Frequent Sea underway

Bob, your trip sounds great. Going through Wrangell Narrows must have been a real fun trip in a power boat, after sail. Your trip is certainly encouragement to do it again. This time in a boat with a cabin from which to steer WITH A HEATER. The reason (as you know) those sailboaters didn't wave at you was because they're frozen. Alaska was the coldest summer I've ever spent.

However, because a sailboat is slow, we stayed in a lot of beautiful coves a C-Dory would of passed by, and loved the wilderness and peacefulness. We did spend a couple of days in Thorne Bay. I wonder if the laundromat is still for sale.


Great trip, Boris
 
Dr. Bob..........

It is fun to read about your journey in SE Alaska waters. Two weeks ago my son (the one that bought my 1983 Classic) and friend made the trip from Juneau to Petersberg and return in a 26' Parker. He took many pictures and sent them to me so I can really visualize your trip in that area.

Have a safe trip and those beds are still available here in the south Cook Inlet.

Jack in Alaska
 
Interesting that it is far easier to get an internet connection in the Broughtons than in Alaska! I just spent over an hour in an internet Cafe trying to get on C Brats--and open E-mail. Now in the Juneau Public Library.

We are not sure where to from here, but it will be hanging around the Norther part of SE for a few weeks and then South to turn the boat over to its new owner at Powell.

Here is what was typed up last night:

Wrangrell to Juneau. Well, our great weather vanished, and was replaced by fog, mist and rain. The Wrangel narrows was a snap, incomparison to the previous days caper in Canoe passage. Petersburg remains as a great and fun stop! Neat houses and fiendly people. We jigged for herring off the end of the dock—and got a couple of dozen in a few minutes (Bait for Marie’s Halibut!). We shoved off to Pybus cove. Another boat we had met along the way, was already there—and informed us that there were at least 3 bears on the beach at the head of the cove. Of course when Marie wanted to take the dog (Miss Priss) ashore, a bear would appear. We finally had to settle for a beach on the other side of the cove. There was also a megayacht—towing a “shore boat” larger than our C Dory 25. Probably 115 to 125 feet in length for the Mother ship. Heck, I think we were having more fun. Also there are now a number of houses at Pybus, and a fishing camp. We didn’t get any crab—in the past we always filled the pot up? Maybe related to the camps?

The next morning, we did some exploring, and finally got down to serious fishing by about 11 AM. Marie almost immediately started getting some nibbles. Or course I said it was just those crabs which we didn’t get in the trap. After about 15 minutes, she said get the net—and I boated the 20 lb Halibut! Or course I was challenged on killing and cleaning the fish without getting blood all over the cockpit….But dinner was aboard. Then we started off for Ford’s Terror. We had some conflicting information on the high water in Juneau. The Garmin did not agree with the Tide Tables, for Juneau. But we got to the entrance off Endicot Arm and the other boat traveling with us, was sure that it was time to enter. We looked at the rapids—and felt it was at least half an hour before it was safe—and even then it would be still on a flood. We ran through—and it is so much easier with the C Dory 25, than with a large sailboat. We had dinner on the other boat—but provided the food, and that Halibut sure tasted good. I’ll have to say that it really gets cold, with the water 41 degrees, ice all around, drizzle and a dog who needs attention at 10 PM and 5 AM! Nice to see the sunshine today. There was more ice in Endocot arm than we have seen in the past. Some pretty good sized bergs!

We had enough fish for dinner tonight, and at least one more night. We were not sure if we had enough fuel—and there was still some confusion about the tide tables (always better to be early than late!) Thus we ended getting up at 5 AM. This made for a long day. We seemed to have about 8 gallons of gas left when we got to Juneau, so there was enough fuel. With the boat heavily loaded we do not plane as quite a low speed or RPM. As we burn fuel and use water, the boat becomes more efficient. About 1/3 of this trip--probably 250 miles, was at displacement speed. Because of the heavy load, (food, extra water and clothes, etc) we are not getting the fuel effeciency we got on plane as last year. But at displacement speeds, we are getting close to 4 (maybe more) miles a gallon.

We were going through a narrow passage, and I wanted to clarify which way a cruise liner was going and thus which side to pass. I am used to our Gulf Coast where the ships are very specific—this captain, just replyed that he would be turning to Stb and would be 4 cables off a certain point. 4 cables? (A cable can be 100 fathoms, 120 fathoms, 1/10 nautical mile (about 6080 feet--pretty rough for the skipper of the Seranade of the Sea!) Obvious a British expression. Interesting that another boat interacting with a Norweign Line vessel got very specific instructions as to when to turn and which side to pass. Anyway, I told the skipper I would turn more to Stb and then pass port to port. He said fine—but it rapidly became obvious that the liner was not turning, and my plan would put us in harms way. Thus I informed that liner that I would pass stb to stb….

We are settled in for a quiet day in Juneau and then off to some more adventures on the Icy Straits area. We hope to see Steve and Coleen Terrance this evening. If anyone else in Juneau is about--we are in slip 81 gang way 5 Harris cove for tonight and mid day tomarrow.

Probably off to Icy Straits, Elfin cove, and eventually Sitka as next major stop--probably at least a week.
 
good reading, me thinks I might go pack another pair of longies. Someday M & I hope to boat up and explore around....I'll be on C-dory watch in Elfin Cove starting Saturday, maybe I'll run into you folks.
 
Dundas Bay, June 19, 2009.

