2nd – 3rd September 2023 – Days 30 and 31
Saturday and Sunday
We never did light the bonfire on the beach but spent the day on the boat hoping lassitude wouldn’t creep in. Champagne is the recognized treatment for lassitude*, but we have none on board. The good news was that the weather forecast was looking OK for heading off to Tuktoyaktuk. We hauled up the tandem anchors at about 13:30 and then spent an hour practicing the MOB drill, this time with simulated hauling out of the water with the stay sail halyard. To make it more realistic, I decided to hang on to the MOB fender to add weight. Dan rose to the challenge and I flew up into the air and swung across the deck. We will all be fine so long as Dan doesn’t fall overboard!
(*According to The Ascent of Rum Doodle)
We left Lady Richardson Bay at 15:00 all feeling very pleased to be underway. The Amundsen Gulf is a pretty bleak area. Through the fog and mist there is no scenery to watch. There seems to be hardly any wildlife other than a few geese making their way south for warmer weather.
3rd September 2023 – Day 31
Sunday
The wind picked up from the north and for a good while we were making 6 kn under reefed main, jib and stay sails. We even spotted land for a short while. The North wind blows off the ice so the temperature is only 3°C. It slowly died down and right now we are trundling along at 4.5 kn. It is important that we sail as much as possible because we only have enough fuel to get to Tuk by running on the vapour in the tanks. We need to sail for at least a couple of hundred nautical miles. Will made a tasty rice dish for lunch. Soon meals will start to become “unusual” as we gradually eat through the provisions. I can’t resist the flapjacks and sweets, or indeed anything sugary offered to me, so I will need a major sugar detox when I get home. Another couple of days at sea before we get to Tuk. I wonder what the weather will bring?
Leave a Reply