Aleria's Adventures

On Monday, Alex had to take his mom to Sligo for a cataract operation. So I had a whole day to myself. I've been bugging Alex to do something active for some time -- like go for a walk in the woods or on the beaches, but he's been wanting things like a burger in a pub or a bike ride. I want to stay away from people but enjoy the natural world around us. Not that I have to go far. It's right at the base of our driveway.  But Monday, I wanted to see different. I haven't been out and about for ages. Since February, I've only been to Westport, Newport and Castlebar (once). And only to the supermarkets and pharmacy. I needed a change.  So I got in Micky, my aging but fun Mini, and started down the road. Should I head over to Mulranny?  It was going to be windy and possibly a little wet. No, Mulranny might be a bit exposed to the SW. I would start with the Quay in Westport as I'd heard there were works underway. I could gauge how many people were out and decide on mor

Peter Smith, Kiwi solo sailor and inventor of the Rocna anchor, has transited the NW Passage against the Canadian Covid-19 directives without refuelling or going ashore. He has probably broken some records along the way. With that, he has also challenged Canadian rights over these waters. Read this article to learn more. 

Kiwi Roa (Photo from Peter Smith’s website) On August 24, it was reported that Peter Smith's yacht Kiwi Roa was spotted entering the Northwest Passage around August 20 without the permission of the Canadian government. His contention was that the NW Passage is international waters and, therefore, not under Canada's jurisdiction. The Canadian government had earlier put vague restrictions on anyone attempting a passage. Though they stipulated that the right of innocent passage remained in effect, they had turned two yachts away after they had been given permission and had sailed long distances to get there.  New Zealander Peter Smith, boatbuilder and inventor of the Rocna anchor, has been sailing around the world on the custom-built 52-foot adventure vessel Kiwi Roa for 26 years. High latitudes have attracted him but the NW Passage has eluded him...until now. He had attempted last year but didn't make it as it was a bad year for ice. It appears that, in the year of the pande

A new study has calculated far higher concentrations of microplastics in the oceans than previously thought. Hopefully, data from samples collected by sailors reaching remote regions of the earth, like Jon Sanders and Matt Rutherford, will shed more light on the extent of the pollution. What we see on the beach and on the surface of the water is just a fraction of the plastic dissolved into minute particles that the sea creatures consume. Does man realise he is destroying his own food chain? No, man does not think beyond himself.  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17932-9.pdf

The Canadian government closed its borders to Americans in May to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The US has a much higher rate of infection than Canada. They also restricted recreational boating in Canadian Arctic coastal waters as of June 1 and until October 31. They are protecting their indigenous communities against the influx of Covid-19.  Yet some Americans chose to ignore the restrictions. Two vessels, one from the east and one from the west, decided to test the resolve of the authorities. Both were denied access. The first having sailed to the south of Greenland, the second having sailed from Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska. Each hoping to transit the Northwest Passage.  I cannot comprehend how people think they can get away with bending the rules on frivolous ventures. Yes, adventuring in the Arctic is a frivolous venture. It's not something that has to be done to survive. Lots of people have done it. Sure it's beautiful and intriguing and challenging, but

Billy Brannan being rescued by tanker The Atlantic crossing season has come to a close and our last vessel assisted spent 54 days at sea. It's a long story but I've written it up  elsewhere , so I won't repeat it here. But here's a tally of outcomes during the 2020 pandemic return to Europe.  We estimated about 900 vessels were in the Caribbean in 2020. About 300 returned to the US with the Salty Dawg flotilla. Another 200 signed up with the OCC Atlantic Crossing group on Facebook, and about 190 ended up crossing. There were more that crossed on their own and the rest remained in the Caribbean in Antigua, Grenada and the ABCs.  In our group, we followed 103 on a PredictWind tracker. One solo sailor with only one arm sailed all the way home from St. Maarten to Ireland nonstop because his crew could not get to him. We were with him by email every step of the way. Numerous urgent and distress situations were assisted, and disaster averted. These included two steering failu

PredictWind Tracker with OCC Atlantic Crossing Fleet 22-07-2020 As the situation eases in the Atlantic with most cruisers having reached their destinations in Europe, America and the Caribbean, we find ourselves with a little more time on our hands. The Pacific fleet is in capable hands. So I'm wondering now what to take on next. I have to write up the pandemic response of OCC for the ICC Annual and the OCC Flying Fish. We're also going to write up the new PredictWind tracker software that we got to beta-test in the fleet. But what next after that?   There are more than 15M confirmed cases of coronavirus in the world. More than 4M and climbing fast in the States. Ireland is number 56 on the list with only 25,800 cases confirmed. But we are not launching Aleria this year. As the sole carers for Alex's mom, we cannot be away for even the three days it would take to bring her home from Kilrush. Pantaenius which has insured  Aleria since day 1 decided to jack up our rates thi