Peter & Ginger - Exploring Under Sail

It was exciting to set sail and leave the Aleutians behind, heading due north into the Bering Sea. Watching the gorgeous green islands recede in our wake, we remarked how similar they looked to the high islands of the south pacific. Just colder... The Bering Sea was kind to us, choppy but not too rough, chilly but not too cold. We encountered the yacht Tiama on passage, and took a picture just as a Dall’s Porpoise surfaced in front of her. As we got further north, the fog dissipated, the air dried out, the days got longer, and the waves got smaller. We glided along under full sail in calm water (a first since leaving Puget Sound a month ago) as we approached Nome. The ocean is shallow here, as we made our way into the harbor our eyes were glued to the depth sounder. The harbor master directed us to tie to a big steel wall, with just inches to spare under the keel. The harbor is dominated by dozens of gold dredges. We had come from the town of reality show “Deadliest C

Giant Bald Eagles dominate the waterfront at the Dutch Harbor Small Boat Harbor. Approaching our berth we were scrutinized by a brood at the 12 Mark. Admittedly, it’s a bit intimidating to make that turn while standing on deck just in case you get too close for their comfort. Possibly because of several nearby fish processing plants, there were over 50 eagles hanging out at the dock and on the near shore. Some of the plant employees feed these birds, and the convocation of eagles have sort of an urban gang tough presence as they swoop in for food/garbage. We were warned that a woman had ended up in the hospital with lots of stitches just a few days earlier. After our first night at the dock, a familiar looking aluminum adventure yacht named Seal arrived and rafted to Irene. Small world, we last saw Seal in Puerto Williams, Chile seven years ago. During a whirlwind of catching up, they shared homemade caribou liver pate and huge bowls of secret recipe popcorn with us.