endless rainbows. The valleys had rainbows that just sat there and at sea we had a couple full arcs. Nothing beats a rainbow.
Iliasik Pass
Iliasik Pass is one of the tighter places through the Shumagins. By the time we got here it was sunny with a fresh breeze. It was whale watching time. Spout after spout. Tail after Tail.
Bathed In Sun.
The sun just makes everything better. Even just a photo of a barge.
Alaska Love Forever.
ICE. VOLUME TWO.
In 'Ice. Volume One.' I gave an generalized overview of what we were looking for when we transited through the ice. In Volumes Two & Three my plan is to just show you some pictures I thought were pretty...mmmmkay?
If you're a sailor and you've never been in the ice you still know one main thing: Watch Out For The Blue Ice. It's traditionally more 'solid' and will pack more of a punch when you hit it.
Volume Two is labeled on my desktop as 'Artisan Blues'. I think you'll see why.
Soulful Sunday :: Fire and Ice
Fire And Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
By Robert Frost
ICE. VOLUME ONE.
I've been living and breathing ice conditions for the last week or two. It's not something I ever thought I'd track, pay attention to or, make plans around.
I've enjoyed the challenge of navigating through the ice immensely. Not only does it require heightened awareness and constant vigilance it's also just down right gorgeous.
The ice fields we've been operating in have a distinct edge. There are random pieces of ice through all the waters surrounding the North Slope of Alaska but, the ice we've been tracking has a fairly clear line where it begins and ends. We track it on the radar but, we also have partners in planes who fly the region daily (as conditions allow) providing an ice report.
When you enter the ice field conditions vary based on location. For example ice will 'stack up' around a barrier island making it much more challenging to transit. The photo above is only about 40% concentration - but from the waterline you can see that it's really challenging to find clear paths to navigate through.
A lot of the ice is old and soft. As our hull would make contact it would crack, roll and give way. Part of the 'constant vigilance' is to constantly be scanning the horizon to assess the next pan of ice for what type of ice it is. Is it solid? Large underwater portions? Are there fractures or weak places for us to target? What color is it? Our vessel is designed to operate in ice which gave us a huge advantage.
You can clearly see that not all ice is created equal. You can definitely prioritize what you want to avoid when the concentration is only at 40%.
One thing that surprised me was how dirty the ice was! As this ice has broken away from its original location it's been 'rolled' by the forces of nature. At some point the brown bits have touched ground or the bottom of the seabed rolling through the mud.
Our toughest portion was about 60-70% concentration and it was much, much, much more challenging then 40%.
There are currently concentrations of up to 80% and we're hoping that a good blow will open things up for us.
In the meantime, I'm editing and resizing photos because Big Bertha had a field day! I can't wait to share more!
Just a friendly reminder, I use Instagram a lot. If you're frustrated I'm not posting you can almost always find me there! @nautiemermate
A Northerly Update
It's starting to get cold. Today we had little mini icicles on the railings - and it snowed!
We spent two days last week in very heavy ice. It was intense, exhilarating, gorgeous and exhausting all at once.
We are currently anchored and waiting in a safe harbor for the ice conditions to improve.
It's incredibly hard to believe that it's August. It seems like everyday feels a little more like winter. I looked outside my window today and thought, 'I really hope we're out of here by mid-september'.
I've been posting a lot of photos to Instagram but, I realize not all you lovelies can see them.
Here's a mini look at what my Instagram feed is looking like!
Leader of the pack.
Tugboat friends!
A pan of ice along the hull while underway.
Mini icicles in August!
I loaded these all from my phone - while I cringe to complain about the wifi (because...hello! awesome!) - our connection is slow and spotty. Please excuse the lack of formatting!