After I sent the last post to C brats from the Juneau Library, I walked back (fighting the hordes of tourists off the cruise liners) to Harris Harbor. Showers are had the local laundrymat and we almost always share a shower. The head on the C Dory is not only a bathroom, and shower, but also where the trash is kept, the boat cleaning stuff, and the wet foul weather gear etc…thus it is easier to use a shower ashore.

We had dinner with Steve and Colleen Torrance, who took time out their busy lives to share with us!

First thing the next morning, we toured an American Tug 41, which was moored across from us. What a huge 41 footer! Two great staterooms, and a layout very similar to the Defever 49—which is Marie’s favorite boat. We had also been looking at the “Cruiser” Chilcat 30 by Black Feather—built on the Tom Cat 30 hull molds. Unfortunately we understand that Black Feather is not going to make it through the recession. Next we took the long way around Douglas Island—I was chicken to try the channel between Juneau and Auke bay (onlyan 11 foot high tide, and susposedly there is a 10 foot bar. As we came up on Pt. Retreat we spied a Tom Cat—turned out to be “Whale Tale” who was doing 6 pack whale watching charters.

We had an easy run down Lynn Channel and Icy Straits to Hoonah. What a surprise we got there! A cruiser liner was anchored off Hoonah point. There was a huge “zip line” restraints, docks etc for the cruiser liners, and busses back and forth to the native villiage.
Our favorite harbor master from 15 years ago was still there (Paul)—although he keeps saying he is retiring next year! We had dinner at “Mary’s”—chinese, Japenese, Hallibut and hamburgers…it was good, but not enough patrons for it to survive. Also Hoonah’s Native population doesn’t seem to have changed much. I am not sure that the cruiserliners will really bring prosperity….Folks were very friendly and we stocked up on some more “essentials at the trading post”. That evening we had the usual visiting on the docks. And said good bye to some folks who had been at the same anchorages for the last week. (They had the “got to get home” syndrome”.) We split off for the coast and they South.

We picked up fuel at Hoonah—this involves climbing a 30 foot steel ladder and feeding the fuel hose down to a float—at least there is a float! There was a “buy boat” taking on 7000 gallons of diesel! It was fun talking to the owner and skipper. There are several big openings this weeking—both of purse sieners and gill netters. So they will be very busy over the next couple of weeks—or maybe months!

Today’s trip of about 40 miles had the best wild life watching we have had. We lost track of the whales we saw—and we were close enough to get some really good photos with the 400 mm lense. A Sea Lion almost attacked the boat—he really wanted to see what we were doing and kept coming out of the water—a really big guy. Lots of Dolfin, seals and sea otters. We were photographing one sea otter who really chewed us out. Another was carrying a rock which was almost as big has his head. (They break shell fish with rocks they carry). We got real close to a Grizzley (from the water side—again for great photos) and lots of birds, including a couple of Puffin…but by the time I changed lenses, the Puffin had submerged, so no photos! Up at the head of Dundas bay, there was water feeding from Brady Glacier. It is a very isolated and beautiful spot (no other boats are here). Marie is loosing bait to unknown fish—I suggested trolling, but she wants to use up her Herring…

We had to visit Dundas Bay—it was not charted until 2002. A couple of weeks ago a Willard 36 or 40 hit a rock in one of the fairly narrow places, and claimed that the chart didn’t show the rock in the proper place. We had to check that out. They said it was off by 138 feet…we though maybe by 20 feet (at least from the Garmin chart database)—which is pretty good. There was good deep navigable water on both sides of the rock, and at mid tide it was visiable with poloroids. Actually Marie saw it without poloroids, and the depth finder showed shoaling well before we came to the rock.

The bay is spectacular—even have some sunshine! The Glacier is about 2 miles up the canyon. This is actually part of glacier national Park, but no permit needed. The Pacific is only a few miles away—and only a few hundred yards of land separate the terminal anchorage from the straits, although it is almost 10 miles up on the water.

Tomorrow Elfin Cove, and then Pelican. We have some other out of the way coves spotted and will try those the next few days. The ocean is reported to be rough (8 foot seas (not sure about that, but we will check before going outside if we go that way. We will probably be in Sitka next week—and that is probably where this post will be sent from.

On the way up and down Icy Straits and Cross Sound, the marine life was fantastic. Many whales, of course dolphin, and sea lions who were armorous…In fact we were only a few feet away taking photos and it didn’t seem to disturb them. Also there were multiple sea otters. These are a real come back story, since the natural population had been hunted almost to extinction. Breeding stock was re-introduced and they have proliferated.


June 20 No crabs in the pot, and no fish on the hook, but at Elfin cove a fisherman we helped tie up gave us a nice Coho for dinner (enough for two dinners for both of us). We love talking to the fishermen. They are a great source of local knowledge. One’s boat was built in 1926, and he was the second owner—for over 35 years.

Elfin cove is the home of the charter fleet of the Tom Cats—some older and some chilcats. We hear that the Tom cats have had some bottom core problems. But didn’t document that. There are also a lot of other cats. Lots of lodges, and about half of them empty. We talked to one owner of two lodges who said that she was down 25 to 30% of normal. Also noted that very few cruising boats by this year. Some lodges have not even opened this season. Things can be tough up here! Of course we walked on the board walk around the cove. It is fun watching the busy activity—today is “camp change day”
Folks leave on Sat AM and the next group comes in Sat PM and Sunday. Some lodges bring the guests to their lodges by boat—others walk there. For the most part it appears as if the fishermen leave the boat when it docks, and the crew clean the fish—for several hours.

Another beautiful day—susposed to rain, but it remainded clear and mostly sunny for the majority of the day—what a treat!

