Do You Ever Feel Like You’re Upside Down?

I can’t tell if it’s because we haven’t seen shore in a week, or the fact that we’re all a little upside down from the last few days of bumpy waters.

Brian’s arctic footware is a pro move.
Amundsen Gulf by Cape Parry beating eat in 20-25 knots, doing 8 knots, double reefed main and reef staysail. Cheers to Ballard Sails for still looking good after 40k miles!

The winds have been shifting, the seas are confused, and the wildfire smoke from Canada has blown in.

Meanwhile, the half the crew are trying to get their day jobs done in between watches (wow the miracle marvel of Starlink). The other half of us are either retired or practicing for retirement. We don’t know what day it is.

Rusty’s work station!
Check out the sideways curtains!

No fish yet, but Graeme is wowing us with his culinary skills! These “better burritos” have been a favorite so far! Stuffed with rice, onion, bell paper, sharp white cheddar, shrimp and topped with sweet chili sauce!

We should be in Cambridge Bay by tomorrow, hopefully the forecasted wind will come through and get us there in a timely manner. Some well deserved showers and a load of laundry will help us reset for the next part of our journey.

Plus, we’re hoping we can catch up with the rest of the fleet that is doing the passage this year. Rusty has managed to get in a Whatsapp group chat with some of them, and we’re already missing the lunch parties! Hopefully we’ll clear some of this smoke and get to make some new friends soon!

I’ve been working on a Dogbark Dance Party playlist…what are some of your favorite songs to dance to?

10 Replies to “Do You Ever Feel Like You’re Upside Down?”

  1. Love that you are doing a dance mix!! You might be able to get Eli to do a rendition of “Friends in Low Places” if you time it right?!

    1. Ooo I loved asking Eli about this! I definitely added it to the list as well as a few others of his.

      Sounds like we need some boat-aroke ASAP!

  2. Thank you so much for blogging and keeping us updated, Sandy! Barrett and I are reading your blogs to each other while we drive across the country. We miss Rusty but are so glad he’s on this grand adventure with you all! Hope the smoke is clearing and you can soon enjoy new friends and warm showers at Cambridge Bay!

    For dance party music suggestions, there are many great ones on the BIHSS 23-24 Playlist that Talia and I created from our team’s requests (two of my favorites: Beautiful Things by Benson Boone and Left Hand Free by alt-J): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/76Ozko4otjVRCgFiFMIlBmsi=3uGnw7NxQ4Wl6TlEdsiiQQ&pi=u-NbB7DmlwRqaw
    Barrett recommends “Smooth Operator” by Sade for the next bird stowaway background music. 😉
    Take care and please say hi to everyone on Dogbark for us!

    1. Yay! I can’t wait to dive into that list! Rusty has been so awesome to get to know…we are having a blast! Should be arriving in Cambridge in just a couple hours!

    2. That was a short stay. Hardly time for that shower and laundry wash.

      1. Hi Len,

        Just a about 24 hours, but enough time to get all the things done including provisioning, refueling, AND showers and laundry! Trying to stay ahead of the wind and make our way up and across!

  3. I keep checking your tracker every day at least four times. Keep that ice away!! How were the showers? golf games? and shopping in cambridge bay? Any laundry? I always had a shoreside adventure getting laundry done, but maybe not so much for you.

    1. Showers were glorious…promptly resalted in the dinghy ride back to Dogbark though. haha. Rusty didn’t get a chance to try out his golf skills, but he did get to check out the most northern golf course in the world. Yes we did get laundry done! Shauna and Al got a hotel that had laundry and we were able to take care of it all.

  4. Sorry your stay in CB was so short but exciting that you’re pushing ahead. That must mean ice is clearing? As far as dance party, ask Graeme about his karaoke rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” last time we were in the Arctic!

    1. It is exciting the ice is clearing we are hopeful! Don’t Stop Believin’ is definitely on the list, but I will definitely ask for the story. I can’t believe I didn’t think to bring my wireless mic for this trip!…Next time!

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