Author: Igor

Today was a sad day: we said goodbye to our friend Frank – he stepped ashore and went home. As a Capitan, I accept and understand his choice, when the feeling of personal safety is above all other reasons to be on board. We are different in our understanding of the level of this safety, and I’m sorry that I cannot provide such confidence to him. Frank put a lot of energy and his soul into our boat to prepare her for a big trip. There are many things onboard that remind us of Frank and we appreciate everything he’s done to make our dream true. Now we are all by ourselves – me and Iryna.

Anchoring of my choice – love the name:) This was the fastest riding with the recorded speed of the boat 14knots! To be correct, half of this speed we gained from the river current, ebb current and wind. We anchored in a bay just in front of the village’s church, probably, having the name of Saint-Irenee.

Stopping in St. Michael brought not only the opportunity to meet Michel but also meet French oceanographers and sailors, Thomas and Lou, who temporarily live and work in Canada. They helped us with French translation and docking during our arrival at the marina, and also provided valuable tools for splicing the ropes – thanks, guys! We talked about our project and I showed them our CTD measuring system. They expressed a significant interest in our project, we discussed the details of data collection, possible problems and their resolving solutions. I was surprised that they are familiar with Microsalinometer, which they used to operate onboard CCGS Amundsen. The guys built a wooden 26′ sailboat for themselves and they eventually sail out into the ocean, and I hope that our idea of collecting oceanographic data will open up new horizons for them.