June 21, Pelican. There is a real difference between Pelican and Elfin Cove. Both had their origins as fishing villages. Elfin is gear toward the charter boat/lodge people, with a few resident fishermen. The winter population is about 30 and we suspect that the school is not viable, with only a handful of children. But the lodges look nice and seem to have a fair business (but not ideal, considering that this is close to high season). Pelican has a library (unfortunately it will not be open on Monday, so no internet connection), a large school and many school aged children. There is one lodge, and a couple of charter boats. Dinner at the lodge was “4 courses”, 5 stars, and $50 each! They appeared to have half a dozen guests at the most. Most of the industry is fishing—trolling and a few gill netters. There is a new hydro electric station being built, so currently the town is run off diesel generator (Elfin is putting in an entirely new diesel system—no hyrdo). Thus Pelican is charging $25 a night for 30 amps, and $50 a night for 50 amps of electrical power at the dock! Most places are from $2.50 to $7.50. Moorage for the C Dory 25 (25 to 30 foot) is $12, and there are free showers! (Elfin cove is free moorage—but no power). We have the Honda generator going to charge camera batteries. Both towns have what I consider suspect water supplies (Giardia is my main concern).

Pelican seems to be a bit run down—even though the board walk is in good shape, there is an EMT system and SAR, plus a fire dept, health clinic etc. I fear for communities which depend only on fishing. It is also interesting that there is a strong feeling amoungst the trollers that the charter fisherman (Lodges) are the root of loss of fisheries. For example there is a sticker on many houses and boats which says “I would rather that my daughter work in a w….. house than my son work as a charter boat captain. In the past, the Japanese, Korean, Russians, and Canadians were all blamed, as well as the loggers….Too bad that there is this ill will. They cannot blame the loggers, since there is virtually logging currently. There were implications that small fish were tossed back and only “Trophy fish” were kept—that some smaller fish were kept on a line and then released (injured) if a larger fish was caught. I don’t render judgement, but we saw some mighty big boxes of fish being taken out on the sea planes when the lodge guests flew home.
My own opinion is that the in the PNW that there were multiple causes of the decline of fisheries, but I had never thought of the charter boat industry as the cause. It was well in decline long before the proliferation of lodges—and there were plenty of trophy fish caught when I was a kid—and even then the fish population (late 40’s) was in decline.

We have seen very few private cruising boats. None in Elfin and two came in later in the day and one left before 6 AM.. We saw a couple fishing today—but they may have been charter boats. We fished for 2 hours today—and nothing. But we have never had a lot of luck with salmon. We will have to stick with Cod and Halibut…The salmon we were given last night was delicious.

I love walking the docks and talking to the fishermen about their boats and looking at the old boats. Pelican had its assortment; many of which will most likely die there. But they were classics in their day. Some are beyond restoration. Many had bilge pumps which were almost constantly spitting out water.

About 4 PM an Alaskian State Trooper arrived. He is from Hoonah and is the only enforcement officer for fisheries and wildlife for a large territory—at least half way to Sitka, Half way to Juneau, Icy Straits and up the coast to Yakutat. There was a driver (Alaska Dept of Transportation) and about a 32 foot bow ramp, aft cabin vessel of aluminum. There was no bunk, galley or seating area, except the helm and observer chairs. The trooper was wearing his dress uniform—gold strip pants, shirt with gold badge and the Smokey Bear hat, with gold braid—9mm on his belt. He seemed friendly and was not inspecting or boarding boats. They went to Rosies’ bar and grill for dinner, and after reading the news paper, sacked out on air mattresses on the cabin floor (no obvious heater). I understand that the trooper also has a float plane. But the boat seemed a bit Spartan for overnight accomidations. They got underway about 8 AM in the morning, and I have to assume that his enforcement role begain then. There is a gill net opening and salmon fishing 5 days a week currently in this area. Some of the salmon trollers also had a small halibut allotment, so that they could keep any halibut that they accidently picked up.

We had considered going outside to Sitka (we did this one year in the Cal 46, but the winds are predicted to be up to 30/35 knots out of the South—and seas up to 10 feet. This is pushing it, even if we can duck in a number of places…We may poke our heads outside to check in the AM. If not, we will back track, and head down toward Tenakee Inlet and village. Then to Sitka.

6/22, back at Hoonah. We ran into rough seas about 15 miles from Hoonah, where we wanted to pick up fuel (about $.75 a gallon cheaper than Pelican or Elfin Cove). Although fuel went up $.20 a gallon since we took it on a few days ago. The seas built to 4 feet, and were steep. (Wind against current). We had a “E” ride earlier, with about 8 knots of current with us through one of the passes. We didn’t see as many whales and sea lions as we had on the way out. The day was rainy and windy. Hoonah is crowded today—another cruise liner is in port. The passangers, walk around the native villiage (I don’t see any great purpose of that). There is Kayaking, the Zip line (in the rain?) whale watching—in my opinion they didn’t go to the best viewing areas, and the boat was vastly overcrowded. There were also bicycle tours of the city….Too bad. I don’t see that this entire endeavor will really help the native population with their problems. We had an interesting conversation with the owner of the restraint where we had dinner. She sees some tax benefit to the town, but little money coming into the local economy. Half of the passengers stay on the cruise ship. Of these 2/3 take “tours” or shop at the special built shops (Disney land type)—and eat at the “native” salmon bake. Less than 1/3 venture into Hoonah. She also told us she pays $.47 a kilowatt hour for electricity (we a pay 6 cents a KW hour in Pensacola. She hopes that either hydro or geo-thermal power comes to Hoonah. She also supports the charter fleet—of the opinion that each fisherman can only bring in one fish per day (we understood two fish). She also noted that in the last 15 years that Halibut can no longer be caught in the bay—that the long line fisherman are allowed to come into the bay, and thus has wiped out the breed stock. She would love to see there be more limits on both the Salmon and Halibut fishery.

