Nome - again...

The inner harbour sea wall...

Here's a link to some more photos. https://picasaweb.google.com/alex1whit/Alaska2011#

This computer still thinks it is in Australia so the dates and times will remain constant in Australian EST - nearly a day ahead of astronomical time here.

Is it a bird? Is it a fish?

Fascinating experience flying into Alaska. As you board the plane, you enter a different country - Anchorage was just for openers. Here in Nome it's another world. But crisp, clear sunshine (unusual...) and a frozen sea. Yesterday I walked where we parked Berrimilla in 2008 around the end of the inner harbour wall and into the outer harbour whence we set off into the very much unknown towards the arctic circle, that amazing sunset in the Bering Strait and the ice at Barrow. Ah, nostalgia. Lots more to come.

We flew up here in a composite 737 - freight in the front of the fuselage and about 20 rows of seats at the rear. It was flying the round trip to Nome and Kotzebue - one of the many many places we passed by in Berri...

Skinning teeth.

Glad I had that bagel on 8th yesterday. Sustained the spirit during one of those days - flat tyre on the way to La Guardia at 0500 in Queens - my driver has a prosthesis instead of his right hand, so I changed the wheel - rather fast - and we scraped in in time to get me through the nightmare that is US airline security to find that my booking left no time to make the connecting flight in Chicago. Made worse by delayed take off. I'd done my research and ran from the entry gate at O'Hare to the boarding gate - about 800 metres - and made the tail of the boarding line. But - most gobsmacking of all - my bag made the plane as well. Onya Alaskan Air!

It's about -10C in Anchorage,  dark now but clear and crisp in daylight. Nome around lunchtime today, Alaskan Air permitting.

www.iditarod.com if you want to follow it.

And this is the 'official' press release.

http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?Nid=81120&refre=y&ntid=0&rid=8

Just a handshake from W 49th St.

It's 0245 in the Big A - drizzly luminous mist, the tops of the buildings glowing or lost in the murk high above (who lives up there?? -  and how different must be their lives...perhaps the line for a novel) and the subway steam wreathing around a lot. The garbage trucks crashing the big skips in and out of their compressors and the yellow cabs still busy. The night people are out in force.To coin a cliche. I've just been across 8th Ave to an all night food market for an onion bagel with cream cheese (bliss on a red carpet!) and what passes for coffee here. I'm fully back into the old Berri 3 hours on, 3 off routine that Pete and I were in for all those days and miles. Seems to happen every time I  cross a bunch of timezones and it does help with the jet lag.

In about 3 hours, I'll be leaving for La Guardia airport and a flight to Anchorage via Chicago. Food available for purchase and a charge for checked baggage. Overnight in ANC- in the Puffin Inn, a modest establishment next to the airport and then to Nome tomorrow. Where it will be sub arctic cold and twilight. I have some of the North West Passage arctic gear with me - will be fascinating to be there before the sea ice melts - in 2008, we snuck in following the melt and arrived on July 4th in time for the celebration. I'm hoping the barman at the Breakers' Bar will be cooking his special Brisket for the Iditarod finish as he did for July 4th. As promised, there will be photos. And a description of the brisket if it eventuates.

For those who care, some interest here in the concept of leaving NZ to starboard - but I doubt whether any or yer actual takers. We won't be doing the Fastnet this year - Entry list limit already reached and a waiting list of hundreds. Sad but, for this shoestring geriatric, probably inevitable.

So - for the two or three of you who might still be following this - see ya later today from ANC, airlines and wx permitting.

Presentation

A couple of pics from the presentation. Scary stuff - in one of the most spectacular rooms I've ever been in. http://www.nyyc.org/gui/nyyc1/uploadedfiles/panoramas/panoramas_44/04model_rm4800_qt.htm  The other people - on the left, Bob Drewe, past commodore, Alessandro diBenedatto (truly legendary sailor who we were talking to down near the Kerguelens as he circumnavigated in his tiny boat) and Sheila McCurdy, Commodore of the CCA. Wow!

And properly rigged in the rain outside the clubhouse in central New York. Thanks to Dan Nerney - legendary photographer - for the photo!

