(58 deg 12.6 N, 152 deg 32.6 W — Kitoi Bay, Afognak Island) As the day started rolling, Dad and I worked on debugging a problem with starting the main engine, which turned out to be a bad solenoid. Shane swapped out our fuel filters, and had to replace a few fuses as well (we also fixed the defrost unit yesterday). Late in the morning, we were introduced to Marty Owen, the Harbormaster of Kodiak. Dad had a great time talking with him, and told him how much we’d enjoyed cruising in Kodiak. And today was even better… we had an incredible day today. We left shortly after lunch, and went North across Marmot Bay through rolling seas. We had two whale sightings as we crossed the bay. We headed for Kitoi Bay, where Shane had learned that “we would see bears.” As soon as we entered this cove, Shane spotted five bears on the far shore. We all hurried out on deck and went on a photo shooting spree while Dad circled us around. The bears were gigantic and VERY CLOSE. They were gorging on salmon, who seem to all ready to spawn in a local creek. I used our camera in combination with our binoculars, and was able to get a few really neat pictures of the bears and their amazing claws… We also were treated to seeing two large herds of seals also feasting and doing “synchronized swimming.” Raime and Rebecca spotted a bald eagle too! What an amazing place!

We’ve anchored out here, and are getting ready for another feast of our own.  We’ll post pictures as soon as we can!

Here are a few of the amazing pictures that we captured.  We also have a few videos which we’ll try to share when we’re back home. I’ve also included two of our videos that I took through the binoculars  The first one is a bit jerky because the boat was still moving around. 

(Kodiak, AK) Yesterday afternoon after lunch (Chinese, as requested by Raime), we headed back to the boat and ran into Casey Kelly from KMXT Public Radio (www.kmxt.org). He had just been down the boat and had left a note for us. He interviewed Dad with an impressive looking microphone, and Dad took him on a tour of the boat, and gave him an overview of the Northwest Passage trek on his Polar Map (which I hadn’t seen before). All of the latitude lines are drawn in circles, so it gives a much different view of the Arctic than I have become used to looking at the Google Map we have on the website. We filmed the interview with our digital camera, and while Raime continued with the filming, I stepped outside and called Shane and Rebecca. It was fun to hear Shane talk with Casey, as he remembered different times of the trip, and had different things to say. Casey will be airing the interview today, and said that they will be posting the interview on their website You can now listen to the interview.

Casey helped Dad with a ride to the airport yesterday to pick Mom back up! She immediately came back, took a trip to the grocery store with us, and then whipped up a fantastic dinner of Cream of Brocolli soup. We had a fun meal with Ed, and enjoyed staying up with him. He caught a plane back to San Jose early this morning. We have not been out to eat since Mom got here!

Today Mom and Dad celebrate 36 years of marriage. Congratulations to them!

Hi! I’m Raime! Yesterday I arrived in Kodiak with my dad and Shane’s wife, Rebecca! I’ve been busy since we got here. I went to the harbor on Sunday afternoon and I saw a fisherman cutting octopus tentacles into little squares. Where they going to eat it? No. They were going to use it for bait. I asked them what they where catching — it was Halibut. 25,000 POUNDS in 3 DAYS!

Next, we saw the Geraldine.  She was beautiful.  Grandma Kip arrived from San Jose this evening, and we’re happy to have her aboard!

[Editor's Note: The crew has posted photos all the way back to Nome — great shots!]

The all night run up to Kodiak Island went well with the help of the moon to dimly light the water allowing us to see the horizon.  Each one of us slept for two hours followed by a four hour watch.  This allowed two of us be awake at all times as we plowed through the seas and with the help of some positive currents  we arrived at Kodiak Island by dawn.  From there we traveled up the north west side of the island with the calmest waters since I came onboard in Nome.  A most pleasant change especially since we are all tired from the sleep deprived night.  We had another whale siting today and many more birds than usual.

At the north end of Kodiak Island we headed south-east down Whale Passage with seas like glass and plenty of sunshine.  We had numerous whale and otter sightings.  The mountains on either side of the passage were coated with green vegetation and trees which we previously had not seen along the Alluctian Islands.  Behind these mountains were higher mountains with patches of snow that peaked in and out of the clouds and rain.  What gorgeous scenery.  Along the edge of the passage were several homes and buildings confirming our return to civilization.  We were blessed by favorable conditions as the tides and currents gave us a huge lift down the passage where we reached a speed as high as 13.3 knots.  Normally our speed is in the range of 7-8 knots.  This was a wonderful way for ending my part of this journey. 

The destination for tonight is Kodiak Harbor where Scott and Raime (Scott’s daughter) and Rebecca (Shane’s wife) will join us.  Kip will join the crew on Monday night and I will depart back to San Jose, probably on Tuesday, if my reservations can be changed.

Ed (second mate)

PS Arrived Kodiak, St. Paul’s Harbor at 8:30 PM rendezvoused with Raime, Scott, and Rebecca.