6th Sept
Up at 05:30 to extract Novara from the dock....crikey we needed a shoehorn.
Drina and Gjoa to the stern and Martin Bergmann across our bows. I was on the bow fending off MB's shore lines and then pushing us off the dock. We reversed out and used a bit of bow thruster.............all good soon out. Off we go, lets try the refurbed steering.......excellent it's working fine. We proceed down the inlet to begin our crossing of the Dearse Strait at the southern end of Victoria Island.
After about 2 miles or so Steve noticed the wheel was a bit loose. Darn it the top gearbox bolts have stripped the thread into the binnacle. Off with the wheel.......AGAIN !!!! Steve and i soon egt the drills out etc etc .......i find some suitable nuts and bolts, we are going to bolt it straight through the binnacle face. First one is a bit of a guess it's hard to judge / measure ....................DOH..........Steve has snapped the drill bit and we can't get it out. Drill a larger one next to it i suggest.......after a few minutes we have it sorted................bolted up and onto the next one below it. It was the 2 nuts on the right hand side that had stripped, the new bolts soon sorted it out.
Out into Dearse Strait, motoring to start with, then a brisk 12 to 14 knot wind from the north........7.5 knots and we're away.
Storming down the strait.......gawd this boat is fast.
Still no sign of Les in Arctic tern, maybe we'll see them tomorrow. We heard from Drina that he stopped in an anchorage on Coronation Gulf due to strong headwinds.
7th Sept
Past Murray point overnight, by 10:00 we are near Lady Franklin point, about to enter Dolphin and Union Strait.........all of a sudden an AIS target appears in an anchorage near Lady Franklin point...........hey hey hey......it's Les on Arctic Tern............we'll sneak up on him and give a shout on the VHF when we get a bit nearer.
And he's off, they must have seen us coming.........ha ha
We carry on against rising wind and waves. The Dolphin & Union Strait is a barsteward, it is the narrowest point for all the water being blown down from the Beaufort Sea, the prevailing winds are north west and with wind against tide, it makes it very lumpy to say the least. The southward flow of the Arctic current makes things even worse. We hail Les on the VHF and discuss tactics. After a few hours we all agree enough is enough. Les anchors off an island called Teddy Bear Island ( i joke not !!!!) and we anchor off a small island called Camping island.........again i joke not. We all get a good nights sleep, ready for the onslaught tomorrow.
The weather was a bit chronic through this section, low cloud and bad viz....................so few photos of any worth taken...................shots of sea get a bit boring......................so here's one or two i did'nt take !!!!
Do you know ..........who needs mates ??? A lovely shot on me trying (in vain i might add) to get water to run down the pipe into the tanks on the boat, from a stream in Sam Ford Fjord......................cheers guys !!!!!
Wild Bill Hiccup........the rifle is no joke................totally necessary....................we saw 6 polar bears over the next 2 days !!!
A shot taken by Ali off Arctic Tern of Novara passing in front of Tandberg Polar (the tug and barge going to Cambridge Bay to collect the "Maud") in Fort Ross
My anti foul deck shoes after my plunge into the dock at Cambridge Bay
Up at 05:30 to extract Novara from the dock....crikey we needed a shoehorn.
Drina and Gjoa to the stern and Martin Bergmann across our bows. I was on the bow fending off MB's shore lines and then pushing us off the dock. We reversed out and used a bit of bow thruster.............all good soon out. Off we go, lets try the refurbed steering.......excellent it's working fine. We proceed down the inlet to begin our crossing of the Dearse Strait at the southern end of Victoria Island.
After about 2 miles or so Steve noticed the wheel was a bit loose. Darn it the top gearbox bolts have stripped the thread into the binnacle. Off with the wheel.......AGAIN !!!! Steve and i soon egt the drills out etc etc .......i find some suitable nuts and bolts, we are going to bolt it straight through the binnacle face. First one is a bit of a guess it's hard to judge / measure ....................DOH..........Steve has snapped the drill bit and we can't get it out. Drill a larger one next to it i suggest.......after a few minutes we have it sorted................bolted up and onto the next one below it. It was the 2 nuts on the right hand side that had stripped, the new bolts soon sorted it out.
Out into Dearse Strait, motoring to start with, then a brisk 12 to 14 knot wind from the north........7.5 knots and we're away.
Storming down the strait.......gawd this boat is fast.
Still no sign of Les in Arctic tern, maybe we'll see them tomorrow. We heard from Drina that he stopped in an anchorage on Coronation Gulf due to strong headwinds.
7th Sept
Past Murray point overnight, by 10:00 we are near Lady Franklin point, about to enter Dolphin and Union Strait.........all of a sudden an AIS target appears in an anchorage near Lady Franklin point...........hey hey hey......it's Les on Arctic Tern............we'll sneak up on him and give a shout on the VHF when we get a bit nearer.
And he's off, they must have seen us coming.........ha ha
We carry on against rising wind and waves. The Dolphin & Union Strait is a barsteward, it is the narrowest point for all the water being blown down from the Beaufort Sea, the prevailing winds are north west and with wind against tide, it makes it very lumpy to say the least. The southward flow of the Arctic current makes things even worse. We hail Les on the VHF and discuss tactics. After a few hours we all agree enough is enough. Les anchors off an island called Teddy Bear Island ( i joke not !!!!) and we anchor off a small island called Camping island.........again i joke not. We all get a good nights sleep, ready for the onslaught tomorrow.
The weather was a bit chronic through this section, low cloud and bad viz....................so few photos of any worth taken...................shots of sea get a bit boring......................so here's one or two i did'nt take !!!!
Do you know ..........who needs mates ??? A lovely shot on me trying (in vain i might add) to get water to run down the pipe into the tanks on the boat, from a stream in Sam Ford Fjord......................cheers guys !!!!!
Wild Bill Hiccup........the rifle is no joke................totally necessary....................we saw 6 polar bears over the next 2 days !!!
A shot taken by Ali off Arctic Tern of Novara passing in front of Tandberg Polar (the tug and barge going to Cambridge Bay to collect the "Maud") in Fort Ross
My anti foul deck shoes after my plunge into the dock at Cambridge Bay
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