Off toward Tenakee tomarrow…

With some luck this will be sent from the free town wireless system at Tenakee Springs. I am currently sitting in front of the fire house. Tenakee has grown—at least the summer population, with new and very nice homes. They have had an excellent school for a number of years—now a library, fire station etc. Still diesel power—so it is expensive. There are more new houses and rebuilds going on in Tenakee than any other place we have been, yet the winter population is still about 30 people. Next year they hope to have wi fi (free) at the docks. Not much in the way of suupplies, or eating places, and the water requires boiling.

Today’s run was easy—about 45 miles an
 
Bob and Marie,
Our thoughts are with you both as you travel Alaskan waters. We are in North Carolina presently, with family and traveling. We look forward to getting back in the northwest and more boating. Maybe Alaska next year...
Enjoy your posts, safe passage to you and Marie.
 
Bob and Marie, It was a pleasure seeing you in Juneau. Thank you again for dinner and your company. I can't remember the last time that a conversation was as interesting and informative as it was talking to you two. I am glad that your trip is going so well and that we had some awesome weather for at least part of your trip. We'll be following your progress.
 
Dr. Bob,

Thanks for the tour, especially the indepth look behind the cruise ship type Alaska. We are enjoying your tales and saving much of this for our own trip planning.

Here's wishing you and Marie, safe travels, smooth waters and warm afternoons. Thanks and keep keeping us posted.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Bac,k in Wrangrel--and only a few more days before we check in with our friends in Sequim, and then head for Powell and turn the boat over to the new owner.

Here is the last week's adventures:
Sitka, June 25. We left Tenakee at 7 am and were tucked into a berth at Sitka by about 1: 30 PM. Generally a good and easy run, but as the day wore on, the wind built and by the PM it was blowing hard enough that some of the charter fisherman were not taking their boats to the usual places. We timed our run through Sergius Narrows almost perfectly---that is very close to slack water. We had the current with us almost all of the way down from Tenakee Springs, and into Peril Straits. We noted that several boats were waiting at the entrance and started just before we began the run. We passed Richard Cook in New Moon just before the narrows. By the time we got to the narrows, the current was against us by about 5 knots. There was a 60 foot Purse Siener just ahead of us, and he came into the narrows very high—almost immediately he was pushed hard toward the rocks. He struggled, and was making less than 3 knots across the bottom as he finally cleared the narrows. We had throttled back to stay behind him, and passed only at the very end of the narrows. There was some adverse current coming into Sitka. The harbor filled up fast—and by about 5 PM there didn’t seem to be any berths available. Richard on New Moon came in about 3 hours after us, and ended up outside of the floating breakwater. We had a great visit this AM.

I made a comment about not using our shower a couple of days ago. Well, last night we had checked the only 2 showers at the marina—for probably 1000 boats. They seemed to be always occupied. So we used the shower on the boat. It worked fine, but I only have full head room for about the inboard 6” of the head. The shower floor is raised up, to give enough fall for the drain. In any case, the hot water really felt good! (We have used the shower on the Tom Cat many times, and it is just slightly bigger—enough to make a difference). Or course all of the other “supplies” had to be moved out of the head.

The grocery store is a bit of a walk, but the laundry (and one shower) is even further—a block here may be more like 2 to 3 city blocks—and us old folks don’t do as well up and down hills!

I had commented on the lack of cruising boats. Well not in Sitka. Many boats we had seen along the way were tied up here, including Maximo (C Dory dinghy)—and several other very large yachts.

Unfortunately the weather is not co-operating—rain, cold and wind. After laundry we will spend the PM walking around town—and may even find a place to send an E-mail.

Yesterday we took the time to check batteries—water level good , and fuel filter bowls—clean as a whistle. We even washed the boat down with fresh water! So far the wash downs had been either salt or rain.

This afternoon, we took a taxi to “down town” ($ 7 for two in “Nina’s cab”—one person operation: 907 738 1931. Since she goes off duty at 4 PM (4am to 4 Pm) we took a Sitka cab home. We walked around town and oogled some of the pricey “Art”—I suspect that for each piece they sold, that there was another piece just like it in the back room. There seems to be extremes on the cruise liners. I spent 5 minutes in line to buy a post card while a cruise ship, passenger argued that she should get the same price on a single T shirt as the 3: 1 price. Finally someone in line offered to give her the $1 dollar! The other side, was that people were buying acrylic castings for $3500….My suspicion was that the “unique” art was restocked each night….and was mass produced in China! One woman asked if the totems were wood—the clerk said “Almost wood”—meaning made in China of some ceramic….

There were actually some great outdoor clothing shops (tempting—I ended up with a pair of wool socks)—and the fly shop was great. Marie had lost her “Sitka Starter” for sour dough bread which she had kept alive for over 10 years—and was able to replace it. To give us some prospective on the mind set—we were asked by the young ranger at the Russian Bishops’s house, if we were trying to decide how we would spend our last hours in Sitka before the Holland American Line cruise ship left….We told here our cruise ship stays as long as we want….

Our plan was to run down to Kake, probably taking a few days, and in a week to 10 days it will be time to leave AK and start out trek to Powell. Marie is looking forward to the hot weather—I am not—but I could do with a little less cold, wind and rain.

