http://danbrazelton.com Mariner, Friend, Fool and Filmmaker Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:36:59 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en So, full week.  Some good, some bad.  First, I put my application into the coast guard.  It took nearly an hour to review the app!  It's all in and looks in order.  Now I wait for background checks and the evaluation of my application.  Sometime in the next couple of ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/08/21/good-and-bad/ So, due to mostly technical difficulties I haven't been able to post. Much has happened. I am on my last trip, and have all my seatime in. Unfortunately I can't submit my application by mail, so I am waiting to return before I can do that. After that it will ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/07/25/catching-up/ Smooth sailing - in fact incredible. Got a couple of not great shots of a pod of killer whales. Saw many humpbacks and dolphins at Cape Spencer, but no great photos. The water is glassy as we cross the Gulf. Going to be ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/06/20/341/ Ok, so I have been on a trip since Honolulu... but there was a snafu in the sat phone email, so all my posts didn't get posted.  I have been super busy this week putting all my belongings in storage, and forgot to update this.  Now I am off to ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/06/13/uhhhoops/ Land Ho... So we have made a pretty uneventful crossing of The Gulf. The old man decided to go for Cape Decision instead of Dixon because of a low chasing us, with possible gales, but it's only putting us back 6 hours or so. !DSPAM:40,4843f9e4135181945166552! http://danbrazelton.com/2008/06/01/inside/ Leaving Alitak today. Got a couple of days of cargo work in, and now we are steaming at 9.4 knots accross the Gulf. The captain decided to bee line for Dixon Entrance seeing as the weather is so great. If this high stays with us, we should ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/05/29/leaving-alitak/ So, I haven't written in a while, so here's a quick update -- has to be short as this is over satellite. Got back from Hawaii, spent a week and a half in Seattle, then off to Alaska on the 16th. Hoped to make a big update in ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/05/27/errrrr/ I am in Honolulu enjoying some shoreleave now. It's quite the switch from the last trip. For the last few days it's been 74 degrees.... the water...has been 74 degrees. Our tap water (which comes from a reverse osmosis water maker out of seawater) is WARM. ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/04/22/aloha/ 34 degrees 11 minutes North, 140 degrees 60 minutes West We are halfway to Honolulu and the Pacific is being true to it's name, if not it's true nature; seas are calm, wind is less than 5 knots. The reflection of the moon on the water has brighted ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/04/17/halfway-to-paradise/ So, got out of Seattle with no problems - although with very little sleep. We are past the J buoy now and heading to Honolulu on a course of 207. Weather is fine, and there is only a little roll. The crew is good- chill professional guys. ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/04/12/polar-king/ A cook just quit, so now they want me to leave on the 11th instead of the 18th.  Which is good, as I need more sea time... which is bad as I wanted to see a lecture on Friday the 11th and I was going to have a feast.  Not ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/04/09/typical/ [slideshow=21] http://danbrazelton.com/2008/04/08/photos-from-last-trip/ Left Canada this morning and we are in the real America now. The tides are against us, but we should be in Seattle by noon and Everett by mid afternoon. 10 days off before I do it again, on the same boat. !DSPAM:40,47f8c23c15711407013310! http://danbrazelton.com/2008/04/06/the-real-america/ The refer tech says he has channel fever bad - he's only been on the boat 10 days.. Found the AB's bags were packed already at 0400. Of course I woke up without an alarm today... so I guess I have it too. It will be ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/04/05/channel-fever/ Just passed thru Snow Pass in the Clarence Strait. Weather is fine, and we are making 10 knots. AB is feeling channel fever. Woke up to him yelling "GOOD MORNING DAN!!!" over and over and slapping me on the back. Probably going to have ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/04/03/316/ Got inside Cape Spencer around midnight. Finally, flat calm seas. Or relatively. Not a bad crossing, but I am ready for the inside passage again. This trip feels longer than it really is. Not really sure why. Probably because I have someone ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/04/02/cape-spencer-3/ Coming close to Cape Spencer, which means we will be getting into the inside passage tomorrow morning. Crossing the Gulf wasn't too bad, although we had a couple of rough days. Really not that bad, but the Mike O'Leary is a rolly boat. Current ETA for ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/04/01/cape-spencer-2/ We spent all yesterday reprovisioning and working cargo and now we are underway going south. The wind is now on our backs, so it looks like not only are we making good time, but we have less spray so less ice. We only have 100 or ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/03/28/melting/ Just passing Cape Tolstoi as we make a break for Dutch. It's blowing 45 knots now, but should be lying down a bit. Should be in Dutch tomorrow sometime. !DSPAM:40,47e97bf8238701804284693! http://danbrazelton.com/2008/03/25/cape-tolstoi/ While we have been sheltered behind Unga Island, a vessel went down near us. We are getting our news via e-mail, no first hand information. 120 miles out of Dutch Harbor the 200 foot processor, the Alaska Ranger lost it's rudder and sunk. 42 people were ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/03/25/processor-down/ UNALASKA BAY 400 PM ADT SAT MAR 22 2008 ...GALE WARNING THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT... ...HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING THROUGH SUNDAY... .TONIGHT...NW WIND 35 KT. GUSTS TO 50 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. SEAS TO 8 FT. SNOW SHOWERS. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY. The ice was so thick on the boat yesterday that we had a 5 degree list ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/03/23/freezing-spray/ Cape Kubugakli, Gulf of Alaska 57 degress 49.37 inutes North - 155 degrees 03.51 minutes West. The temperature is 22 degrees and the wind is blowing 60 knots, so of course I had to go outside and take some pictures. The sea spay was freezing in nearly horizontal ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/03/18/309/ The long white craggy wall of mountains finally has broken with Cape St. Elias, marking the entrance to Prince William Sound. This huge rock juts out a few miles almost perpedicular to the mountains to the north. We will be passing the sound unfortunatley and heading around to ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/03/13/308/ Just passed Cape Spencer this morning, which marks our entrance into the Gulf Of Alaska. Weather is good. It was cold on the barge and snowing lightly as we did our lashing checks before leaving the Inside Passage. But the skys are mostly clear and the winds ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/03/12/cape-spencer/ Boarding the Mike O'Leary and heading to Dutch Harbor.  Don't know when I'll be back.  87 sea days to go. http://danbrazelton.com/2008/03/06/off-to-sea-again/ Ok, so I haven't been writing much lately. I promise to catch everything up in the next month. I passed my flashing light exam by the skin of my teeth. I am down to 1 day of classes!!!! In the last couple of months I have taken Ship Construction and ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/02/21/1-day-left/ [singlepic=1377,320,240,,left]I have flashing light on Saturday -- and I am not ready. AddictedtoLearning.com has a great learning tool for it though -- so hopefully I'll get it down by then. I modified the test to have it ask the code first. You will need Flash -- if you don't see ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/02/14/morse-code/ Now, I have to say this class was a bit dry -but I enjoyed it. It dealt with the heart of the matter -- what is a ship, how are they built, why do they float -- and most important --- why do the float with the keel in ... http://danbrazelton.com/2008/02/06/ship-construction-and-stability/ 47.588108 -122.338677 "My mom made pancakes every single morning at our house," he said, with a smile of fond reminiscence. He stopped abruptly. "My wife!" he corrected. "I called her my mom. My wife." -- Mitt Romney - 2/1/2008 http://danbrazelton.com/2008/02/06/mitt-romney-212008/ So, it will be a while before I update again. My hard drive failed recently, and I lost a lot of files. And a lot of contact info --- so if your a friend of mine, please send me a quick note with all your pertinents. http://danbrazelton.com/2008/02/04/damn/