Summer Refilling Cruising Kitty

Where to begin…  back in Canada the economic times showed and with a fully planned season before we left Narama, we landed with no confirmed work having used frequent flyer points to return.  We were very fortunate however, and have chased our tail far and wide to fill a most extraordinary summer.  Some wonderful friends on a farm in Saanich helped us kick the summer off and we returned the favour by helping out with the animals and planting a garden while Val recovered from shoulder surgery.  A contract for Stephen on Maple Leaf running a few trips to Alaska and back materialized, while Heidi completed a solo hike on Northern Vancouver Island for the Breeding Bird Atlas.  A week of family wedding celebrations cut the summer in half, but that was in Australia.  Back on Achiever we went searching for fin whales and eel grass on two separate research contracts both centered on the proposed tanker traffic route into the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest. A couple of guest charters through that area produced some wonderful animal encounters (a cougar and very friendly humpback).   A few days with family in Northern Ontario as fall colours started was a welcome break before Stephen headed for Newfoundland to do a circumnavigation trip with Adventure Canada, while Heidi headed back to the farm to milk goats and collect benthic samples (pulling up grabs of mud from the bottom of the sea).  Well that’s a quick update and we will write soon about what we have learned about leaving a boat baking in the Mexican sun. We have been extremely fortunate over summer and wish all the best for the newly wed and newly bred that are close to us.

Photos: Grizzly on the shores of SE Alaska; Stephen sailing onboard Maple Leaf; Acheiver; Heidi getting close to a Humpback whale; Pumpkin harvest on the farm; Heidi mothering fresh ducklings

Message from Antarctica

Click the link below for a short film from Heidi in Antarctica.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrRnxqP5ZVU

Update from Antarctica

I have been away from Narama for only three weeks and already it’s hard for me to recollect the heat of the sun and the desert landscape. I’ve just completed my first of three voyages which took me to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and then to the Antarctic Peninsula itself. Crossing Drake Passage over the last few days was interesting, with force 10 winds (about 50 knots) and average seas over 10m. But it was worth it, especially to see South Georgia again where the weather was kind allowing visits to massive King Penguin colonies and Wandering Albatross nesting sites. Another special treat during this voyage was running into a dear friend from Alert Bay in Stanley (Falklands). Have a look at Hayley’s blog (link on the side “Oceanmaid Ventures”) she is currently attempting to kayak around South Georgia alone. I just hope that she gets the weather she needs!

There are two trips left for me this season, although they are much shorter and only visit the Peninsula. Here’s hoping that the last four crossings of Drake Passage will be gentle.

I think that penguins are the secret to world peace as no one can resist smiling at their antics.

Photos:  Heidi in St Andrews Bay, MS Expedition in Antarctic Sound, Antctic Fur Seals, Chinstrap Penguins

Helsinki to Sao Miguel

Ice in the Baltic

When Stephen and I arrived in Canada on Narama after six months of long ocean passages interspersed with some cruising, we jokingly said to our friends that we highly recommend traveling great distances by air rather than toiling on the surface. After our recent travels I’ve reversed that opinion. We arrived in Helsinki jet-lagged, dehydrated and sick from recycled air and slightly shocked to find ourselves in freezing temperatures and near blizzard conditions after warm sunny days in Victoria. A mere 15 hours of airplanes and airports and we were dropped half way around the world, stumbling and poorly adjusted. The last nine days however, have reminded us why we are planning another major voyage on Narama; it’s not just the destination, but the travelling we love. We boarded MS Expedition in Rauma, Finland and set out across the Baltic Sea. We had a gorgeous warm spring day as we crossed Germany in the Keil Canal with cranes flying north over our heads, then occasional Common Dolphins playing under our bow as we headed south in the North Sea. We slowly pealed off layers of clothing as the temperature rose until we greeted Ponta Delgada on Sao Miguel Island in Tshirts. Staying on the surface and watching the wildlife and climate slowly change as we cover several hundred miles is fun, flying is for the birds.

MS Expedition