Richard Cook joined us for dinner and good discussion. I got a chance to go over his book, and feel that it would be an excellent addition for anyone cruising the PNW—especially the first time Alaksa Boater in a small boat. It is written for folks cruising in small boats—not the usual cruising guide which is geared for 35 foot on up size boats. Maybe we can get Richard back into the C Dory clan—but I can see the advantages of the diesel. On the other hand, he runs at displacement speeds most of the time.

One might wonder why we tend to favor docks—the answer is “Miss Priss” and her 10 PM walking. It is do-able in the dinghy—but so much easier from a dock. What we do for our furry friends!

June 26. Appleton Bay. We left Sitka at 8 AM and hit Sergius Narrows well before slack (on a flood tide). The first red can was laid over pretty well (photos to follow)—but we felt adventuresome and went thru. I wanted to see what the speed of the flood was, so I dropped the boat down to just an idle—and we were going 8.7 knots! So we had at least 7.7 knots of current behind us. But no problem, the C Dory danced over the water under full control. One of the advantages of our little boats!

We did fine until we hit Peril Strait. The winds were predicted to be in the 20 to 25 knot range, and wind against current gave 4 to 5 foot steep seas. We finally slowed down, and eventually pulled into Rodman Inlet, Appleton cove. Even the the most protected area we had wind in excess of 25 knots, and about a one foot chop—it was enough that the dinghy (with some water aboard and the outboard on the transom started to become airborne. We ended up with the dinghy behind the transom, with dual painters. Taking Miss priss ashore and setting the crab trap was a challenge! Wind is predicted to be up to 30 knots plus—and seas in the straits way beyond what we want to deal with—outside there are predictions of seas 19 to 20 knots…glad we didn’t go that route! We hope that the weather will normalize in the next couple of days, and we will head on down South.

June 27th. Still in Appleton Bay (side bay of Rodman bay just off Peril Strait). It has been blowing up to 35 knots, in this protected anchorage. We have had some spattering of sunshine, but mostly rain—and some hard. We were the only boat here when we arrived, and there were 10 boats by suppe rtime. Ursa Minor (a Rohmsdale Trawler about 65 feet long—charter boat, and a couple of fishing boats are the only ones which left this AM) There is a Nordhavn 47 which is staying as well as a number of 35 to 40 foot trawlers, and one 45 foot Jefferson or Vista. I mentioned about the dog—here it is a slog into one foot chop, with wind blown spray: Foul weather gear, several jackets, and lined cap (I don’t know how the “Alaskians” do this in the winter!) The dog ends up wet, there is a bit of splash into the dinghy (which is 6´ 7” long, and a 2.5 hp Suzuki—(great motor). We also have to pump out the dinghy before each trip. We hope that the winds die down in the next day and we can run further South. Of course if we had been “wise” we would have just stayed in Sitka (where the wind is less, and a nice dock).

We may run the genset (1000 Honda) some this pm to charge up batteries, but so far the voltage is at 12.5—and this is running the Wallas all but 8 hours last night. Biggest drain is the sterio! (With Sirius). We ended up with two days running radio, refigration, and Wallas stove (16 hours a day) and still had plenty of battery power—voltage was over 12.35 when it was time to start the Honda.

In the past we have talked about having two anchors (which we do)—and we saw a good example of that a few days ago, when a Selene 58 was near us, and he told me he had lost his 110 # Delta and about 100 feet of chain in Dundas Bay. He thought it was snagged under a logging cable. He didn’t know the trick about running a loop of chain down the anchor rode, and then pulling the anchor out the way it came—and didn’t have a trip line. We notice that many of the fishing boats do run a trip line. Moral—carry an extra anchor—look for cables with the fish finder (we can often see our chain and anchor on the fish finder—as well as bottom debris), use a trip line when necessary, and carry an extra anchor!

What a difference a day makes! We got up at 6 AM and walked the dog—OK took the dinghy ashore in the rain—but no wind…and no real chop. It looked as if we would be off by 7 AM, but some how we jammed the line on the windlass (didn’t strip, and jammed between the stripper and gypsy.) It happened as we came up tight on the anchor. Eventually I pulled all of the anchor line out, and fed it back through. This was close to 300 feet of line, since we were in 50 feet of water, and had at least 30 feet of chain on. By 8 AM we were underway—without loss of an anchor, chain etc—and used the boat with line cleated to break the anchor out. I probably should have stopped the windlass as soon as there was any strain on it….
Peril Straits were benign, and calm. We sped along, until we came to Kelp Bay in Chatham Straits. There we came upon at least 52 purse seiners. There was a one day opening and a run of Kings. We watched several sets (and photoed them) as well as well as several hauls—they were getting enough fish that they were spilling out of the net, and overboard. It almost killed Marie to see those kings go back in the water, so we had to fish for awhile—no luck. We arrived at Barnof Warm springs bay. Maximo (the boat with the C Dory 14 as a tender) was there, plus one other 60 some footer, and a couple of other boats. Initially we tied up opposite Maximo while we walked up the dock to see if we could slide into a smaller space up toward the head of the dock. We had a great visit with the owner—and his story was that he was not to be outdone by Scott Reynolds (who had a C Dory 14 on his Bayline)r. But he really wants a larger C Dory…..Maximo is custom built on a fishing boat hull (not a modified Delta as we guessed). He also said to say “HI” to Hunky Dory’s crew, who he had met along the way a year or so ago. As the day progressed—the sun came out, a few more rain showers and a long soak in the hot tubs! The store is not open at Warm Springs—and there seems to be only one or two of the houses currently occupied. A Nordhavn 50 came in and we had mutual friends from the trawler world. Then I got a tour of the mini cruise vessel Sikumi. Great crew and young skipper who really watches out for his guests. She has 4 staterooms, and can carry as many as 12 people, but on this trip only had 6 guests aboard; with 5 crew members!

