Can't see the ice for the trees! 7116 15145

We've just hit a huge tree trunk at 7 knots. I was adjusting the genoa sheet and did not see the tree, just felt a big impact and a series of bumps with no obvious cause and then a 20 ft maybe 2 ft diameter log appeared astern. It will have blue antifoul all over it and I most fervently hope it missed the prop. We'll find out soon enough. Fortunately, Berri's hull could have been designed to minimise just such an impact. The waters around Alaska are full of driftwood of all sorts - Norton Sound with trees coming down the Yukon and up here there are several big rivers flowing north.

Good progress and I think there will be no more ice between here and Tuk - for a start, the water is now @ nearly 7 degrees - almost a warm bath for overworked freckles. Stunningly beautiful though brilliant blue translucent house sized lumps of old ice may be, they are best and most beautiful at a distance!

The Chukchi Sea turned from deep grey green jade to light pearly grey green at Point Barrow, then dirtyish grey over the shoals and now in the Beaufort we're back to deep green.

Still no HF radio. Don't know why - all seems ok.

H & K thanks for message - was feeling a bit like ET.

Later 1433UTC 7107 15041 now we're in 30 kts from the west - no main, tiny heady, big short rolling sea. Again, good progess and 200 miles to Canada. Makes it hard to see the wood for the waves. Yuk. Life's never dull out here.

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