text written by the Que Sera crew
Logbook from June 30 to July 6, 2024
“Kodiak is shrouded in fog, making it hard for some of the crew: Fanny, Tom and Marion, us joining Que Sera in Alaska. By the second attempt, the fog has lifted and the plane can finally land. All the luggage is there, and we soon find Emilien, the captain, Marco, young at sea, and Megan, a sailor, in port.
The next day, we set sail for Sitkadilak and anchor in Midway Bay at the end of the day. Just outside Kodiak, a few sea otters are swimming near Que Sera. Our eyes begin to search for whale puffs. At anchor, we decide to investigate an engine slamming under the hull. After a few wetsuit dives and a little help from Tom’s Gopro, it turns out to be a badly reassembled orbit trimmer. Once it was back in place, a few of us were motivated to brave the drizzle for a walk. We dinghy around a small island, trying not to disturb its inhabitants too much: puffins and their funny locks, guillemots and seagulls. On our way back to the boat, we pass a river mouth. A large Kodiak bear stands on the bank and watches us… His hunchbacked, four-legged appearance is deceptive, and when he stands up to get a better look at us, it’s like slow motion. Its large mass, several meters high, ends in a big, round, alert head.
Then it’s off to Nome. A long sail where the sun rarely shows its nose and the mist envelops us almost constantly. We approach Lighthouse Rocks. This tiny, lost confetti of rock is teeming with life, with colonies of guillemots and sea lions. We must offer them something of the same effect if they look back at us from our little boat, a small island of life on a vast grey expanse. Finally, a wonderfully clear evening offers us the volcanic silhouettes of the Aleutian Islands, lunar landscapes, jagged and isolated.
On board and after 6 days at sea, morale remains high. The cold and isolation force the crew to draw on their reserves and require a lot of sleep. We’re trying to keep busy to keep the watches going. Marco concocts a delicious apple pie and curry for the crew. A complicated maneuver to untangle the genoa furler allows us to play a little sport in the swell and test the crew’s cohesion. Dall’s porpoises play in the wake. Albatrosses, Buller’s Shearwaters and Northern Fulmars sometimes accompany the boat. We watch for whales. During the two hours of darkness, we are lucky enough to see phosphorescent plankton lighting up the foam around the boat. The fulmars often follow us, hoping to see us reel in some fish, but no salmon at the end of our line for the moment…
To be continued!”
Photos : Pacifique – Candy Aeschlimann – Tom Golaz
