I Can See Russia From Here

Today was supposed to be a sail past the Diomede Islands. Population 0. These two islands are to the west of Wales Alaska, the furthest western point of North America and they are separated by the Bering Strait and the International date line. One in the US and one in Russia. During the Cold war the separation was known as the Ice Curtain. In winter, an ice bridge is built between the two, so in theory the US and Russia are connected for a portion of the year. From here you could see Russia as they are only separated by about 3 miles but with today’s mist and rain, it is not meant to be. Subsequently all shipping is instructed to keep a 3-mile buffer from the islands due to the Ukrainian crisis and Lord knows we wouldn’t want to be the object of an international incident. A few hours later to the north we cross the Arctic Circle and a celebration of pouring ice cold water down your back with a shot of alchohol is a tradition that lives on.