Afloat at Last

It's a long story and I'll omit the gory details, but, the crane operator, promised for last Tuesday, did actually arrive. Unfortunately, he turned out to be the same guy who had left us in the lurch previously and he again had a million excuses as to why he couldn't do the job. Another big letdown and we were at our wit's end. Luckily, a replacement was found in Yellowknife from the company that lifts all the boats in/out of Great Slave Lake every year (Yellowknife Concrete Pumping and Crane). We were thrilled that he was able to come on short notice and even flew in on a Sunday. We met him at the airport at noon, he started our job at 1400 and we were all done by 1600, finally afloat after weeks and weeks of waiting. It was an ordeal made all the more difficult as the ice has been open outside Cambridge Bay for a week now and we could have left. Instead, we have lost an entire week of a very short cruising season and this will cut into our plans significantly. During the past week two other yachts arrived from the west (and are now continuing eastwards), having already traveled the entire route that we are now embarking upon.

Finally afloat, Sunday August 9, Cambridge Bay (Photo Credit: AD)

The lift wasn't pretty. It took a while, with some experimentation and a few heart-stopping moments, to figure out the correct strap placement. We had only lifted via travelift before and four independent, computerized strap points on a travelift, that are completely clear of all rigging, are a vastly different setup from four points joined to a single block directly overhead. Reach was also an issue. The crane operator was very experienced, we all figured it out and the job got done.

Almost there (Photo Credit: AD)

If any other sailors are reading this and contemplating a winter stay in Cambridge Bay, we'd recommend you avoid using the crane at all costs. It may be broken and/or a licensed operator may not be available when you need them. Find another method instead.

We will be finally on our way tomorrow, Alaska or bust!

One benefit of having an extra week in Cambridge Bay, with most boat jobs done, was that we had some time to catch up on visits.

The Peregrine falcon chicks are much more developed now, still a long way to go though (Photo Credit: GP)

This airplane just showed up on our beach, two fisherman from Yellowknife out for a jolly (Photo Credit: GP)

A visit to the famous 'Maud' sofa (Photo Credit: GP)

This very large bearded seal hung around the back of the boat for a couple of weeks (Photo Credit: GP)