Another anchorage worth mentioning

The last place we stopped before getting to Sitka was Schultz Bay. It was a beautiful little achorage tucked in behind a small island. I decided to blow the dust off the fishing gear and see if we could catch anything. Well, the last time we were in Alaska, we learned to jig for halibut so I put on a lure and started jigging from the boat. It was only seconds before we pulled up a small halibut (3lbs or so). Then we pulled in another one (which Ann wanted to keep). This one was probably 5lbs or so. Pulled in a couple of rock fish including a few ling cod. This all happened in probably an hour or so. Wow! What fun. Released everything but the one halibut that Ann cleaned and made soup with the next day. While fishing, there was a sow grizzly and her two cubs feeding along the shore. We were so close that we could hear them talking to each other. This was a great place to visit and is on our list of favorites.

We Love Sitka

We have spent several days cleaning this filthy boat, both inside and out. We got pretty lazy with just the two of us. Now we are getting ready for company and need to pay attention. The deathly maintenance stuff. You know how much I love that repetitive stuff that needs to be done again as soon as you finish doing it. We are not just slaving away, though. We have been on some hikes, visited the national park sites, done our share of shopping and have eaten some great food. There is a Mediterranean restaurant that has tapas and wonderful, fresh salmon called Ludvig's. We managed to get in for dinner at 8 last night and made pigs of ourselves. Sitka is our favorite town in Alaska. There are cruise ships here, but not like the other towns. There are a number of other Krogens here and we have had a chance to visit with friends we have not seen for a while and make some new friends. Several Krogens are based here and we have learned some good places to visit from the locals. We have some neat surprises for our guests that we think they will enjoy. We have had wonderful weather. We had sun and 65 degrees for most of the day. Mt. Edgecumbe has been visible almost every day. The eagles regularly visit a snag just up from the ramp. The eagles and ravens talk to us all the time. Eagles regularly swoop down to pick up a fish in the fairway behind our boat and then sit on sailboat masts. The mountains that form the backdrop behind Sitka are beautiful and still have lots of snow on them. The harbor is so interesting because it is a real working marina. Fishing boats depart and return at all times of the day and night. There is a very strong odor of fish and fish and crab are frequently for sale at the top of the dock. The harbormaster told us that Sitka has the largest fishing fleet in SW Alaska and it is King salmon season. Sitka also has a big July 4th celebration and boats are drifting in to get a spot for that. We are really enjoying getting to spend some extended time here.

A Look Back

Here is an exerpt from my daily log dated June 16th:

Totem Bay to Egg Bay, Coronation Island

We thought we would go to Egg Bay as that would let us make a decision as late as possible regarding our desire to go on the outside up to Sitka rather than the more protected inside approach. We know weather might be coming in but we thought we could be in Egg Bay and wait it out. Well, we got into some big water and wind today. Waves 7 to 8 feet with winds peaking at 48Knots. We were glad to get to the anchorage but found it to be a very poor one with little protection from the swells and wind. We even figured out how to deploy the Vanes that we have, designed to minimize rolling in anchorages. They did help, but not enough for Ann and I. So, here we sat, rolling and rolling, hour after hour. We both slept in the pilothouse and watched the anchor alarm which never went off.

The next day, we waited and waited. About seven in the evening it was clear that the weather was not going to get any better and we did not want to spend another night rolling like we were. So, we pulled anchor and head off to Baranoff Island. We arrived at Port Armstrong around 11:30 pm and dropped anchor. Unfortuanately, the anchor did not hold and after a few hours of sleep and another anchor alarm going off, we pulled up and headed to Warm Springs Bay, some 52 miles north of our current location.

When we got to Warm Springs Bay, we hit the bed and didn't do much for the rest of the day and the next day.

Sitka at Last

Well, we are in Sitka, Alaska at last. A lot of things have happened along the way we have not talked about yet. We will be here at least another week and we hope to have time to fill everyone in on more details of our trip. Check back in another day or so, and we should have more details to share. In the meantime, I've uploaded one of Anns happier moments as she discovers how easy it ease to get a Crab in Alaska.

Baranoff Island Here We Are!

Well, we have a few stories to tell everyone but time will not allow it at the moment. This is a quick note to tell everyone that we are now at Warm Springs Bay on Baranoff Island. This is a place we went to on our 2000 Alaska Trip via charter. We will head up the east coast and around Peril Straits to Sitka probably arriving on Thursday or Friday of this week. We won't have connection to the outside world again until then. We'll provide more of an update when we get to Sitka! Until then, its off to the hot springs just up the path from here!

Eagles, Bears, and Whales, Oh My!

