Last night I heard a distraught cry from the Downstairs Skipper as she picked up an email from my sister Linda on Suilven in Nuuk (Greenland) saying that, moored up in the harbour, she had been down below when she heard a scratching noise on the main hatch. She went on deck to find, to her amazement, Pet Officer Snoopy standing there, decked out in his polar suit hand-knitted by Linda from Falklands wool, and with his little kit bag slung over his shoulder. He told Linda that he had heard that Suilven was short of an experienced crew member for the North West Passage so had come along to give a hand and begged her not to send him back.
I assumed that this was some kind of a hoax but when we went to the DS’s undies draw where Snoopy was supposed to have been hibernating, we found a letter to us saying that he had been very bored and had decided to run away to sea for another “advencher” (Snoopy’s spelling is getting worse and worse). For some reason the DS thinks I may have a had a hand in this and is absolutely furious with me, but I was as surprised as she was. Whilst the DS is convinced that this extreme adventure will be the death of him, my heart was soaring. Whilst I am suffering ice-withdrawal symptoms in the balmy heat of southwest London, I am absolutely thrilled that I will be able to participate vicariously in this Great Northern Adventure through my trusty friend and alter ego Snoopy. I think he is incredibly brave and I’m as proud as punch.
Suilven has now set sail for the 300-mile passage to Disko Bay in the Arctic Circle. Snoopy has been allocated a snug bunk above the chart table where he can keep an eye on the chartplotter and instruments. Follow his “advencher” at www.blog.mailasail.com/suilven. You can track Suilven‘s position here: www.blueplanetodyssey.com/track-the-boats/
The DS remains distraught and is not talking to me.
Tim Barker is a sailor and occasional adventurer. Since 2004, Mina2, his Oyster 485 yacht, and he (with the Downstairs Skipper and a wonderful bunch of friends) have sailed from the Arctic to the Antarctic and many places in between. Come join their adventures and read Tim's award winning blogs and journals from the comfort of your own computer screen.
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