Well I told you ...

... that I wouldn't let this journey lie just there up an impasse. At Havre St Pierre where there's a decent internet connection I made a few phone calls and sent a couple of internet messages. And that led to me retracting my steps back up the coast 90 miles or so.

Back up the coast at some kind of ridiculous hour I boarded the Nordik Express and we set off to deliver some relief supplies to an island way offshore in the St Lawrence estuary.

A rather nice 19-hour sail in a storm - blinding rainstorms, wind and fog. And then we had our disaster. The ship didn't sink ..."shame" - ed ... but something even worse - the camera has ceased to function, and I've no idea why. I haven't a clue about that and that's a calamity.

But not to be outdone, remember that I bought a portable phone over here - a Samsung thing? Well the fact is that the resolution of the camera is far better than the camera that I had when I first started travelling. and what's more, I had a charger with me as well and there was electricity on the boat.

Consequently, for what it's worth, I had a camera of sorts ready when we hit the ice and had to carve our way through it. It's not a very good pic and you'll have to see it in the correct light, but it was the best I can do in the circumstances. Nevertheless, it's all the proof that I need that I've been in an ice fied, which was my aim, even though hardened "coasters" might not think all that much of my efforts. But then again, I can't control the weather and I would be here in colder conditions if I could.


So after spending a couple of days effectively marooned on an island (I did mention the fog didn't I?) we set off back yesterday afternoon and at about 10:00 having done a second round of battle with the ice, I made it back to land. And no-one had stolen the car either, and that was what amazed me.

So I now have to sort out a new camera body for tomorrow or whenever - I can't go round like this. It really is a calamity, this blasted thing not working.