Sunday, we had a quiet worship service on the boat, then went into town and borrowed Allen’s truck from the Co-op (another Peets award) to ferry water to Geraldine by Jerry can. If you have ever carried 150 gallons of water in 2 – 7 gallon containers, filling, loading the truck, transferring to the dinghy, lifting and filling the boat tank, you know what Sunday afternoon was like. I know some of you are concerned we are not getting our exercise. We are not losing weight by the lack of good food; that is for sure, but we are losing weight – all of us.

At 1:30 AM (Monday) the wind changed and the anchorage in front of Pond Inlet became uncomfortable so we arose & left. We went up Navy Board Inlet and saw some spectacular scenery including glaciers, bergs and mountains that looked desert-like. Oh, and through in the Tetons too. We are now in the midst of Lancaster Sound heading for Devon island enroute to Resolute.

We are told that the watermaker parts should arrive on THE Wednesday fight. There is only one. Thanks to Charlotte for chasing these parts all the way to us.

Our electronics are going crazy as we approach magnetic north – very close to Resolute. We are back to the old fashion navigation. These magnetic anomalies are a new experience for me.

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Pond Inlet: We had an appointment with the Co-op for fuel at noon. We were to meet the truck at the beach at high noon; sounds like a show down, doesn’t it. Well that was exactly what happened. The driver was waiting for us, while we waited for him. We went to beach Geraldine at 12:30 PM. Shane jumped off the bow expecting shallow water and landed waist deep – so cold. The truck then soon arrived. We passed the fuel hose over the water with a rope. Pat and Shane held the boat while I fueled. The whole process took about an hour. We started to back out and went hard agroud! Getting free took another hour and a half! We got local help and we keep making things worse. We are back at anchor and all seems O.K. The entire town was aware of our predicament.

Looks like the watermaker parts won’t be here until Tuesday at the earliest. We are strongly considering moving to Resolute and asking that the shipment be diverted there. Stand by for the news.

PS. The SSB is working much better. I hooked up all the aluminum plate in the engine room to the ground. I was able to communicate with Peter Semotiuk in Cambridge Bay again tonight.
PSS. Expecting another excellent Arctic Char dinner tonight. I am smelling the love now.

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Current position 63 deg 52.8′ N, 060 deg 20.2′ W. We will soon head to leg 2 of recommended route through Baffin Bay. So far we have open water, occasional HUGE bergs, but very little ice in the water. It is 2:40 AM and the sun is about to rise! As we go we maintain a golden glow on the horizon all (short) night and gulls are criss-crossing in front of the bow. Kip & I are doing our shift while Pat & Shane sleep. We have been doing two-person, 4 hour shifts, but not staggered like we have done previously. Should be another nice day.

[Editor’s Note: We asked the crew to send updates more regularly, rather than at every big “happening.” If they keep up this pace, we may need to consolidate all the updates into a daily digest! Thanks to the crew for staying in touch. It helps us back home to know all is well.]

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8:00am Sunday morning, and a good Sabbath to everyone. At the end of the day (beginning?) we turned left to follow the routing suggested by the Canadian Ice Service to Pond Inlet. The decision came down to the ice report for the opening of the way through mostly open water (bergy) and that the water maker loss is not a safety issue. It is a nuisance and very inconvenient, but the damage caused by the water intrusions have been repaired or worked around. We will work on shipping in more parts to Pond Inlet.

Kip & I are on watch while Shane & Pat are getting some much needed sleep amidst fog with approximately half a mile visibility and the sun trying to break trough overhead. I was on watch over the “dark” night and it was like a sunset the whole time with the sun just below the horizon! Everyone is in pretty good spirits. Pray for that as well as no more failures.

The pictures show an iceberg on the horizon, how they look when we first spot them.  Also you can see how they show up on the radar. The rings are set at two miles out so the one on the left, in the picture, is five miles away and the one on the right, in the picture, is eight miles away.

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