Captain's Log

These are posts from our Captain's Log. Most of them describe events on our expeditions, along with something we learned about natural history in Alaska. Some posts are about living on and running the Endeavour. Our publishing schedule is irregular. Subscribe for free or become a member to receive new posts by email in your inbox. Comments, public or private, are always welcome.

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Jul 15
3 min

Morning in Aniakchak

May 31, 2023 The Endeavour anchored near Aniakchak, early in the season. I’m on the Endeavour, anchored in Aniakchak Bay on the south...

359 views

Dec 13, 2022
3 min

Winter on Board

It gets incredibly wet in a lived-in steel boat in the winter. The walls sweat and the ceilings drip.

426 views

Nov 15, 2022
4 min

Tenakee Inlet Salmon

To test the theory that colder streams better support salmon, they planted recording thermometers in the streams off Tenakee Inlet...

473 views

Dec 12, 2021
2 min

Boat Snow

We shovel to stay afloat. The snow accumulates and either presses the boat low enough in the water ....

122 views

Oct 15, 2021
3 min

Petersburg Harbor

Without a bow thruster, it’s all throttle and rudder. Patsy is on the foredeck in her yellow raingear with the heavy black nylon lines.

82 views

Sep 3, 2021
4 min

Creature on the Beach

There was a small problem of time here: Ambulocetus lived roughly 48 million years ago, and only in Pakistan, as far as we know.

34 views

Aug 24, 2021
3 min

Return to Seward

“Entrepreneurs,” Shawn said. “I’m not kidding. We need to create an environment where entrepreneurs can get us out of this."

26 views

Aug 24, 2021
4 min

McCarty Glacier

We were using satellite image technology developed for the cold war to tell us what was happening environmentally.

56 views

Aug 20, 2021
5 min

Paravanes

All ocean-going power-driven vessels need some form of stabilization in some conditions.

69 views

Aug 18, 2021
4 min

Pederson Glacier

Our power grids now are fragile and need to be rebuilt anyway – and this is good. New grids built on renewables will be more resilient.

15 views

Aug 16, 2021
4 min

Aialik Glacier

There are different terms for different sizes of floating ice … brash ice … growler ice … bergie bits … and proper icebergs.

80 views

Aug 14, 2021
3 min

Holgate Arm

Glaciers are the single largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth. As the glaciers melt, that water goes into the ocean, and levels rise.

51 views

Aug 12, 2021
3 min

Paradise Cove

There is a lot of sequestered carbon – and methane − in the tundra. The more it melts, the more it releases methane, the more it melts.

14 views

Aug 10, 2021
4 min

On the Moraine

Sea ice drives ocean circulation and defines the climate on land.

45 views

Aug 8, 2021
4 min

Bear Glacier Retreat

Our first photo stop was on the shore of an island halfway up the lagoon, still about a mile from the glacier’s face.

14 views

Aug 6, 2021
5 min

The Glaciers of Kenai Fjords

The mission was to take new photos of glaciers from the exact spots where the old photos were taken to show climate change.

15 views

Jul 18, 2021
5 min

Welcome to Alaska Endeavour

Our mission is to support and promote science and tell the natural history story. By doing that, we support conservation and preservation.

324 views