August 13, 2016 17.28 UTC (00.28 14 Aug local time) 76.65 112.09
Free! Freedom! Born to be Free!
Martin Luther King … Marion Anderson … Richie Havens … Nelson Mandela … Joan Baez … Bob Dylan …Janyce Joplin… Bruce Springsteen…
Same word, so many meanings. These powerful voices, through speech and song, swirl in my mind as elation fills our hearts. Joy is on our lips. We have been released.
For this moment in time, we have solved the puzzle. The labyrinth of ice which as trapped us for days is consigned to the past. It was a team effort. Denis, at the top of the mast, for more than an hour, called out directions to Captain Nikolay, who has taken over the helm from Barbara, with her Irish good luck finding the leads. For the first time since we left Murmansk, all of the crew is on deck. The sea is flat, wind calm, the light magical and we are electrified by our new found freedom.
The forecast for tomorrow is a Gale 8, but that’s for tomorrow.
Constance
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Per the most recent Russian ice charts, you have one more major ice pinch point before reaching the Lena River delta. Then should be clear blue water to Barrow. Perhaps the gale will remove that last pinch point. You look well situated right now to ride out the gale no matter what the ice does.
I was once skippering a PJ 38 sloop in a two day round Cape Cod race. We won the start, and were well ahead of everyone as we rounded rhe Cape at dusk. Gale came up, we stowed the genny along the lee helm (no roller reefing in those days) to put up a storm tri to balance double reefed main. All at 2am. Handed over helm, but at 4 am had to manage salvaging genny. The crew had not lashed it properly to the rails, and over it went. Mess. We finished about 10am with four crew on the big tiller, the weather helm was that bad- we needed a third reef point but there was none. Came in fourth despite the 4 am disaster. 7 boats did not finish, and two were dismasted cause they got caught unprepared. All supposedly seaworthy.