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The SEAL Reports

We were introduced to Kate and Hamish Laird while doing research for our book Surviving the Storm. At the time Hamish was working with Skip Novak, skippering Skip's charter/research vessel Pelagic between the bottom of Chile and Antarctica. He sent us some incredible heavy weather photos which were used in the book.

Hamish has racked up over 80,000 miles, mainly in the high latitudes. He's been back and forth between Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica numerous times, sailed to the South Georgia Islands and the Falklands, and served as Ice Pilot on mega-yacht voyages to the deep South. He's also an accomplished mountaineer and climber.

Kate began sailing in dinghies, worked on whale watching boats, and then cruised across the Pacific. She's done a Southern Ocean leg on one of the BT Challenge race boats. Kate writes for the sailing and mainstream press, and was on assignment in Antarctica when she and Hamish met.

Together Kate and Hamish recently finished their own aluminum charter/expedition vessel. Seal is a unique design, optimized for the high latitudes and dealing with ice. Daughters Helen (6) and Anna (4) join them as crew.

More details will be revealed over the next few months, as Kate and Hamish bring you into their world.

To view logs select a date below:

Bio	An intro to the Laird family.
18 Mar 2008	Exploring Puerto Williams, with its unique microclimate and the world's southernmost Yacht Club.
17 Mar 2008	Safe haven in Caleta Margarita, after a fast sail through Bahia Nassau, aka Nausea Bay.
16 Mar 2008	Cape Horn sighted! Also, comments on the strange rhythm of standing watch during an ocean passage at the bottom of the world.
13 Mar 2008	En route back to South America.
11 Mar 2008	Hovgaard/Pleneau: A soggy farewell to the gentoos and leopard seals, and preparing to re-cross the dreaded Drake Passage.
10 Mar 2008	The drill for anchoring in the Antarctic Peninsula.
9 Mar 2008	Pitt Islands: Anchored in turquoise water, clear to 20 feet; topping off the tanks from a melting glacier.
9 Mar 2008	Pitt Islands: Kate worries about a change in the Antarctic convergence, when she sees warmer water temps and unexpected trash on the beach.
8 Mar 2008	How to provision for Antarctic cruising, and tips for whale watching.
7 Mar 2008	Heavy snow and strong headwinds: A long, cold day motoring into Crystal Sound. Plus, notes on some practical details regarding Antarctic cruising.
6 Mar 2008	A visit to the village at Rothera Research Station, and observing wildlife back at Lagoon Island.
5 Mar 2008	With the protective ice shelf melted, Seal's crew spends a long night fending off bergs in an exposed anchorage.
3 Mar 2008	Motoring through Jones Channel, which was once the Jones Iceshelf.
2 Mar 2008	Quietly anchored in Bigoudan Fjord, with anchor at bow and two long lines astern attached to rocks on Blaiklock Island.
1 Mar 2008	Lagoon Island: Thankfully through the gullet and into Marguerite Bay. Quick thinking when Seal's lifting keel cable snaps.
29 Feb 2008	Leaping across the Antarctic Circle on Leap Day. Crew celebrates the crossing with champaign.
28 Feb 2008	Mutton Cove. Long portage to escape the cruise ships. Visiting humpback whales and Ukrainian scientists.
28 Feb 2008	Grandidier Channel: Shockingly warm water.
28 Feb 2008	Grandidier Channel: Sea ice then and now.
27 Feb 2008	Stella Creek, Argentine Islands: Warm weather and flat water.
26 Feb 2008	Dorian Bay: Scenery from a Narnia story.
26 Feb 2008	Enjoying peaceful, stunning views in the Melchior Islands.
25 Feb 2008	Arrival in Melchior Islands, preparing to go ashore.
24 Feb 2008	Crossing Drake Passage in gale-force winds.
21 Feb 2008	Sitting out an intensifying low before attempting the Drake Passage.
19 Feb 2008	Anchored in a calm bay in the east end of the Beagle Channel, and battening down the hatches for what's ahead.
18 Feb 2008	Seal leaves Ushuaia on her second expedition to Antarctica.
12 Dec 2007	The last days of the Southern Ocean passage (5-7 Dec).
4 Dec 2007	En route from South Georgias back to Falklands. Freeing a snarled anchor, heaving to at night due to ice bergs, great weather, and wonderful albatross visits.
30 Nov 2007	Much to do to get the boat ready to head out to the Falklands.
29 Nov 2007	Lots of harbor hopping, seal pups, and a taste of civilization in Grytviken. (And you thought your day was packed!)
28 Nov 2007	Read Kate's log entries from South Georgia, 20-26 Nov. Newborn seal pups, watching "weanies" learn how to swim, extremely close encounters with reindeer calves, all adding up to Kate's most magical cruising days ever.
