Route Map   Weather Map   Daily Journal         Q & A   Special Reports   Education Section           The Game Click here to send the Viking adventurers your questions		Vikings head into Davis Strait. Saturday crossing? Date: July 30, 1998 Author: Hodding Lat/Lon: 66 deg 50.4 min N, 53 deg 27.5 min W Location: Sarfanguaqland Speed: Zero Weather: Overcast, calm Sightings: Jellyfish, Rob Click on the pictures below to view enlargements. Well, Herb Hilgenberg, who has been interpreting the weather for us via single sideband radio, believes that things should begin easing off in Davis Strait by Saturday morning. Currently, gale force winds are out there taunting us. That's why we've been waiting since...how long have we been waiting? I believe it's been since we left Sisimiut over a week ago. Anyway, if conditions permit, we will begin rowing out of here tomorrow (Friday) so we have a chance of reaching the abating winds. I believe this is the sunset we saw last night, but maybe this is from some other night. It's still pretty.   I was finally tired of waiting yesterday. Up to then, the extra time for projects and some introspection were more than welcome. With twin two-and-a-half year old girls and a one-year-old girl, I don't have much time for introspection at home. (Imagine Lisa, my wife, having to cope with all three while I'm gone and you'll realize what a jerk I am). One of the things that I kept pondering was the idea of leadership. I don't feel like much of a leader. I don't think I have all the qualities it takes to be called a good leader and I don't think the crew thinks of me that way - although they do like to call me their "fearless leader." To some people not involved with this project, I am the leader because I thought of the voyage and gathered all the crew, including Terry. I also make decisions about what we do. But, I never wanted to be the leader of this project - I just wanted to do it. Terry, on the other hand, is a leader and I believe he likes it - although I'm not positive he likes making final decisions. That's okay, though, because I love making final and even irrevocable decisions. Luckily, he doesn't always listen to them. As a matter of fact, I think he likes to hear me make a flat statement about something we should do sailing-wise so he can then choose the opposite position. He has final say on all sailing matters. Maybe I should start being adamant about the opposite of what I really think. Hmmm. Anyway, I got tired of pondering deep things like this sometime yesterday and started staring at the jellyfish. The water up here is filled with them. Sometimes, they are all that you can see. Homer sidled up to me and said, "It's weird how you can see through their bodies but they're completely living things. How do they live?" He got me wondering and since then I've been reading about jellyfish in a couple of naturalist books. I've still been staring at the jellyfish but at least now I know that they can wipe out an entire school of cod or herring, even before they become a school, by eating the eggs and larvae. Now, if I had just gathered and eaten the thousands of green sea urchins that I saw the other day then the kelp that the urchins were preying on would survive well enough to nurture other cod and herring or whatever. Then, the moon jellyfish and the lion's mane jellyfish (quite spectacular with its ten-foot tentacles waiting to zap some clueless fish) wouldn't be able to wipe out everything. It's all my fault - the oceanic eco-system needs me. I should have eaten those urchins. I should have been a leader. I've got to do something. I guess all this waiting really isn't getting to me after all. God, I hope we get to start our crossing tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll have to watch Rob jump naked into the three-foot deep bay scrambling for the gunwale even before he hits the water yet again. While it's an interesting sight, scientifically speaking (how can so much mass suspend itself over the water, seemingly defying gravity?), I believe it's giving me nightmares. Just one of our great projects: Erik made a nifty foam cushion that goes wherever he goes. He didn't get out of his sleeping bag until 7 this evening. Bedsores? Rob dropped a spoon over the side three days ago. He made this device to retrieve the spoon. Surprise, surprise, it didn't work. He vows to try again. Top of page