Well, it has been a while since our last post in Ketchikan. We are now at the Wrangell Library using their public access computers. From Ketchican, we went to a place called Walker Bay which is inside of the Misty Fiords National Monument. What a beautiful place it is!! On the way here, we saw our first whales of the trip. Not sure if they were greys or humpbacks as we only got a glimpse of them and them they vanished! The next day was spent continuing on up the Behm Canal to a place called Yes Bay. From here, we went to a regular stop over for Alaska veterans. It is called Meyers Chuck and is a sleepy little community with one gallery which they will open if you give them a call on the free public phone. From here, we went to Thoms Place which was a great anchorage which had a fantastic view of 5 grizz;y bears (3 cubs). Glad we were on the boat when we saw them. Ask Ann about her Kayak experience here. It was a beautiful day for a kayak trip and when we got about 1/2 mile from the boat, the winds came up. She was yelling at the Wind Gods for a long time getting back to the boat!! She was a tired, not so happy camper. We left Thoms Place this morning and ran about 25 miles to Wrangell and thats the story so far. As to our plans, we have decided to hit Petersburg on the way home. As such, we will probably head more west toward Kuiu Island, Chatham Strait, and to Sitka via Peril Strait. It is about 150 miles and this will be our last chance to communicate until we get to Sitka, we think. So, thats our story (so far) and we are sticking to it!!

On My Own

This is Ann, today. I am sitting on a bench at Thomas Basin in Ketchikan, at a hot spot by the Ketchikan Yacht Club. David is off researching the Misty Fjords. I went to check out some things for the grands and then back to the boat to do some cleaning. My Mojo and the sun are back. There are almost no clouds in the sky and a slight breeze. Life is excellent. The Sea Star is tied up here giving boat tours. Some of you who watch The Deadliest Catch on the Discovery channel will recognize the name of the boat. It looks too clean to me. Guess iat's a good way to make some money in the off season.

Tkhere are two large cruise ships docked here. They have replaced the two that were here earlier today. In all there are seven here on Thursdays. The town is literally crawling with camera-packing couples in matching jackets. The cruise line owned jewelry shops are doing a booming business. I can't wait to get to Sitka.

Actually every day is a treat. We are lobing being on the water and becoming one with the boat. We may try some mooring in the Misty Fjords. Mooring is definitely not one of my favorite things to do, but sometimes one must stretch.

I'm getting enough sun for today so I will go. We think of our friends often and wish you were here to share these pleasures. Thanks to those of you who have offered advice about places to go that you have enjoyed. We have enjoyed some wonderful spots.

Layover in Ketchikan

So here we are. Some 118 hours underway and 725 nautical miles under our belt. The days just fly by!! Today was kind of a catch up work day for us as laundry was washed, oil and filters changed, etc. This afternoon, we went to a lumberman's show here in town. There are many cruise ships in and they dwarf our little boat. Ann's mojo has deserted us and we have not had any sun all day. Seems that we are now in the Alaska that everyone talks about. Rain, Rain. Here is a picture of us at a picnic table with a hot spot that can can publish our blog from. Sea Planes are landing and Eagles are swooping as we type this. It is starting to rain so we will say goodbye for now. Will probably stay over another day here before heading north.

Foggy Bay is in our near future

Well, tommorow we take off at 5am for Foggy Bay which is just across Dixon Entrance. It will be about a 50 mile day with a lot of exposure to rough water. Leaving early so that we can take advantage of the tide and currents. If all goes well, we will be arriving around 1:30 pm or so, according to our navigation software. Foggy Bay is in Alaska, so we will be officially back in the "states" tommorow if all goes well. Then to Ketchikan the following day where we will spend some time and change oil, take on fuel, clean the boat, and reprovision to some extent. Seems like we are always busy and the time just flys by! When we get to Ketchikan, we should have phone coverage again and will be calling a few of you to say hi (Theres nothing like a friendly voice on the other end of the phone). If the weather turns sour tommorow, we will either head back to Prince Rupert or stop at Brundige Inlet to wait the bad weather. Stay tuned. Next post will be from Ketchikan! Yea!!!!!

Prince Rupert at last!

Well, lets see. What has happened since our last post. We left Shearwater a little lighter in the pocketbook, but no water in the boat! Went to a place called Bottleneck Inlet, some 44 miles to the north. Then onto Otter Bay, some 50 miles further the next day. We anchored out in a not very well protected area and rolled a little all night. From here, we went to a place called Klewnuggit Inlet. Great location! Rafted next to Kingfisher. Unfortunately, they were beginning to log in the area and they were blasting nearby. Made us move for 15 minutes! Of all the locations to anchor and we choose one that we had to leave for a while. That brings us to today. Left at 6 am this morning and got to Prince Rupert around 12:30 making pretty good time. Boy, the currents up here can be a lot to deal with. Will probably lay over here another day before leaving. Not sure if we will make the run to Ketchican or go to foggy bay first. We have had extremely good weather the last few days. Even ran from the flybridge in my T-shirt for a while. Life is good. Thats about it for now. Will make another post before leaving Prince Rupert!