New remote access blog...

We've had to change the way we're going to log our journey via the satellite email.  Facebook has removed the option for updating by email and so has our Google blog.  This has created a big problem for those of us trying to keep our friends up to date via a low bandwidth connection.  We've settled on the following website, www.sailblogs.com

You can now watch our offshore progress in a number of ways.

The new way, probably the most frequent updates after this post:
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/arcticmonkeyadventure/     (A semi-daily update via satellite)


The old ways when we have WiFi or better access:
http://usa51008.blogspot.com                                        (This website updated when we have WiFi)
https://www.facebook.com/ArcticMonkeyAdventure   (When we have WiFi or mobile phone access)
http://cornellsailing.com/c-tracking/?boat=Arctic%20Monkey  (Our offshore position tracker)

This is a link to our coastal tracking when in VHF range:
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:3089630/mmsi:367656310/vessel:ARCTIC%20MONKEY

Stromness, Orkney Islands

Stromness - Orkney Islands, UK

Somehow even though I'd written it, I lost the text for this post!  I'll update when possible in the future.  In a nutshell, we had a great time in Stromness, although a little longer than expected.  A little medical issue with Leah and strong winds prevented a departure for more than a week.  The area is steeped in history and archaeology and we had fun learning about it.  We thank the Stromness Harbourmaster, Bob, for all his help and all the friendly people in the town.

We're number 23 in the Blue Planet Odyssey, ready to go!

Zoe and Leah checking out Skara Brae, a settlement from 3500 B.C.

Leah and Rose in St. Magnus Cathedral, pirate grave? (No, common engraving)

Dad and Zoe selfie, double decker bus, Bob Ucker seats, front row!

Picnic during our 16 mile bike ride.  Zoe did the whole thing by herself, very proud of her.

My future surfer checking out the break at Skara Brae.

Monkey's

Susie, Ian, Chris, Rose and Zetty on one of many bus rides in the Orkney's.

The Arctic Monkey's, Orkney Islands, UK

Inverness, Scotland - The Last Full Stop

Rainbows and Unicorns, pretty bright up here.

Teaching Zoe how to row.

We're now in Inverness, Scotland, the capital of the Scottish Highlands.  Technically we're still in the Caledonia Canal as we have two more locks before we exit to the sea again.  Headquarters for the final stopover is Seaport Marina.  Here we handling the last items on our list before heading north to the Arctic.

First on the agenda was the heater.  Alistair Mackay from Mackay Boat Repair Services came with a new heater unit.  We discussed the problem and decided that swapping out the units would be the easiest and best solution.  Alistair worked for most of the day and we tested along the way.  By the end, all good and back to normal, no more leaking electrical.  He called back a couple days later just to make sure everything was still OK.  Highly recommended.

Next up was a small leak on the shaft seal only at 2,300rpm and greater.  We think it's caused by the air pipe being slightly too tight.  We've loosened it off and will test on the way out.  We generally never motor at that high of rpm so its not critical and its not a gusher.  John Macbean at Carley Marine has been great help, checking in on us and giving it a once over.

Zetty and Susie have been working diligently on provisioning and meal planning.  We want to have enough food on board here to last us through the Northwest Passage which could be two months.  This is in addition to the food for our passages to Orkneys, Faroes, Iceland and Greenland.  We've rented ("hired" as they say here) a car and will be starting non-stop trips to all our favorite markets in the next two days.  The list is long and we're still trying to figure out where to store it all.  Glad I bought all those, (6), 100L dry bags on sale in Plymouth.

Our friend Ian Jansing arrived on May 26th and will be on for the rest of the trip.  He and I will handle some of the Arctic boat prep, installing the polypropylene mooring lines, swapping out the mast head wind gauges, refilling gas bottles, installing some extra shelving, placing some chafe guards on the spreaders, re-rigging our fourth reef point and organizing contingency items.  Our posts may be sporadic from this point onward, highly dependent on WiFi hotspots around various marinas and coffee shops.

We will be joined by another of Zetty's cousins, Chris Boot on Thurs.  Chris is a highly active sailor on the Solent and has many ocean miles under his belt.  He'll sail with us until we get to Reykjavik, Iceland where he has a return flight back to the UK.

I can't say enough about the Scottish Canals and the people that run them.  The lock keepers are friendly and very helpful with local advice.  The marina staff are wonderful and keep the facilities in clean working order.  I would recommend this trip to anyone.

I was up at the top of the mast doing a little work on the wind gauges and there was a fella looking at the boat down below.  When I got down he said, "Same thing happened to mine, eagle landed on it, broke it right off."  He's on a boat on the next pontoon.  Turns out the man is Alain Bateadat, owner of  S/V Leava, from France.  Alain did the NWP in 2011.  We traded a few war stories, he told us that we had a good boat for the attempt.  Small world.

And off we go....

Just a few of the provisions Zetty and Susie bought for our 2 months in the Arctic.

Our spare dinghy is a fast two person kayak, just in case.

Crazy kids in Inverness playing water polo in kayaks.

Up top, working on the mast head, 65ft to the deck.  Could have used 4771 here;)

A view out to the last of the locks on the Caledonian Canal, known as the sea locks.

Tvoroyri, Faroe Islands

We arrived at Tvoroyri, Faroe Islands after our second try.  Our first attempt was aborted 60 miles offshore when Leah presented with signs of appendicitis.  We sailed back to Stromness where Zetty and Leah spent the night in the hospital for observation.  While the doctors didn't find anything she did show signs of a UTI and antibiotics were prescribed.  We kept a close eye on her over the next couple of days as the gale force winds prevented a comfortable sail up to the Faroe's.  We finally did have a window, 15-25kts upwind on a port tack.  We went for it and made it just in time as the wind picked up to 35-50kts just as we entered the fjord leading to the harbor.  We first tried to anchor in a protected bay but we couldn't get the anchor to hold, kelp being the main problem.  After two attempts, we aborted and went for the harbor.  We contacted the harbor master and he gave us a wall to lie against.  As luck would have it, we were a touch too deep drafted and the rudder just hit bottom.  With 6" of tide left before low tide and it being neaps we didn't want to chance it, so we went for the next best option of a lee wall.  That was not a good option but the only option as it turns out the "harbor" had been filled in for container storage.  This was not on the charts or in the pilot/guide book.  Arctic Monkey is now braving out gale force winds against the wall filled with giant Michelin tires.  I think we'll have a little extra scrubbing to do in Torshavn as the boat's a mess.  We're holed up here until Friday, June 12th as the gales are to continue until then.  The local people here say the same thing, the worst spring in years, too much wind and rain.  I've been in contact with our weather routing team at Commander's Weather and we may not have a good weather window to make it to Iceland until the 19th of June.  We may be getting a little behind schedule but you can't fight Mother Nature, well you can but most of the time you loose...

Leah, Zoe, LJ and Susie enjoying a laugh on passage to Tvoroyri, Faroe Islands.

Zetty, Rosie and Ian on passage.

Chris Boot and Susie Theis on watch.

The boys having a well deserved sandwich after securing the boat to a lee wall, not the best but any port in a storm.

Ian was the first up and out to the Hans Olaf bakery, fresh danish pastries make it all worth it!

The girls.

Little Rosie looking good in her new hair cut.