MV Dirona travel digest for Seattle to Prince William Sound Summer 2011

Position: 47°36.62'N, -122°20.87'W

Conditions calm, but the Strait of Juan de Fuca has a gale warning.

Position: 48°2.40'N, -122°37.37'W

Picking up noticeable swell from the north.

Position: 48°12.63'N, -122°58.82'W

Winds steady 25-35 knots from the west. Seas steep and tightly packed. Reduced speed to limit pounding. Slept down below in master stateroom as too rough to sleep in PH berth.

Position: 48°15.30'N, -123°36.16'W

Conditions starting to settle down. Getting a nice push from the current.

Position: 48°25.70'N, -124°17.93'W

8-10-foot swell, but widely spaced so not uncomfortable.

Position: 48°36.42'N, -124°48.67'W

Conditions same. Nice to be away from all the traffic in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Position: 48°59.21'N, -125°54.13'W

Conditions rough with 20 knot NW winds.

Position: 49°20.10'N, -126°37.24'W

Conditions smoother with winds less than 10 knots. Passed cruise ships Amsterdam and Rhapsody of the Seas, heading south for Seattle.

Position: 49°38.60'N, -127°14.43'W

Conditions smooth. Winds calm to SW 10-15. Passed cruise ship Infinity heading north and Saphire Princess heading south.

Position: 49°53.96'N, -127°43.57'W

Conditions lumpy. Winds 15W.

Position: 50°5.31'N, -128°9.99'W

Seas flattening, just swell. Sun shining. Nothing on AIS and no traffic for hours.

Position: 50°24.28'N, -128°41.76'W

Big 10-12' rollers on nose. Slowed down to reduce boat motion. Tanker North Star 4mi to port.

Position: 50°45.88'N, -129°20.11'W

Wind SW 15. Getting a bit of a push from wind or current.

Position: 51°2.11'N, -129°51.02'W

Wind S 20. Conditions rough.

Position: 51°20.15'N, -130°27.46'W

Wind SW 20-25. Conditions lumpy and uncomfortable.

Position: 51°38.51'N, -130°57.06'W

Wind SW 25-30. Conditions rough. Waves 6-8' and closely packed. Bow often burying and frequent spray on windshield. Picking up the islands off the tip of Cape St. James on radar.

Position: 51°51.54'N, -131°22.36'W

Biggest waves have ever been out in. Winds only 20 but waves are pilothouse-high for the big ones. Average close to 10' and tight. Had to really throttle back to reduce motion. Better once passed entrance to Queen Charlotte Sound.

Porpoises swimming with us and playing chicken with the bow. Cruise ship Golden Princess passed us, and Westerdam not long after. Later two large sailboats passed by, Erica XII and tall ship Pallada.

Position: 52°5.60'N, -131°41.00'W

Winds SW 22, but conditions much more reasonable. Have now made our final turn and are heading more offshore towards Prince William Sound.

Position: 52°13.23'N, -131°56.95'W

Winds SW 15-20. Conditions had settled for a bit, but now waves are tighter and boat bouncing more.

Position: 52°38.40'N, -132°43.99'W

Winds S less than 10. Conditions seem to be settling.

Position: 52°55.77'N, -133°8.49'W

Winds S less than 10. Conditions reasonably calm now. No traffic all night. Able to sleep comfortably sleep in offwatch berth now--have mostly been sleeping down below so far.

Position: 53°17.41'N, -133°43.90'W

Winds less than 5. Conditions calm--much nicer and more enjoyable than previous few days.

Position: 53°46.68'N, -134°31.59'W

Just crossed 1,000 engine hours. Winds less than 5 and sea calm. So much more enjoyable--could to this for days. First few days in rough water was just hard work and not much fun. We should enjoy it while it lasts--NOAA is predicting 30-knot winds with 10-foot seas in the Gulf of Alaska Wednesday.

Position: 54°7.52'N, -135°11.77'W

Winds SE less than 5. Seas calm with low gentle swell.

Position: 54°18.84'N, -135°33.99'W

Winds SE less than 5. Seas calm with low gentle swell. Haven't seen any other traffic for over a day.

Position: 54°40.98'N, -136°5.04'W

Winds E 6. Still calm and enjoyable. So much less tiring than when conditions are rough. We're making great speed now too--upwards of 8 knots when earlier in trip at same RPM (1800 or 120HP) were barely making 6 knots.

