Sat Jul 24 0:00:00 EDT 2010, Labrador Sea, Canada
Ted (left) and Chris attaching the storm jib on the foredeck as we motor out of the harbor and get ready to set sail.
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Wed Jul 21 12:00:00 EDT 2010
While approaching an anchorage in Labrador, a rope went over the side and got caught underneath the boat. The next morning, I dug up my wetsuit and went in to free the rope and scrub the keel--a job I'd been wanting to do for a while but hadn't gotten around to yet.
In the picture, Ted has just passed me down the regulator, and I'm putting it on. The boat has a diving compressor (narghile), which pumps air down a hose to the regulator. This is the first time I tried using the system, and it takes a while to get used to breathing thru the regulator. A heated swimming pool would be an easier place to learn to breathe thru a regulator than a Labrador harbor with icebergs outside, but nothing is perfect :). I used several big shackles as diving weights and was in the water about half an hour (the wetsuit is thicker than most), getting one side of the keel scrubbed. The other side of the keel will wait until next time.
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Tue Jul 20 12:00:00 EDT 2010
We sailed by a lot of icebergs, whales and dolphins along the coast of Labrador.
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Sun Jul 18 10:00:00 EDT 2010
Abandoned buildings at Hill Harbor, Labrador. This is a very small harbor nestled in the rocky coast--easy to enter with GPS and clear, calm weather. I don't know the history of this particular place at all, and haven't gone ashore yet. I suspect it was one of the many places that were abandoned after seal hunting (for fur) was ended and the numbers of cod fish collapsed. No road, transportation only by boat or across the ice when it freezes over.
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Sat Jul 17 12:00:00 EDT 2010
Yann, who built Issuma in France and sailed her 48,000 miles before selling her to me, joined the the boat in St John's for the summer. Picture was taken along the Labrador coast.
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Hope you will write a few blog entries!
Fri Jul 16 12:00:00 EDT 2010
The land appears to be elevated above a white layer in this picture. This mirage is the result of warm air over cold water and earth, and is quite common along the rugged, beautiful coast of Labrador, Canada, where we are now. We came in to the Labrador coast to sit out a forecast gale at sea, and have seen many mirages today.
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I don't like being at a dock with the keel raised if there is a stiff crosswind (or the possibility of one)...it heels much more noticeably with the keel up. Being anchored with the keel up is fine--in any strong wind the boat will end up facing it, so I don't think it could get knocked down.
A tornado landed close to Issuma once in Argentina, while she was tied with two bow lines to shore and two anchors off the stern, cross-wise to the way the wind hit. I was glad I'd lowered the keel earlier because the boat heeled a lot (it was 0300, dark and I don't know how much it heeled, but things were flying all over the place inside the boat).
Thu Jul 15 12:00:00 EDT 2010
The charts that are currently being used are stored in the pilothouse on Issuma. Charts for other areas are stored in the bedroom, under the mattress, in strong garbage bags (to keep them dry). Every once in a while, I dig through the garbage bags of charts in the bedroom to find the ones we need next.
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Tue Jul 13 12:00:00 EDT 2010, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Night view of the south end of the harbor from Issuma.
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Looking for a good read? Try Colony of Unrequited Dreams.
Mon Jul 12 12:00:00 EDT 2010, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada
View of the lighthouse at the entrance to St John's harbor.
St John's is a pretty city, with friendly, helpful, seafaring people.
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Sun Jul 11 10:00:00 EDT 2010, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada
We had a pleasant sail and motor in mostly light winds from St Pierre to St John's, Newfoundland, Canada. St John's has a great harbor, very well protected by the cliffs on either side of the entrance.
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