I knew I was drifting closer to the two bears, perhaps too close but it was mesmerising watching mother and cub turning over seaweed with their big paws and munching on the choicest bits. The little one sometimes ate from the same patch as his mother and occasionally wandered off, searching the bushes above the beach and slipping over on driftwood logs.

We’d been watching them for about 10 minutes, slowly getting closer; looking, taking photos and filming. As I filmed them walking along close to the shore, I started wondering if I could paddle faster than they could swim. The wind pushed me closer and I saw the cub raise his nose to the air and sniff. I didn’t want to suddenly paddle away and scare or anger them so I just stayed very still. Mum and cub looked over at me and fire a few seconds I wondered what they’d do. Then they dropped their heads again and continued pawing the ground for food. We slowly paddled a bit further away and watched them for anther 10 minutes. The little one tried climbing up a fallen tree, he stood on his back legs and put guys weight on it. The whole tree fell over on top of him!

That was the highlight of a great day where we also smashed over the 1000 nautical mile mark with a 28 miler. A 5am alarm saw us on the water at 6.45 hoping to get a10 mile crossing under our paddles before the wind picked up. In fact
the wind was much lighter than forecast all day and conditions were lovely with a moody sky and snowy mountains just peaking out from time to time. Offshore craggy Islands provided entertainment as they changed shape and switched positions, and whale blows punctuated the air. Even the headwind this afternoon couldn’t spoil the mood. We landed on a gorgeous sandy beach on a calm sunny evening. I even had a dip in the sea which was great – afterwards!

Congratulations to the lovely Hadas who had just given birth to a baby boy!

I knew I was drifting closer to the two bears, perhaps too close but it was mesmerising watching mother and cub turning over seaweed with their big paws and munching on the choicest bits. The little one sometimes ate from the same patch as his mother and occasionally wandered off, searching the bushes above the beach and slipping over on driftwood logs.

We’d been watching them for about 10 minutes, slowly getting closer; looking, taking photos and filming. As I filmed them walking along close to the shore, I started wondering if I could paddle faster than they could swim. The wind pushed me closer and I saw the cub raise his nose to the air and sniff. I didn’t want to suddenly paddle away and scare or anger them so I just stayed very still. Mum and cub looked over at me and fire a few seconds I wondered what they’d do. Then they dropped their heads again and continued pawing the ground for food. We slowly paddled a bit further away and watched them for anther 10 minutes. The little one tried climbing up a fallen tree, he stood on his back legs and put guys weight on it. The whole tree fell over on top of him!

That was the highlight of a great day where we also smashed over the 1000 nautical mile mark with a 28 miler. A 5am alarm saw us on the water at 6.45 hoping to get a10 mile crossing under our paddles before the wind picked up. In fact
the wind was much lighter than forecast all day and conditions were lovely with a moody sky and snowy mountains just peaking out from time to time. Offshore craggy Islands provided entertainment as they changed shape and switched positions, and whale blows punctuated the air. Even the headwind this afternoon couldn’t spoil the mood. We landed on a gorgeous sandy beach on a calm sunny evening. I even had a dip in the sea which was great – afterwards!

Congratulations to the lovely Hadas who had just given birth to a baby boy!

Today we hoped to paddle over 1,000 nautical miles since Adak. Just two 11 mile crossings stood in our way. A gentle side wind looked promising but within 20 minutes it found its inner demon and started blowing 25 knots turning a flat sea into a rolling, tumbling, crashing wet and cold fairground ride. Sarah kept disappearing behind breaking crests then reappearing with spray on her face. Happily she was singing to herself in conditions which would have seen her paddling defensively and occasionally squealing at the start of the trip!

We’d been warned that North westerly winds accelerate out of these large bays and can be 10 knots higher than the forecast. Now we know why! We put the sails down as we were worried they’d get damaged in the gusts but still made good progress as an element of the wind was slightly helpful. After lunch on the mainland, we made a one mile crossing to a small island which took half a hour as the wind here was more against us. We debated going for the next 11 mile crossing- it would be possible but slow and tiring. We decided to camp early instead after about 991 miles. We’ll hopefully rest, catch up on sleep and have an early start tomorrow. It’s a similar forecast tomorrow but with a bit of luck the wind will still be asleep at 6.30am!?

We’re camped on a luxuriant bed of lush grass behind a cresent of grey cobbles that have been bulldozed into steep steps by stormy seas. It’s the only decent landing on our small craggy Island. We did find a couple of large bear prints a little way from here so we’ll be using the bear fence tonight incase they are recent. I’m looking forward to bed!

We thought long crossings were behind us once we reached the Alaskan peninsula but clearly we were wrong. The mainland is indented with so many large bays that we are often crossing them or hopping from one offshore Island to another on our way NE to Homer. Today we had a 15 mile and a 10 mile crossing, visiting 3 Islands with different characters. A light wind was behind us but dropped away after lunch. The hot sun that we’ve become accustomed to was hidden behind clouds for most of the day and the islands teased us, shrouding themselves in mist, then peaking out from the gloom. Only Castle Cape was free from cloud, a dramatic spine of rock, capped by prominent turrets, looking like a child’s sandcastle in stripy layers. This distinctive landmark marks the entrance to Chignik Bay and the start off a new weather forecasting area.

A hundred seals lay on a gravely beach on our lunchtime Island and we collected water from a pretty waterfall. Now we’re camped on a small pebble beach in between red cliffs being watched by about 20 seals bouncing around in small waves.
Tonight I massacred dinner by burning the salami and seeds that I thought were simmering gently, and melting my spoon. The salami was ok if you imagined it was pork scratchings but the seeds ( and spoon) were beyond hope. Fortunately a very hungry Sarah saw the funny side even after 9 hours paddling.

I’d like to share a poem by a friend Luke about an earlier experience!

The sun shone down upon the bay
The conditions were ideal
And out among the ripples
Was frolicking a seal.
Then suddenly there came a cry
which rent the morning air
“That’s not a bloody seal
It’s a hungry looking bear!”