We spent Wednesday getting ready for our crew shift and for the continuing trip to Dutch Harbor. Laundry was done in a bar called Duds and Suds! In between we were back to Airport Pizza to upload more yummy goodies and down load our emails. We got back to Geraldine and put on CLEAN sheets, got out fresh towels and stowed our clean duds as Kip packed up for home. Pat assumed the chef roll and got the beans cooking as well as his next version of Geraldine bowl bread. Kip was in the way making another batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies to beak Ed in on the ice cream sandwich routine! We all took a checker cab to the Nome airport and within 30 minutes Ed Wright had his Geraldine hat on and had joined the crew while Kip went into the security line to board her red eye plane flight to San Jose. We were amazed that you could park right outside the passenger entrance and walk inside.

I felt very funny leaving the crew with more of the trip yet to be accomplished.  They say if you do something consistently for a month you have a new habit.  After more than two months aboard Geraldine and living a new way completely I sure have new habits!  I will miss not only Walt but Pat and Shane so much as we have become family together in this journey through the Arctic. We hope Ed develops his “sea legs” quickly and finds his portion of the trip a satisfying adventure as well.  We encouraged him to come with meds and patches to help him accommodate! 

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It was wonderful to be tied firmly to a dock and sleep in peace and quiet, however we all found ourselves waking up for our shift or running up to check if all was well.  Walt ran into Shane in the dark and then later Pat was up checking with Walt!  Shane said he dreamed the Geraldine was parked in Gilroy and he was to be making engine repairs….. where am I?  After a quiet morning we came back to Airport Pizza for pizza and more internet access. I have posted eleven days of pictures in case you would like to go back to see them. We are spending the day working on the engine problem, doing laundry and provisioning for the next leg of the trip. They will be adding fuel additives thinking the diesel we purchased along the way wasn’t as lubricating as the engine needs.

Ed comes in tomorrow and Kip leaves on a red eye within 30 minutes of each other. We find ourselves continuing to celebrate the achievement of crossing the Northwest Passage together in the Geraldine when it looked like such a challenge to do so.  How grateful we are for our family’s support, all your support, prayers and comments.

Rebecca Robertson, Shane’s lovely wife, Scott and Raime Jones are flying into Kodiak, AK (on 9/14 for a week of vacation and sight seeing to take Geraldine on to Sitka where she will spend the winter months.

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Editor’s Note: I climbed in the time machine, went back and posted two messages we received around Point Barrow. This has two advantages. One, now the map doesn’t look like the crew took a massive overland shortcut. And two, you get to hear about Shane’s second swim! Move over Michael Phelps. Also, Nome is the end of the road for Kip, so Shane is about to take this final exam in bread-making. Ha!

Again we ran through the night past the Diomedes in the early morning. The seas were three meters and we were again surfing on the big waves in pitch black none-the-less. Imagine driving down a bumpy rutted road with no lights at top speed relying on a compass alone!  Wow.

We rounded Cape Prince of Wales and headed toward Nome to a beautiful sunrise and another pillar of fire on the horizon.  The mountains were absolutely gorgeous and we saw several fishing camps on the shore all the way to Nome.  We motored into Nome harbor and saw a large barge completely loaded with trucks, construction equipment and building supplies.  We are tied up to a new dock which is really nice.  We walked into Nome and are now sitting at Airport Pizza where we all had a good old hamburger and fries. How great it is to be in the the USA again!!! We have heard several definitions of where the Northwest Passage ends; and the furthest was Nome.  Today we satisfied all definitions and have made our goal!  We have a huge sense of accomplishment and deep joy together as a team: Pat, Shane, Kip and Walt!

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It is 8 PM ADT, and we’ve just been boarded by the USCG vessel Hamilton. Randy, you will remember our boarding in Dixon Entrance after 9/11. This was the same experience – routine safety inspection – out of sight of land, but this time we are 13 miles from Russian territory. We just crossed the Arctic Circle too, so that is another big milestone. We have been above it for nearly a month.

The remaining big deal is that tonight we will go as far west as we will go on this trip. Dutch Harbor is a little bit east of us, as is Hawaii. Seas are building, and we are not looking forward to tonight’s shift.

Later tonight we will go by the Diomede islands. The east island belongs to the US and the west island is Russia. There is less than 1 mile between the two. Can you imagine living with that tension every day? Too bad it will be dark as we go by; probably won’t get a picture.

We just passed a 700′ freighter that has 100′ beam. This is a very big boat and the only one seen other than the CG Cutter Hamilton today.

Oh, PS.   We passed the routine safety inspection with flying colors and have the “gold” certificate to prove it.

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