There is a wooden ex trawler hull, “Allegra” whose owner lives aboard in Seattle during the winter, The summers are spent at Warm Springs Bay, carving masks out of alder. He is a real talent—not only with his carving, but sings folks songs in the evenings for the tourists on the small cruise boats. I had earlier asked him about supplies—and he said, “I am a moocher”—I saw him in action. He sang for his dinner, one fisherman give him a 15 lb coho, and then one of the seiners gave him two kings and a coho—about –about 70 lbs of fish. He started to clean the fish---and the crew on the cruise boat, said “let us do that for you!”—good way to live.

By the time the first boats had left at 7 AM this morning, the fishing boats were rafted 4 deep on the dock. There were some challenges getting the 80 foot cruise boat off the dock and past the seiners—but the skipper was up to it! Full speed reverse, steering with the thruster.

We walked the dock and found one seiner in a 35 year young wooden boat. He does the salmon in the Spring and summer and squid in S. Calif in Winter. He has been doing this—running up and down the coast twice a year. As he noted, the wind is always against him—out of the North West in the Spring, and South East in the Fall.

Miss Priss was also very happy. Docks to walk, no dinghy rides, no salt water baths on the way to the beach. We are over 900 miles on this trip so far—and it is not too far from winding down. The more we use this little boat the more we love her…

6-29-2009. We were off to Red Bluff Bay—and fished along the way. Enough for dinner in cod and Dolly Varden. At Red Bluff we may have lost our shrimp trap. My depth sounder said 220 to 230 feet, and I had 250 feet of line, We paid out the shrimp pot line, and the pot sunk slowly—depth sounder looked OK and we marked the spot on the GPS. The Admiral let the last of the line and the float go adrit—both of us thinking that we had set it too shallow. Then, the float went under… We could see the float under the water, but it was too deep to catch with the boat hook. Marie said she felt like jumping in and grabing the float. That would have been fatal. We said—OK another lesson—never let go of the float, no matter what the current, and we felt that the pot had fallen over a ledge. We will find out in the AM if we can get it back. We marked it with the GPS, but still unlikely. We don’t have our grappling iron aboard—and will have to use our fortress stern anchor to grapple for the float and line.

Of course shortly after we anchored, Marie thought that she saw two brown bear cubs just where we would take miss Priss ashore. We made lots of noise, and had the bear repellant ready—but no bears. In fact it was one of the best landing places we had found. There was a deep “V” cut by a flood of the stream during the winter, so I could leave the outboard running right up to the bank. There were also trees and rocks which had been brought down by the torrent.

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At the head of Red Bluff bay there are 4 boats—3 are over 50 feet—and our 25 C Dory….The generator is running to charge the razor batteries, computer battery and dry out the boat with the electric heater. (with all of the rain, you just keep bringing in more moisture). We had some flecks of sunlight—but mostly clouds and light rain. The waterfalls are spectacular. Some bays have more than 50—if you count all of the cascades, as well as true waterfalls. Some start over 1000 feet up the mountain, in the snow banks.

About 6 PM the 50 foot to 60 foot boats got their “come uppance”. “Crystal” arrived. She is about 100 to 120 feet long, and rigged as a sport fisher. The “dinghies” were a 16 foot Novarini, and a 20 foot dual console fiberglass fishing boat. Quite a show as she anchored less than 100 feet from us—in much shoaler water than the 50 footers. I’ll admit that the boat was very well handled, and didn’t have any of the showboating into the anchorage at 12 knots (she crept in) and show off my big boat we have seen from some other super yachts.


Tomarrow to Kake, and some semulance of civilization:

6-30-2009. First we had to see if we could find our shrimp pot. We had tried to locate it for half an hour, dragging a fortress anchor. Of course no luck. All of a sudden, Marie said “I see it” about 20 feet under the water. Some confusion about what anchor to drop—and we lost sight of it. In the next half an hour, we spotted it 3 times again—but each time we tried to snag it, the Fortress failed to catch. Of course there was current, so that we could not stay in one place when we found it. I hit the MOB button, when we were over it—and it was within 20 feet on the GPS of our initial way point. Finally after about an hour of trying to keep the boat in that one place, Marie yelled it is right under the boat—and she snagged the float with the Fortress anchor! Not only did we get our pot back, but we got over 2 dozen huge Alaskian Prawns (for dinner).

We ran to Kake to pick up fuel, water and some supplies. (we had run out of water—but had an extra 5 gallons). Kake harbor does not have a full time harbor master currently, and I yet have to find who I give money to for the moorage—no posted prices or depositories for slip rent. We walked up the the store (abut a mile each way). On the way back a seine boat owner picked us up. He got 28,000 lbs of salmon on the last opening. Apparently one of the other fisherman got 71,000 lbs! That may have been one of those million dollar hauls!

We visited with his crew as they were sewing up the nets—the next opening has been postponed until Sunday (after the 4th). On of the fellows working on one of the boats overheard me tell the owner we lived in Pensacola. This fellow lived in New Orleans. But he had spent some time in Pensacola—not far from out home—at Saufley field—Federal Prision for smuggling pot (but that was long ago, and he “learned his lesson”. I suspect that at least he was not smuggling any more. But looking at the shape of his nose, I guess that he had been in more than one brawl in his life…No other “yachts” in Kake. Tomarrow we are going to run Rocky pass at high water. It cannot be any more difficult than Canoe pass at low water. There are conflicting reports if there are still navigational markers in this pass or not. One fisherman assured us that at least in Devil’s elbow and the summit there were some markers. We will see. If it is too difficult, we will turn around and head back through Wrangel Narrows. The other rummor is that the pass is so difficult, that the CG removed aids to navigation to discourage boaters from running it. We like challenges—and high water should be no problem for the C Dory.

