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June 4, 2009 – 49 00N, 124 00W
by Herb McCormick
(June 3): At 0330 this morning-or, in somewhat less nautical terms, oh-dark-thirty-the crew of Ocean Watch was stirred from slumber by a series of rather screeching beeps emanating from somewhere in the vicinity of first mate David Logan’s aft bunk.
“That’s the most annoying alarm clock I ever heard,” mumbled boatbuilder Paul LaRussa, who moments before had been fast asleep on a settee in the main saloon. Within minutes, coffee was brewing and the entire crew was up and making ready for sea. Yes, the clock was a royal pain in the, well, you know. It was also totally effective.
After a couple of very productive days in Victoria, British Columbia, mostly under blue skies and highly unseasonable but very welcome temperatures up into th e 80s, Ocean Watch set forth at precisely 4 a.m. on June 3rd ultimately bound for the next scheduled stop in Juneau, Alaska. As reported here earlier, our inaugural departure from Seattle was a heart-stopping affair due to a steering snafu, but this time the bow was pointed forward, the harbor was still, and gaining separation from the dock was a routine maneuver. “Another on-time departure,” said skipper Mark Schrader. Following a series of arrivals and departures which thus far have bordered on the chaotic, on this day our lean send-off committee consisted solely of the early rising pair of Dan and Jane McConnell, who are handling about a thousand different onshore duties, including media relations. We’re not exactly sure when we’ll see the Macs again, and they will be sorely missed. For countless good reasons, we’re not sure the feeling is entirely mutual, but either way, they can now catch up on their sleep. The onboard contingent for the next stage of the trip consists of the boat’s four-man permanent crew, scientist Michael Reynolds, as well as LaRussa and his handy sidekick, Andy Gregory, who will attend to the longish part of the work list yet to be attacked. The latter two arrived yesterday from Seattle with a huge pile of gear and equipment by way of the Victoria Clipper high-speed ferry, to which the Ocean Watch crew owes hearty thanks for their assistance. Thanks also go out to Vancouver-based sailor and environmentalist Simon Fawkes, who helped manage the quick layover-notable as the first of many planned international ports of call-and the generous support of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority for donating our downtown slip a stone’s throw from the grand and historic Empress Hotel. Simon is working on plans for an expedition with a similar mission to that of Ocean Watch, with two notable exceptions: it will be undertaken aboard a tricked-out catamaran and follow a round-the-world course through the tropics, which seems, you know, pretty darn sensible. By 0500 local time, the eastern sky was tinted a decided shade of purplish red, and not long after, the sun peeked over a ridge and the new day was fully upon us. The entire visage-smooth sea, low islands, craggy peaks and blooming sky-was worth the totally uncivilized wake-up call. “We’ll be going through some of the prettiest stretches in the Pacific Northwest in the next couple of days,” said Logan, and before the day was through, his words would be prophetic. Our route north, for the tim e being at least, is taking us up the east coast of Vancouver Island through the well-traveled Inside Passage, the subject of Jonathan Raban’s fine book, Passage to Juneau. Skipper Schrader had been contemplating a straight offshore dash to Alaska, but ultimately decided on the inside route for several reasons, chief among them the opportunity to put some hours on the boat’s brand-new Lugger 135 hp. diesel engine. On the delivery north to Seattle from Mexico after purchasing Ocean Watch last spring, the cacophony from the old auxiliary prevented normal conversation, but the powerful Lugger purrs right along.
Ocean Watch was bucking a 2.5-knot current in the early stages of the morning, but the goal was to pass through Dodd Narrows into the Strait of Georgia just around slack tide, before it started rushing against us at a good 7-knots. It meant keeping the figurative pedal to the metal, a pace that left Logan a wistful sailor.
“All these covers and harbors you can tuck into, it’s totally idyllic,” he said, as we passed another by. “It breaks my heart to motor right past him.” Even so, with the snow-capped peaks of Vancouver Island to port, it was a very pretty ride.
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| The Ocean Watch crew records the first of many jellyfish samples on the voyage north. |
We did make one quick “pit stop,” off DeCourcy Island in the Stuart Channel, to take our first jellyfish sampling as we trucked through a zillion of them. After scooping one of the translucent critters aboard, taking its portrait, and recording the position and other data, Mike Reynolds sliced a sliver and deposited it into the first of many vials the Applied Physics Laboratory has supplied for that very purpose.
By mid-afternoon, the crew of Ocean Watch had put the town of Nanaimo behind them. The miles continued to roll on.
- Herb McCormick
*This crew log submitted by Iridium OpenPort and Stratos
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