We left Cartwright at 2 PM after effecting repairs. We had more fuel related problems. In addition, we had a leak in the exhaust manifold which allowed salt water to escape onto alternator #2. So we had trouble. The entire city turned out to check us out and offered help. We also met the ferry and the ferry captain and first mate who also offered help, but at the end of the day it was Shane to the rescue. Shane fabricated a cold patch to the exhaust using epoxy, rubberized tape and aluminum tape. I reworked the alternator so it again puts out 14 volts. Shane also cleaned out fuel lines and swapped out the on-engine fuel filter. In short all was in order & we were off. We only went about 50 miles in sloppy seas and overcast sky to Indian Harbour where we are anchored for the night. The boat ran really well.

What a beautiful and interesting place Indian Harbour is. It once was a hospital & fishing outpost but now has been abandoned since the late 90’s. Who knows why it was here; I surely can’t figure it out.

We are beginning to see the Inukshuk rock formations on the surrounding hilltops. For those who have read about the Nunavut flag elsewhere on the website will know that this is a landmark symbol the Inuit people used for for direction and is now the symbol of Nunavut and the Inuit people in general.

I am writing this at 11 PM and it is almost dark. The moon is about to rise over Indian Island. Sunrise will be about 4:40 AM. We also have left the heat wave of Nova Scotia behind and we are now in a cold climate – 50 degrees. Pat wore his silk long johns for the first time (picture that 🙂 The water is colder too, in the 40’s when no ice is present. We did see a small berg this afternoon and a growler plus some brash ice.

We will set out early tomorrow to make up some time. We will be traveling up the Labrador coast for the next few days. We still have 1400 miles to go go north before turning west. It’s off to bed.

Hope all is well on the home front – miss you all.

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Tonight we landed in a place called Cartwright, Labrador and found a grocery store, fuel and a pub with wifi so we can jump on and share some of the dramatic and majestic pictures of icebergs we saw today and yesterday. The coast of Labrador is called Iceberg Alley and we have begun to see them coming past us like large cruise ships. They calve large bergy bits and chunks of ice so Shane netted some ice for the cooler; filled it with two pieces!  Humpback whales were feeding and even breeched near our boat; Pat caught the splash with his telephoto.  He also caught the great puffin picture.  

In the afternoon the seas picked up, it began to rain and became really choppy. Approaching Cartwright our engine faltered and we motored to dock with the get home motor. So tomorrow will be another day of trouble shooting. Pray for wisdom for the men to diagnose and correct the problem for good. We’ll update tomorrow with the results.

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Jenny and I received a phone call tonight from our intrepid adventures. They called on the satellite phone, and it worked about as well as a cell phone. I scribbled notes as fast as I could, and here’s the latest:

They left this morning at 5:00am to make the push across Belle Isle Straight between Newfoundland and Labrador. The seas were calm and smooth most of the day, and clear with occasional fog. En route, they encountered a pod of minke whales. At least they think they were minkes, because they only saw fins and not a tail. Apparently the options are humpback, fin whale or minke, and the later is shy about revealing their hindquarters.

Iceberg ahoy! Today they saw a really big, Titanic-sinker iceberg rising 100 feet above the water out a shroud of fog. The crew reported the water temperature went from 13ºC down to 2ºC as they went by. This monster created its own fog bank in an otherwise clear area. Beautiful, and a little scary too. It showed up like an island on the radar. We’re looking forward to seeing pictures of these two aquatic encounters!

Williams Harbour is a flourishing metropolis of 59 people, so no internet, but lots of fishermen. In other news, the crew is adjusting to boat life. Skip and Walt are brushing up on all the new electronics that went into the boat. Shane is studying the manuals for the boats engines. Kip is knitting and cooking. Pat is fighting off a cold, and winning (good news!). Oh, and they’ve decided to return the parts for the fridge and just make do with ice in the coolers.

About this time the phone went dead. Probably a cloud interfering with the satellite, or a polar bear. Stay tuned!

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We were so excited this morning we could hardly sleep! We pulled out at 6:40 this morning and it was an absolutely beautiful day all day long and this land-lubber didn’t get sick! Skipper Walt had suspected that he had something tangled in the prop so the low man on the Totum pole Shane put on his wet-suit and went in the water. He found this wrapped around the prop and shaft. He cut it loose and the boat ran so much better, Shane is the Hero for the day! We docked the night in Port aux Choix it is a great place for exploring. A 1/2 gallon of milk is $5.00, more expensive than diesel fuel! For our first day it was grand. I’ll let Shane add his comments. Thanks for your prayers, we have many more days ahead of us.

“Its a great feeling jumping into unknown waters and swimming underneath to take a look at “something” that could be wrong. Its nice and bright on the surface but underneath it gets real dark in a hurry!! Its amazing how fast it will take your breath away, and with a 15′ beam its a bit of a swim.”

Cheers!

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