June 18-19
Hi All,
We did leave Kiska at 0630 on Monday, June 18 for the 245nm overnight run to Sweeper Cove on Adak Island. Of course, we dug up half the kelp bed on the anchor….Kathy and Mark are getting quite adept at cleaning kelp off the Bruce anchor!!!!
We had a good run…..some to a lot of motion…..winds were about 5kts stronger than forecast…..8-23kts all astern; seas 4-7′ swell on beam to port aft qtr and 2-3′ wind chop on the stern. It’s those 6-7’rs on the beam that cause a good roll and cork screw motion….ugh!!! The current is definitely effected by the tide changes…..our speed varied 6.1-10.0kts…but it seemed to average out as overall speed is 7.7kts!!! There are some huge currents that run between the islands as the Bering Sea flows into the Pacific and visa versa….currents up to 3-6kts….yikes, a lot of water moving!!! TG Nobeltec has current data….very helpful to time these passes as often the tide change and current changes are offset by 2-3 hours!!!
Wildlife: ODG….Monday am was the whale show….saw one pod of 15-20 Orca….some swam across the bow and some across the stern….amazing; then 1 lone Humpback and then 2 large Humpbacks on the surface maybe 100 yards off; and finally 3 Sperm whales about 200 yards off…..just amazing!!!
Dall’s Porpoises: Wow….this has been an amazing show…..>100 over an 8-10 hour period, maybe 15+ different pods of 3-10 each; just an amazing show. These guys are not acrobatic and stay mainly in the water but did they have fun or what riding our bow wake or scooting in front of the bow. They were still playing at 11pm when I went off watch and Kathy came on…..sunset is not until midnight:)))
Unfortunately the clouds remained all day….maybe at 1000′ elevation so many of the islands and volcanoes remained hidden….we had been warned this might be the case….like maybe 5 times a year are these islands visible!!! But as we came around Adak Island on the East side, the whole basin opened up….bright sunshine….ODG, gorgeous….view of snow covered mountains…..later we saw the mountain on Great Sitkin Island, the tallest mountain in the Aleutians at 6,000′!!!! (can’t recall its name???)
Final Stats:
Position: Small Boat Harbor, Sweeper Cove on Adak Island: 51 50.994N 176 39.347W
Distance traveled: 243nm, arrived 2pm on 6/19 AKDT; 31.5 hours
Speed: avg 7.7kts; 1600rpm; varied from 6.1-10.0kts; lots of +/- current
Boat sightings: 1 cargo ship on AIS 20 nm off
Hit something: Nothing
Boat Slammings: ZERO
Wildlife: Birds galore; Storm petrel, albatross, shearwaters, puffins, ducks and gulls….everywhere!!!
Whale count: total 22: 15 Orcas, 4 Humpbacks, 3 Sperms
Whale Count since Japan: Total 38; 9 Humpbacks, 26 Orcas; 3 Sperms
Fishing: Nope; too, too cold
Sail: down
Fuel burn: 1.35nmpg for passage; normal for 1600rpm is 1.35nmpg. We arrived with 313 gal….the last 2 runs back to normal nmpg usage!!!
Hope all is well!
John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO
PS: sv Spruce was here and helped us tie up on this large wharf; let the games begin as we had lots to cerebrate having both survived some of the roughest waters we have both expereinced…..more later:))))
—
