Hey crew — time for this week’s Real Time Update, and Alaska has been giving us one heck of a backdrop lately.
With daylight disappearing fast — dark around 4 PM — we’ve been doing more night cruising than we planned. Thankfully our Boateye360 has been pulling its weight. It’s handled the low light beautifully and even picked up the glow of the Northern Lights, which… honestly… has been unforgettable.
The aurora put on a real show this week, and it was actually the first time Blaine and Izzie had ever seen them. Watching those lights dance across the sky while we made our way toward an anchorage is something we’ll all remember for a very long time.
Daytimes have been quieter and simple — fishing, crabbing, and exploring whatever cove we end up in. Nothing dramatic, just the easy rhythm of life on Tangaroa.
And for those of you who are part of our paid crew tiers — keep an eye on your mailboxes. We just mailed out another round of postcards, handwritten from onboard Tangaroa. It’s our small way of saying thank you for being here and supporting what we do. We hope they make you smile when they arrive.
If you’re one of our free members here on Fourthwall, we’d love to have you join the crew.
You can become Shore Crew for as little as $5/month, or jump up to Deckhand, Bosun, Engineer, or First Mate for even more perks — early video access, Wheelhouse Weekly, merch discounts, handwritten postcards, gear, surprise gifts… the whole bit. Every tier helps keep this adventure going.
You can check out all the perks at onboardtangaroa.com — and trust me, there are some things coming up that you’ll want the inside scoop on.
Thanks for being part of our community.
We appreciate you more than you know.
— Blaine & Janis
Hey crew, this week’s Real Time Update is a fun one.
While we were in Wrangell, Alaska, we met Scott and Audrey — the crew behind Alaskan Gypsy, an 80-foot steel, triple-masted schooner currently getting a new lease on life in the shipyard.
Alaskan Gypsy has quite the past. She was originally a floating repair and fabrication shop, built to survive Alaska’s rough waters and help others do the same. Now Scott and Audrey are transforming her into their home, workshop, and storytelling platform — proving what’s possible when you take on an old boat with heart and skill.
We spent a few days swapping stories, sharing laughs, and filming a collaboration that premieres November 30.
Blaine and Scott sat down aboard Alaskan Gypsy to talk about refitting old boats — the good, the bad, and whether it’s really worth it. Let's just say it was a meeting of the minds. You’ll also get a full tour of Alaskan Gypsy and this video will be launched on Onboard Tangaroa - The Never Ending Sea Trial! (Our online crew will get it early and ad-free!)
And on the same day, head over to @AlaskanGypsyLife for the second half of our collab — filmed aboard Tangaroa — where the conversation turns to the age-old question: aluminum vs steel.
Two boats, two stories, one shared love of bringing old vessels back to life.
📅 November 30 at 0715 hrs pst — mark your calendars!
Hey crew, time for a new Monday Real Time Update — and this one’s being written from the Hungry Beaver Bar in Wrangell because our Starlink bit the dust somewhere along the way.
We’ve officially come full circle and it feels good to be tied to a dock again. The last week was tough. We were stuck on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island riding out storm after storm. At one point, we were trying to pull the anchor in 70 knots of wind (about 80 mph for land folks) just to find a safer spot.
It took us two tries to make it around the north end of the island, and we couldn’t even stop in Port Protection like we’d hoped — the seas were too rough. We only lost one glass and one bowl, but that was enough. By the time we reached Wrangell, we were ready for a deep breath and a quiet night.
Through it all, Tangaroa performed beautifully. The engines never flinched, the systems held, and Blaine managed to keep the boat steady so I could haul the anchor without overloading the windlass. Now that we’re docked, Blaine’s already back at it — installing a head in the wheelhouse so we don’t have to dash up and down stairs in weather like that again.
We’re also waiting on new hard drives and a replacement Starlink dish, and adding a backup setup to the list before we head north again. We learned a lot this week — about the boat, the weather, and knowing when to turn around and hide.
If you’d like to see more of what’s happening behind the scenes, join our online crew at onboardtangaroa.com. Members get our extra Wheelhouse Weekly update every Wednesday plus early video access and crew-only posts.
Thanks everyone for your support!
Blaine and Janis