It is interesting that some boats have all young men as crew, but some boats have two or three women (5 person crew is normal on a Seine boat). We asked one of the skippers about this. His daughter and one of her friends were aboard. He comment is that she could out work any of the men—she concentrated on the job at hand, and that if you did that it didn’t require as much physical strength…Still a lot of work, for young backs!

Now for dinner—shrimp--and were they good.

As it turns out Rocky Pass was a snap. There are excellent navigational markings, There was at least 13.5 feet of depth all of the way, and the only problem was the kelp. We picked up kelp 3 times and had to shut down because of decreased cooling water flow.

The rest of the day was easy. By going directly from Rocky pass to Wrangel saves about 20 to 30 miles, vs going thru Petersburg and then Wrangel narrows.

We figure to be in Ketchacan by the 4th and haul out the 5th or 6th.

As
 
What a great trip you are having! And the way you write about it, you bring us all along. :thup Thank you for taking the time to share your travels.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
A fine narrative, Dr. Bob... Just to let you know that some of us are sharing a tiny, tiny, fraction of your weather, it is raining and in the low 60's here in Michigan, in July when the corn is normally having heat stroke...
 
Bob

Like so many others have mentioned you sure write a fine narrative. Had us right back there enjoying the cruising waters, wild life, docks, small towns and great scenery.

Here's a photo of the Maxamo and his dingy in Red Bluff Bay that you described. Was really surprised that he remembered the Hunkydory. He was busy preparing to leave Red Bluff Bay and still took the time to chat with us.
PICT0328.sized.jpg

We thought the same as you about Rocky Pass. Much easier to navigate then the cruise guide described. That difference was part of what got us into trouble at Fords Terror in 2004.

We hope to be back next summer for a couple months seeing again many of the places you described so well.

Jay
 
Jay,
You are correct that the owner of Maximo is a really nice fellow. So often the owners of big boats seem to look down on the smaller boaters. He was very down to earth and fun to talk to. I will post a couple of pictures of that C Dory when we finally download the pictures. It just so happens that there is a C Dory owner at this campground who also owes his involvement to Hunky Dory. He was going to dinner with a mounty when we arrived, so we didn't get much time to talk.

This camp ground (Wild Duck) in Terrace, is a perticularly friendly place, and lots of interest in boats. It is one of the few which has nice showers and bathrooms, a first class motel, internet and cable TV--not that we really need these things, but it makes it fun!

Wrangel to Ketchacan. July 2. We didn’t do justice to some of the coves we saw along the way in our descriptions. Warm Springs, has a huge waterfall. It had increased its volume by 50 to 100% with the rain, and by the next AM was only a fraction of its former volume. Also there used to be a hydro electric station which served the houses there—Actually they had to run lights and heaters to keep the voltage regulated. Now it is defunct. Apparently there are politics involved according to the few locals we talked to.

As we went by Kelp Bay, where the purse seiners were, we counted over 50 waterfalls. There are dramatic red bluffs—just before Red Bluff Bay. There are also several small Islands (where we “lost” the shrimp pot)—one of the most beautiful entrances, and coves.

There are many cascades and waterfalls—over 25 if you count them all. At the head of the bay is a huge meadow—and there are usually brown bears—none to be seen this time. There is also a lake, but you would have to compete with the bears, if you wanted to walk up to the lake.

We picked up another 150 feet of shrimp pot line (this may indicate that we really intend to return to Alaska---maybe in a larger boat, if our time becomes more our own). Perhaps this is just optimism, due to a perfect day. It was 72 degrees in side and outside of the boat at 7 PM! Also there was sunshine the last half of the bay. By this evening, very few clouds in the sky. There was only a little wind.

Along the way, we saw several gill netters, so we stopped and spent a couple of hours trolling. Problem is we don’t have downriggers, and I could see the fish at about 100 feet down on the fish finder….Later we fished for halibut—something took our herring (which Marie had jigged for at Kake). We have only one left. We stopped for the day at Santa Anita Cove—sight of an old cannery. It is a beautiful bay—made even more so by the beautiful weather. Our shrimp pot in down in about 300 feet and the float is visiable. The crab pot is sitting about 100 yards off our bow—and we hope that there will be another meal between the two—or in each of the pots.

Along the way, we saw the Ranger 24 tug “Two if by Sea”. We waved and slowed, but didn’t see any response. No radio communication. I thought that that boat was one of those on the list.

We have almost 1200 miles on the GPS—we have been out for almost a month. In the Cal 46 we would have covered much less that half of that distance in the same time. Marie just commented that even with our 4 previous years up here, and this year, that there are so many anchorages and coves we have not yet explored. Several times a day we say—what is that cove like? Many are not well charted, or not charted at all.

7-3-2009, We got underway after pulling the crab trap---net result two giant starfish! But the prawn trap was slightly better—a dozen medium to good sized prawns, and only one starfish. The day started sunny and warm (55 degrees—about the max for some days). As we came into the main channels there was some swell, and when we got along about 2 hours, there was wind up to 20 knots, fortunately out of the North West, behind us. It would have been pretty tough going into the seas—which were from 3 to occasionally4 feet—and wind against current, with some areas of steep seas. We felt sorry for some of the smaller sailboats.