Position: 55°2.01'N, -136°41.93'W

Winds less than 5 SW. Still no traffic with radar out to 24nm. Surprising given we are on the main tanker route between Prince William Sound and Puget Sound.

Forecast for Wed has worsened. Near PWS will will be 35 knots with 12' seas.

Position: 55°19.40'N, -137°20.68'W

Conditions still calm. Forecast for Wed has worsened again. Near PWS will will be 40 knots with 13' seas. Hopefully we'll miss the worst of it as we'll arrive in the area early Thursday.

Position: 55°48.53'N, -138°12.17'W

Conditions still calm. 10:30 am forecast the same. Barometer hasn't budged from 1014 for days.

Position: 55°58.27'N, -138°27.78'W

Conditions same, barometer still 1014. Surface analysis charts show low has deepened from 1000 to 998mb.

Position: 56°20.17'N, -139°3.92'W

Barometer has fallen to 1012 and winds now SSE 11. The low is now 995, but outlook is a little better. We can expect SE 25-30 with seas 9-11'. Hopefully that won't be too evil.

Position: 56°34.14'N, -139°27.58'W

Bar 1012, winds SE 10. Seas getting bigger, 4-6', and waves closer together from the SW quartering the stern. Boat skidding around a bit on them.

Surface analysis shows low has deepened to 992, but no updated forecast yet. Still hoping the worst will pass north of us.

Position: 57°3.34'N, -140°28.61'W

Bar 1009, winds SE 15-20. Seas 6' and tightly packed.

Position: 57°18.77'N, -140°57.18'W

Bar 1006, winds SE 20. Seas 8-10'. Low has deepened to 991 mb.

Position: 57°28.40'N, -141°14.17'W

Bar 1006, winds SE 20. Seas 8-10'. Low has deepened to 991 mb.

Position: 57°48.57'N, -141°51.58'W

Bar 1005 winds SE 20. Seas 10-12'. Low has improved to 994mb and looks to be passing south of us. Boat handling remarkably well. Only 211nm to Prince William Sound.

Position: 58°2.62'N, -142°18.07'W

Bar 1004 winds E 15. Conditions seemed to improve for a bit, but back to 10-12' seas.

Almost ran over a humpback whale earlier. It was just floating at the surface when we saw it a few feet a head. We went into reverse to avoid it, which automatically turned the stabilizers off. It slowly moved off to the side. That would have done some damage both to it and to us.

Position: 58°27.27'N, -143°9.71'W

Bar back down to 1003. Winds SE 10-15. Seas 8-10'. Boat motion much reduced as seas start to settle down. Saw one boat last night 15 mi away. First for a couple of days.

Position: 58°50.31'N, -143°56.07'W

Bar back down to 1003. Winds SE 5-10. Waves 10'. Earlier AIS showed tanker Polar Resolution about 6 miles to the west heading south.

Position: 59°7.52'N, -144°33.30'W

Bar 1004. Winds S 10. Seas 8-10', now from E/SE and tighter, bringing more boat motion. We're into the last of the gale where it was at its worst yesterday: 40 knots and 14' seas between Icy Cape and Cape Suckling.

Position: 59°34.91'N, -145°28.50'W

Bar 1004. Winds S 10 and a little sunshine. At 5am seas had increased to 10-12' from E/SE, but now are back down to 8-10'. A pod of perhaps 30 porpoises ran with us for almost an hour. Spitfire loved it.

We'll be anchored tonight, so real coffee with breakfast--the decaf is tucked away until the return run.

Position: 59°56.38'N, -146°12.14'W

Bar 1006. Winds calm. Seas 4-6' with low swell.

Expect to drop hook at 5:30. We're really looking forward to pizza and beer in Port Etches. It's been a long haul.

Position: 60°13.20'N, -146°43.00'W

Seas turned glacial green as approached. Cape Hinchinbrook light on cliffs that must take a real pounding in southerly storms--even in this gentle swell the waves are crashing into the bluff. Snow on 1546' Signal Mountain--surprising as it's not that high.

Position: 60°21.05'N, -146°38.51'W

Sea otters everywhere, sheer cliffs, beautiful secluded anchorage. The anchor is down, the engine is off--time to relax.

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