Closing in on the Aleutian Islands
At 130 miles from us, there are the Aleutian Islands. Before it lies the Aleutian Trench and we are currently enjoying the Aleutian current. These Islands are the gateway to the Bering Sea. A name that speaks to the imagination, and not all of it good. Dutch Harbor has made a name for itself with a fishing fleet that battles the elements and has done so for many years. But in the last decade they became well know for the tv documentary series Deadliest Catch.
Now we are making our way there, into the Bering Sea and towards Dutch Harbor, and for us the weather report is favorable for now. We have light winds, currently we are under engine as the sails were flogging to much and had to come down. In the next 12 hours we hope the wind will pick up, coming from the South with 10 knots, veering and increasing to 14 knots from the South West. This would perfect to cross the Trench and head between the islands through one of the passes. Which one, still depends on wind and weather. And daylight, because I would really like to see these islands!
So today was partially spend under engine. Small repairs were made on the mainsail as it was down anyway (just some stitching on the seams) and other then that we had a pretty quiet day. We saw a whale spout, but it was gone too fast and too far away to determine what it was. We have seen Laysan Albatrosses and storm petrels all day long, even in the light breeze. But no new species today. Fog has been coming and going, right now it has cleared and we can even see stars every now and then.
So thats it from us, all is well on board, Jet
