Landfall!

This morning's dawn brought the best weather we've seen since leaving Hawaii. The wind is calm and the skies are clear. It looks like a beach day from inside Starr's wheelhouse until you glance at the thermometer. 43 degrees is a bit cold for a beach day.

We are seeing lots of bird life now. Flocks of puffins take flight as Starr's passage disturbs them. These stumpy parrot like birds work their wing furiously to stay airborne. They are quite a contrast to the elegant Laysan albatross that have remained with us for the last 1,500 miles. When there is wind or waves the albatross soar effortlessly. We are passing lots of kelp now too. Don has asked the watch stander to avoid the larger pieces so it doesn't get hung up on our stabilizers.

We are all excited to be making our landfall this afternoon. It is looking like we will definitely make it into Dutch Harbor before nightfall. It helps that we are at latitude 53N. It doesn't get dark here until after 10PM now.

Sharry just sighted the snow covered mountains of Unalaska forty three miles away. The air up here is so clear, you can see the detail of the glaciers and ridges through the binoculars!

This is going to be fun.