We arrived in Akureyri early yesterday morning amid thick fog and placid waters. We tied up to the same dock we’d been at when we were here back in July and cleaned Polar Bear stem to stern. The harbor staff showed up and connected the water and electricity, the customs man came and went, and we were free to play. First up was, of course, the pool complex. The hot tubs and steam bath were still soothing, the slide still…
We’re about 120 miles from Akureyri now, and up until last night it had been a brutal passage. By “brutal” I don’t mean difficult: the conditions haven’t been life-threatening or anything like that. It had been a brutal passage due to tedious conditions that resulted in fatigue, tension and just general malaise. For instance, right now we’re motoring over a smooth but rolly sea. There’s a thick blanket of cold fog surrounding Polar Bear, drenching every last surface — deck,…
Yup, another anchor watch. Quite possibly my last anchor watch of this summer adventure…and what a watch. I came on watch just before 1am. Right at 1, I popped up on deck to see if the night had turned dark enough to see some stars. Saturn had been blazing in the northeast twilight when I went to sleep and there he was again, this time more toward the southeastern corner of the sky. Polaris, the north star, was visible, more…