We picked up 30 gallons of fuel,--hoping to be down to 10 gallons or so when we get to Prince Rupert. Wind, current with us, as we came to the fuel dock—and it was full. So we stood off for a few minutes until a slot opened up.

We were assigned 4 different slips before one of them was empty at Bar Harbor; same gangway as our previous visit. We did make reservations for the Bar Harbor Restraunt—and had good food. (they had hired more servers and the service was good also).

Tomorrow, we will head to Foggy Bay, and hopefully our last chance for another Halibut. (one of the locals told us where he caught some today). . Sunday, we plan on being in Prince Rupert and hauling out either on Sunday or Monday AM. The weather seems decent—but not perfect.

Speaking of weather—today was beautiful—(a bit windy, sunny and warm in the 70’s).

Foggy Bay—well I said the weather was not perfect—an understatement. This AM the forecast was out of the West (would a beam sea) 10 to 15, increasing to 20 out of the North West. OK—it would be behind us as the day progressed. We got to Mary Island and spent a couple of hours fishing. When we started there was a ripple and 5 to 10 mph out of the South. 2 hours, and 5 fish later (all cleaned). One skill Marie never seemed to have mastered is fish cleaning (and this is a gal who had her own bass boat when we got married!—hmmm). I cannot complain—she peels my shrimp and shucks the crayfish! Plus she is a Southern girl, with all of the attributes which come with that, including being a fantastic cook.

As we cleared the Island with about 12 miles to go to Foggy Bay, the wind was up to 15 to 20 and dead on the Nose out of the South East! The wind against current was effective in giving seas up to 4 feet—and a couple of 6 feet (Solid water over the windshield). Just when we had slowed down to 5 knots and were being tossed around a bit—with 11 miles to go a 50 foot fishing boat pulled along side—about 100 feet away. What an opportunity! I swung in behind his transom, and goosed the boat up to 8+ knots. We rode fine back there—a few pounds as we went off waves which his boat didn’t push down (at times he would hobby horse, and drop to less than 6.5 knots. He was going into a different cove, but I pulled alongside and give him a salute as I thanked him on the V HF. “Any time Captain” was the reply.

We heard two boats in distress on the VHF—and of course no Sea Tow—but in each case there was another boat which was close by, and said "no problem. We will come and give you more fuel, tow etc". CG didn’t even have to take down their dress flags and get under way. This is the way I grew up boating—boaters took care of each other!


The forecast is for wind out of the North West, and we hope it will materialize., so we will have following seas. We’ll be under way early—and no stops for fishing—beside we have at least five fish meals in the freezer.

We’ll finish this off tomorrow when we are in Prince Rupert. Marie said she wants another 2 months up here (of course the sun is shining and it is “warm”. She also made some rumbling about a larger boat. We don’t know what will replace Frequent Sea if anything. We have talked about trailering the Tom Cat up North for a couple of summers to explore some of the Great Lakes and Canada.

7-05-2009
I awoke at 4 AM—and decided that today we would take advantage of the weather. We pulled the crab trap on the way out (no crabs, despite several fresh fish heads. There was a swell out of the South West—Oh-Oh…but after a few rips of tidal change after about 10 miles the seas flattened out, and we chugged along at 15 knots to Prince Rupert. It was overcast, but no fog on the water. As we went through Venn Passage, it seemed that every gill netter in BC was coming out! (Some at full speed). We were at Prince Rupert YC by 10 AM—although they didn’t have a dock for overnight, they let me tie up and clear customs. It was all handled by phone—no hassle. I then called the trailer storage person—he was in Vancouver, but gave me his fathers phone numbers—and we arranged a pick up time at the commercial harbor at 1 PM—when I was making arrangements for the dockage, the gal pointed out that that was less than an hour away. I had forgotten the time change! As if by appointment, the sun came out. We washed down the canvas, and folded it with sheets between the clear vinyl for transport. The inflatable was washed and the worse of the salt was removed from the boat. By 1 I was ready to haul the boat. We were on the road by 3 (items for the trailering had to be found in the cauos of the truck interior. By 5 PM we had made over 100 miles and settled down for the night at a camp ground. It turned out that there was a C Dory 22 Angler who has not been on the list was also there. But he had met Hunky Dory (those folks really get around). Of course there were the usual questions about the boat—and “you took that as far as Juneau”? Comments.

We are through with this leg of the trip—and will hot foot it to Sequim for a few days and then down to Powell.


I came upon a quote from Dylan Thomas: something about not giving up life at the end without a huge fight. Of course he died young, without the infirmities of age. Our last 12 years have been involved with aged mothers. Mine passed on at age 97 in 2002, Marie’s (who she owes her life to) is 93 and appears to be fading fairly fast. She is living with us full time, except when we have our “Vacation” and Marie’s sister cares for her. Each day she asks the question —are we home yet? Moral is do what you want in life when you can! We took a 4 year cruise at my age 46-50 and retired at age 56. We were very fortunate to have been able to make those opportunities for ourselves in life.

The next posts on the trip will be after Powell.
 
Bob,

Thanks again for the excellent narrative of your trip in SE Alaska. I enjoyed it immensely. I am happy to hear that your trip ended safely in Rupert.

I also retired at 56 yrs. and feel extremely fortunate to have been able to do it. I did put in 32 years in the Arctic Prudhoe Bay oilfield. Now at 69............where did all of the time go? Many RV trips from Alaska to Mexico took up winters and running around fishing in my C-Dory took up the summers.

Have a safe driving trip home and I look forward to your regular posts on this site.

Jack in Alaska.
 
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