Monday 2 June 2008

McQ: Thank goodness we haven't had to DR our way here!!!

We've passed Pratt Cove, which is tucked in beside Knob Point, and now we are about 8 miles from rounding Bumpy Point which is at the head of Gusty Bay. I say this with complete sincerity. I've also spotted Dinkum Point and Dinkum Rock- nowhere near each other!!! Its hilarious, almost as much fun as making up a new language!!
Earlier Whitters said knowing our luck he wouldn't be surprised if we got headed all the way round the corner... I thought this a touch pessimistic but here we are round the corner... so gradient wind here should still be northerly, albeit not much and our bearing to waypoint near Adak is 080, so guess where the wind is now coming from??? yep zero-eight-zero. Brilliant!!!!Hopefully its just local off the land- we are only a mile off.
I think midday tomorrow a wee bit hopeful-I'm still going with ETA to Adak of 1523 local tomorrow... we'll see!!!
For those of us whose today is yesterday, today is 1st June... so just wanted to wish everyone who's b'day it is in june a very happy one- my brain diary isn't exhaustive or what it used to be so am sorry if I forget you- most important first cause apparently i always forget, Dave Bright, Happy Birthday my darling for 22nd!! Paul, won't get cake this year unless i find some tomorrow and post, definitely not homemade or decorated with a monkey. I'll try and be about next year. Marc- gutted gutted to be missing this one as you well know. hope you and Jonah have the most fantastic 30ths and that 'Whittensethi' or equivalent, rocks!! might be wise to carry a pair of trainers if you want to go running. Jo and Philippe, happy birthday, no cakes for you guys either, though it might take some pursuading to get me to stay up all night on the 25th ever again and bake and decorate four cakes in one go!!! Hope your first birthday on the island is brill, jo, wish i was there. lots of love to all other birthday people too Coz/Bol xxx Had my second snickers just now... only four to go!!! oooh crikey, thats not many!!!
I'd like to award a BAPTO to the GPS... is this possible???!!!! AW and I were discussing this morning while still in Amchitka Pass that it was maybe two weeks since we had enough sun (and general vis at night too) to have made a sextant sight possible, so without GPS we would have been DR'ing our way for a long time, and while we would have kept a record of what current was averaging and adjusting our Dead Reckoning pos accordingly (I assume), we would have minimal realistic clue as to which part of the Aleutiens/pass to get between them we had reached!!! Indeed, given the vis, without GPS we could be anywhere!!! Its one helluva thought!!! Full respect to all ocean navigators from pre-gps, makes 'Frozen in time' all the more sobering.
Word for the day: Swober- pretending to be sober (was actually a typo in the last sentence, but i like it!!) lots of love McQ xxx