Berrimilla's Teapot

Off to New York next week and then over to Nome for a nostalgic Consultation with Pat Hahn and perhaps an expedition by snowmobile out on to the sea ice to cross Berri's July 4th 2008 track into Nome and take some photos for the blog. Once in a lifetime eerie feeling. Here's the NY gig  http://www.cruisingclub.org/awards/awards_bluewater.htm

Over the last month, I've been removing the green salty stuff from Berrimilla's elegant teapot, possibly the only teapot in history to have circumnavigated via both Cape Horn and the North West Passage.  Then I polished it to within an inch if its life and had it appropriately engraved with its story. And last Friday, I rose to my back legs and showed a few slides to the worthy people at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. At the end of the gig, we auctioned the teapot in aid of CanTeen, Berri's favourite charity. For the impressive sum of $1995, it now has a new home, on another boat chasing a Dream. May they all travel in harmony together and have lots of tea and many more adventures.

On behalf of CanTeen, special thanks to P & V for their generosity.

More garden wildlife

A St Andrew's Cross spider - harmless and gorgeous. About 3cm across.

Sydney - Hobart start pics

In case anyone is interested

http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/10781104/1/S2H%202010?h=9ccda9

For the first time in about 20 years, we watched it from the sidelines...

Snow!

I'm in London working with the Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation www.rccpf.org.uk on a guide for Arctic and Northern Waters - absolutely fascinating and some real sailing legends here too. And it's snowing in London....http://picasaweb.google.com/alex1whit/SnowInLondon#

This one is Green Park a couple of days ago...http://picasaweb.google.com/alex1whit/GreenPark#

Wow!

I received the following email a couple of weeks ago and I have permission to post it here. Scary stuff, and it couldn't have happened without the generous and enthusiastic support of all y'all out there. Thanks for a great ride!

Lists are tricky but very special thanks to Pete, McQ, Kimbra, Steves J. and W., Speedy and Malcolm, Leroy Chiao and Pascal Lee.

Hello Alex,

It is my distinct pleasure to inform you that the Board of Directors of The Cruising Club of America have voted to award you the 2010 Blue Water Medal, "for a most meritorious example of seamanship". The award will be made at our annual dinner at the New York Yacht Club on March 4th 2011. We are prepared to provide transportation and accomodations. I need your regular mailing address so that I might send a more formal letter, and it would help if you could provide me with a telephone number for reaching you.

Congratulations! and Well Done!

Bob Drew, Chair, Awards Comm.

www.cruisingclub.org

The Arthur C. Clarke greenhouse

It's getting cold and dark up there. Thanks Keith for the link.

http://www.spaceref.com/gallery/greenhouse1.html

More wildlife

A Huntsman in the letter box - also gorgeous, but shy and harmless.

And a Kookaburra at sunset.

Sydney wildlife

A redback spider - gorgeous beast with a nasty bite (treat with an ice pack to solidify the venom). This one is big, about 25mm across - she was inside the spout of the little watering jug and I disturbed her when I filled it.

And a lizard on a rock beside the harbour, about 40 cm long.

Look who's in town

Ably assisted by the good Dr Cooper.

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/alex1whit/AProperConsultation#

And another

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11172543

We were dodging sandbars as we passed close to Gjoa Havn. It seems this tanker was on a routine supply trip to the local communities.

Onya!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/sailing/7966301/Ellen-MacArthur-I-cant-live-with-the-sea-any-more.html

Nice day in the Arctic

Here's the latest webcam image of the greenhouse and Berrimilla's rock.

http://yfrog.com/gi8otoj

The Arthur C. Clarke greenhouse

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/08/27/mars-greenhouse-arctic.html

Donated by Keith's company, SpaceRef and built by Keith and Marc, SpaceRef geniuses...

Murphy

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2010/08/29/north-cruise-ship-stranded.html?ref=rss

Some HMP links and other stuff

I've been chastised for neglecting the blog - sorry, been in the wilds of Brisbane sitting in on a Marine Watchkeepers' course playing with fire, amongst other things.

Here are the links to things happening at HMP and the Mars Institute.

http://www.marsonearth.org/

http://www.marsonearth.org/2010/07/

http://www.marsonearth.org/multimedia/gh-webcam1.html   You can see Berrimilla's rock to the right of the ridge on the horizon above the greenhouse - cool! The wind turbines on the poles are the same as we used on Berrimilla.

For the ride home, I found a copy of Michael Collins' book 'Carrying the Fire' (NY, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux) reissued in 2009 for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing. Beautifully written and evocative. Hard to believe that those three guys are all 80 this year.