Our monthlong, 2,344-nautical-mile journey

Kushiro, Japan to Petropavlovsk, Russia: 933 nm, 124 hours underway Petropavlovsk to Casco Bay, Attu Islan: 544 nm, 80.5 hours underway Casco Bay to Gertrude Cove, Kiska Island: 175 nm, 24 hours underway Gertrude Cove to Sweepers Cove, Adak: 243 nm, 31.5 hours underway Sweepers Cove to Bechevin Bay, Atka Island: 65 nm, 8.7 hours underway Bechevin Bay to Inanuday Bay (Hot Springs Cove), Unmak Island: 262 nm, 33 hours underway Hot Springs Cove to Mailboat Cove, Unalaska Island: 53 nm, seven hours underway Mailboat Cove to Dutch Harbor: 69 nm, eight hours underway

in the lee of John’s boot and refused to leave—much to the displeasure of the mother goose.

From the Coast Guard station, it’s a relatively short walk to the shores of Massacre Bay, the site of the U.S. Army landing to retake Attu from the Japanese in May 1943.

A few days later, we anchored in Gertrude Cove on Kiska Island. The fascinating remains of a partially submerged Japanese cargo ship, the Borneo Maru, were only about a quarter-mile away from us in the anchorage.

About a month after we were there, an expedition from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration visited Kiska and found the stern section of the Navy destroyer USS Abner Read, which hit a Japanese mine in August 1943. A 75-foot-long section of the stern sank and was seen for the first time since then, in about 290 feet of water off Kiska Island.

Our next stop was at Sweepers Cove on Adak. This was our first outside human contact since leaving Russia. We met a delightful man named Justin who was a civilian contractor for the Navy. He spent many of his summers in Adak leading teams that cleaned up war detritus in and around the abandoned Navy and Coast Guard bases.

At one point, there were more than 6,000 personnel stationed at Adak. The base was closed in 1997, but most of the buildings are still standing, and there’s a small café that a local resident operates in one of the base houses. Justin took us on a tour around the island. I remember my father telling stories of visiting Adak when he was in the Coast Guard, so touring the remains of the base was particularly fascinating for me.

From Adak, we made the 175-mile run to Bechevin Bay on Atka Island. We’d read about a well-preserved wreck of a B-24 bomber that made a forced landing after a weather reconnaissance flight from Adak in December 1942. The pilot was unable to return to Adak because of bad weather, and crash-landed the aircraft in a rough field just above the head of Bechevin Bay. Everyone aboard, including a brigadier general, survived the crash with relatively minor injuries. We hiked to the wreck, which was, indeed, well-preserved.

We rode out a 50-knot blow in Hot Springs Cove on Umnak Island. It blew so hard that it actually bent open the heavy chain hook that secured our anchor bridle to the anchor chain. Fortunately, our anchor held. We were able to attach a backup bridle to the anchor.

Our last anchorage before I left Mystic Moon in Dutch Harbor was at Mailboat Cove in Chernofski Harbor at the western end of Unalaska Island. Here, we met a delightful and hospitable sheep farmer named Art, who lived in the remains of a crumbling ranch built in the 1920s. The ranch is slowly succumbing to the harsh environment of the Aleutians. We spent two days hiking with Art, looking for lost sheep. We also dug coal for his stove out of a mound the U.S. Army left during World War II.

Finally, we arrived in Dutch Harbor on June 28, which left a few days to explore before I flew home. John and Kathy stayed and continued their cruise, ending up in Sitka, Alaska, where they wintered aboard Mystic Moon.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. It was cold and uncomfortable at times, but totally worth it. The scenery was wild and breathtaking, but the journey was as much about seeing history, and meeting kind and generous people like Justin and Art, even in the remotest of places.