| Breaking
News |
| 2nd
August - St.Marys Harbour,
Labrador |
| |
| Location: |
St.Mary's
Harbour, Labrador |
Time: |
1pm
(local
time) |
| Weather: |
Pouring
rain and a bit south-westerly sea |
Team
Member: |
Bear
Grylls, Team Leader |
| Report: |
From
Port aux Basques Mick rang our meteorologist Mike |
|
Town
(Mike thank you for all you are doing we depend on you so
much.) back in the UK who reported a clear forecast for the
next 24 hours up to the tip end of Labrador although we had been
told these waters tend to create dramatically different sea states
then forecasts often indicate. We left in flat seas and sunshine
but within 5 minutes entered this thick, thick sea mist, so infamous
for this region. The local fisherman had reported 21 days of solid
sea fog which had only just cleared and we hoped this was different
as we navigated purely on the instruments through the damp fog.
By mid afternoon as we headed up the west coast of New Foundland
we began to sense the seas getting up as the huge expanse of water
begins to get funnelled through the Belle Aisle Straight, some
300 miles to our north. By sundown we were surfing wild south
westerly rollers and the discipline of lashing in around the boat
while we work was beginning to have some meaning as the boat surfed
wildly down these waves with the crest breaking behind us and
the boat sometimes reaching speed of 25 knots. Small things like
going for a pee becomes so difficult as the boat lurches in its
wild fashion and we began to settle down to what we knew would
be a tiring night ahead. We knew these seas would build into a
crescendo at around 1am at the narrowest point of the straits
and the minutes slowly ticked by towards this point. |
|
The
boat was really beginning to perform in the way she had been designed
for and felt so strong under us but each of us were amazed at
the power of the sea as in the dark these waves would pick us
up and throw us down. At least once, the entire forward section
of the boat would plough through the waves infront filling the
entire prow of the boat and quickly the scuppers drained it away
as we started to climb the next wave infront. At night the visibility
dramatically drops, there were no stars under the cloud cover
and suddenly the sea mist appeared again as if from no where.
It felt extraordinary to be helming this wild thing under you
in these big waves with the visibility that made it hard to distinguish
even the Samson post on the bow of the boat. It was a question
of reading the instruments, feeling the seas under us and trusting
there was no ice in the fog. |
|
Sleep
in these conditions is so difficult with the noise of the engine
one foot away from us and invariably when you do doze off we would
get awakened by the spray over us. The eventual tap on your shoulder
that would signify you were back on watch came so quickly as you'd
sit up and take your turn to face the sea again, keeping your
toes wiggling to keep warm. The warm Nova Scotian air has now
dramatically been replaced by a stark cold wind. At 2am we came
across a particularly big wave and I smashed my head into the
console as I frantically tried to read the fuel levels in the
tanks, this is a critical job and in the craziness of everything
that was happening, before we knew it, there was that terrible
sound of the engine dying and suddenly nothing but the silence
of the engine and the dull raw of the seas around you. This is
an intensely frightening time as everyone leapt up frantically
trouble shooting and aware of just how vulnerable you become to
waves without any forward motion and also just how remote these
seas feel. Andy was fantastic, we had the engine up, more fuel
primed within about 2.5 minutes and she eventually burst into
life again. The Cat engine and Twin Disc jet have never missed
a beat and this lack of fuel just reminds us for a second just
how much we have to trust this engine. Everyone's adrenaline was
still going and sleep was difficult as we headed on till dawn.
By 5am we were out of the deep thick mist and the silhouette of
the bleak Labrador coast line was on our port side. It was Mick
and I on watch when we saw our first iceberg about 1/2 mile away
on our port side. A huge cold, dark mass of ice in the water and
Mick and I were so grateful that the fog had now gone as the boat
picked up even more speed towards the end of this leg. |
|
We
eventually returned through the small island inlets towards the
tiny fishing harbour of St Mary's. At 6.30am a few fishing boats
and small corrugated houses hid the warmest of welcomes from this
small community. We were all wet through and it was raining hard
across this bleak landscape. We sat on the end of this little
wooden pier, opened our bottle of Mumm champagne we had been keeping
for the first iceberg and had a cigarette. We all feel pretty
drained after two nights of such cold, limited sleep and our eyes
are turning tentatively towards our next leg to Greenland that
will signify a whole different world again. |
|
The
five of us are really working well together and realise just how
much we need eachother this environment. Nige says one of the
hardest things to live with is this feel of waking rom a 10 minute
sleep feeling sick from the smell of diesel and the roar of this
engine'. |
| We
miss our families. |
|
Just
awaiting now our forecast for the Labrador sea but we hear from
the fisherman it contains a lot of icebergs at the moment. Dependant
on the final forecast we are planning to leave at first light
tomorrow morning as over the next few days the wave height in
the Labrador sea is slowly increasing and we want to get the use
of the first 24 hours of smaller seas. If conditions permit we
will try and make a call daily but there is a possibility that
our next contact will be in Greenland. It is really pretty bloody
difficult making these calls in the tiny cramped space in these
conditions. |
| ***
STOP PRESS *** |
***
For your interest, the team who attempted this crossing in '97
and who nearly succeeded are now trying again, this time in a
fully enclosed boat. On their first attempt, they needed the assistance
of an ice breaker off the Greenland coast and then also off Iceland
where they were plucked from the sea onto a large trawler during
a storm. Our intention is to complete this northerly latitude
crossing just under the Arctic circle without such emergency assistance
in a open rigid inflatable boat. The '97 team are currently attempting
the crossing again but this time in a covered boat with a full
cabin. From what we have experienced in the last 24 hours we envy
them but our expedition has always been based around the open
boat challenge. They are currently off Greenland and we wish their
challenge safe seas and success.*** |
| |