28 Nov 2007	South Georgia, 14-19 Nov. Sixty-knot winds, and a fur seal bites the dinghy!
28 Nov 2007	Read Kate's log entries from the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, 5 Oct - 13 Nov.
5 July 2007	We asked all the SetSailors to write about anchoring in challenging conditions. With lots of experience in Greenland fjords and other high latitude destinations, the Lairds have some interesting tips and stories to share.
23 April 2007	Feedback on using Skype and WiFi to stay in touch.
4 March 2007	In this article, emailed from 26 miles off of Cape Horn, Kate reports on the majestic but threatened albatross.
2 March 2007	A report from the Antarctic Peninsula.
18 Jan 2007	Kate and Hamish write about the clothes and foul weather gear that they (and the kids) wear to protect themselves against the elements.
29 Nov 2006	We asked all the SetSail correspondents to tell us about their favorite tools.
27 Nov 2006	A 15-foot tide lets the Lairds do a quick bottom cleaning in Caleta Hornos.
15 Nov 2006	Taking care of business in Mar del Plata, while awaiting a weather window to sail further south.
21 Oct 2006	Dramatic thunder-and-lightning storm, with a phosporescence-filled ocean...then safe landfall at Mar del Plata!
14-20 Oct 2006	Final week at sea...Handline fishing for dorado beneath a piece of floating debris...What to do with the trash.
13 Oct 2006	Narrowly averting a Friday-the-13th moment.
12 Oct 2006	Weekly "position party" for the girls. Depth switches from miles to feet.
10 Oct 2006	Nineteen-pound dorado for dinner.
9 Oct 2006	Halfway between Cape Verdes and Mar del Plata.
8 Oct 2006	Whale sighting.
7 Oct 2006	A record noon-to-noon run.
6 Oct 2006	Blessing the DC genset.
5 Oct 2006	Halfway between Lydney Yacht Club and Cape Horn light house. Noon sight is difficult, as sun is almost exactly overhead.
4 Oct 2006	Crossing the equator!
3 Oct 2006	Wind vane repair leads to a bit of excitement.
2 Oct 2006	Challenges with weather fax reception and reading lessons.
1 Oct 2006	A surprise visitor in the head.
30 Sept 2006	Passing Seal's farthest point south; trying to cook in the heat.
29 Sept 2006	Heading due south and sailing again.
28 Sept 2006	Bound for Argentina again - how the girls are staying entertained.
26 Sept 2006	Quick stop in the Cape Verdes, which are surprisingly different from the Canaries.
25 Sept 2006	Helen is getting excited about Antarctica.
24 Sept 2006	200 miles north of the Cape Verdes.
23 Sept 2006	Canaries bound for Mar del Plata, Argentina - Report #1.
20 Sept 2006	From Scotland the Canaries, and preparing for the long haul south to Argentina.
14 June 2006	Advice about cruising with toddlers.
2 June 2006	We asked Kate to write about how she does the laundry on board. With the Lairds' high-latitude cruising grounds, their laundry considerations are different from those of our tropical correspondents.
16 Mar 2006	The Lairds bring a different perspective to the question of ventilation down below, since they primarily cruise in cold climates. But some of their techniques for keeping out the cold work surprisingly well for keeping out the heat as well.
25 Jan 2006	Home-schooling Take Two
20 Dec 2005	At the request of a SetSail reader, Kate reflects on her first ocean passage, 28 days from Ecuador to Tahiti.
13 Dec 2005	Scotland to England in November.
3 Nov 2005	Bread and the art of the electrical system.
7 Oct 2005	Passage to Scotland.
27 Sept 2005	Kate shares all their checklists as the family prepares to sail from Greenland to Scotland.
14 Sept 2005	Sketches of Greenland.
26 Aug 2005	Using Iridium phones for emailing photos and downloading weather charts.
4 Aug 2005	The Laird family, seasoned travellers, are enchanted by western Greenland, and try to capture some of its magic for us.
12 July 2005	Arrival in Greenland after a hairy passage from St. Anthony, Newfoundland.
11 July 2005	Watch-keeping systems.
1 July 2005	Home-schooling begins in St. John's, Newfoundland.
16 June 2005	Nova Scotia.
22 May 2005	Provisioning for a summer in Greenland.
22 April 2005	Staying in Touch and Paying the Bills.
13 April 2005	Fait le Minimum with back bearings.
8 April 2005	Belize City to West Palm Beach.
29 March 2005	Deserted islands and seaweed stew in Belize.
22 March 2005	Shaking down from the Bahamas to Belize.
11 March 2005	Hamish's approach to anchoring was shaped by his years sailing in Tierra del Fuego and Antartica, where 50-knot winds were a weekly event.
28 Feb 2005	Setting sail with children.