Moving Right Along!

Our final day in Juneau continued with a nice (no rain) day. Following a stint at the local waffle-house/internet cafe, we drove into the city of Juneau itself for the first time. With 3 cruise-ships in port, there was a fair bit of tourist traffic on the streets. Although we may be tourists ourselves, We try to avoid that sort of thing, and really aren't interested in, and can't afford, the glittery jewellery and mementoes being offered. We did manage to visit a few book stores - I even found a dictionary/thesaurus for $1.00, which we can use to settle any differences
of opinion when we play Scrabble. We visited a picturesque, old, but still functioning Russian Orthodox church, and viewed the city from the steep streets above the city centre. By late afternoon, we were back at cousin Barb's house for a last shower, and then off to the city again, for dinner.
A fine fish dinner at "The Twisted Fish" followed. Then Barb drove us around and showed us even more of the town environs. We ended up the evening across Gastineau Channel to Douglas, on Douglas Island - across from Juneau and proudly independent of the city. Here we visited Barb's favourite bar, and met a number of her friends who also frequent the pub. Up on the wall above the bar is a stuffed golden labrador head, memorializing Gus, a favourite dog here.







Gus is remembered by all in Douglas!









As we were preparing to leave, one of the regulars walked into the pub and rang the bell. Far be it for me to break one of my cardinal rules to not take advantage of someone buying a round! So we remained for another drink, when the same fellow, celebrating a good day, rang the bell again. Far be it for me.....so we stayed for yet another one. He rang the bell a third time - this time I broke my rule...we accepted tokens for a drink at a later date, which we gave to Barb for her later convenience - and we made our way back to the marina, and said our farewells to Barb, who'd been very kind and generous to 3 strangers, one of whom is kind of related.
Wednesday morning was overcast, misty, foggy, and rainy - but we left anyway, at 0600. Shane and Kelcy are now doing the trip planning, boat handling, and navigation....I'm just along for a bit of monitoring. We motored southbound into Stephen Channel, and against a bit of southerly wind and chop, arrived in Taku Harbor by early afternoon. This is a marine park about 20 miles south of Juneau, with a nice dock to tie to, as well as a bit of a trail and old abandoned cannery to explore.....which we did.





Pieces of the old cannery, and pilings, at Taku







We had a dinner at 1900 and by 2130 were already in bed.
Thursday was another motoring day southbound against a slight breeze and chop. We left early again, at 0600, to minimize the amount of wind, forecast to come up by afternoon....and to arrive at Holkum Bay, our destination, for slack water at 1200. Holkum Bay has a narrow entrance which needs to be entered at slack water, and once inside, there is only one suitable anchorage place as the rest of the two arms extending out from it are essentially too deep. But this is the base point for Tracy Arm - the picturesque glacier, so here we are. Even in Stephen Channel, 8 miles north of Holkum, we were starting to pass large chunks of ice adrift from the arm. Inside the anchorage, the very large chunks of ice can't make it past the rocks at the entrance, although there are still some sizeable chunks which seem to find their way in. We had an early night, in anticipation of an early morning travelling up the arm to the Glaciers, although we did manage to squeeze in a movie ("Taken"). We were up at 0530 the following morning, motoring the 25 miles up Tracy Arm against an outflow wind, and dodging bergy-bits. In spite of rain and mist, the scenery was still spectacular, with 5000 ft. cliffs and waterfalls surrounding us, and ice bits flowing in the channel.












Waterfalls streaming down the cliff sides of Tracy Arm








By 1230 we'd made it to the foot of the South Sawyer Glacier - it was very slow going through the ice, with Shane on the bow pushing some of the bits away with a boat hook, and following large charter yachts through the thicker stuff.








Our Ice Lookout








A waterfall near the base of the glacier opened things up, though, and we were able to get quite close, and watch the glacier calving.






South Sawyer Glacier








The trip back was again against the wind, as it had switched to a quite strong inflow, up to 25 knots. We made it back to the anchorage for 1800 - tired, but happy we'd done it. Dinner and a movie ("Oceans 13"), and bed by 2300.
Saturday, 24 July we were up at 0600 to make our slack water out of Holkum Bay. We motorsailed southbound into Stephens Pass, bound for Gambier Harbor, in a cool, overcast and foggy morning. We did french toast underway for breakfast. By 0900 the weather had improved, with visibility over 15 miles, and the wind picking up to allow a bit of motor-assisted sailing on a close reach. By 1130 we were off Gambier Island/Harbor, in almost calm conditions, but sunny and warm. I was even able to pick up some cell phone coverage, and called Linda to touch base. It seemed to pleasant or early to stop for the day, so we continued southbound into Pybus Bay, Cannery Cove (we'd stopped here on the way up, and liked it). By 1545 we were anchored up for the day.
Sunday 25 July saw us up and underway at 0800, southbound for the village of Kake. We managed to pick up a short burst of internet wifi on the way out, as we passed a fishing resort, so quickly checked our emails. It was a mostly sunny day, with a light wind on our nose...motorsailing again. By 1400 we were approaching Kake, and were surrounded by numerous (at least 30) humpbacks, all blowing, sounding, and breaching. Quite a spectacular thing to see....and impossible to figure out exactly how many there were. We stopped at the fuel float on the way in for a fuel top-up and water, then continued to the marina 2 miles south of town. There are few services here, so we showered on deck. We met a couple (Robbie and Elaine) who live in Kake and manufacture and sell dry bags for kayaking/camping, and they
offered to drive us into town. They showed us around, including the hatchery, where several bears were prowling around, and offered their telephone for Shane to call home, then drove us back to the boat. Any clouds in the sky were disappearing, and we enjoyed a beautiful evening. We were able to clear out some of our garbage, and tidy the boat.
Monday morning was a beautiful summer day, with a light northwest wind, and sunny skies. With the tides also right, we decided to go for the dreaded Keku Strait, with Rocky Pass in the middle. This is a twisting, narrow, rock and kelp-filled passage with strong tidal currents. A challenge for any navigator...but with good visibility, good tides, and a chart plotter, we decided we could do it. With Shane on the bow as a lookout for rocks and kelp, Kelcy following our navigation very closely with both the paper charts (notated with notes from our pilot books) and electronic plotter, and me steering and manoevring the route, we managed to clear the
two worst spots - "The Summit", and "Devil's Elbow". By 1530 we were clear of Rocky Pass, at the south end of Keku Strait....with a following wind of 15 knots. So we raised the sails, turned on some Jimmy Buffet tunes, and had a celebratory rum drink. We sailed on a broad reach a further 20 miles, entering Pt. Baker, a small community of about a dozen homes, and tied to a dock. We chatted with a few sportfishing boats, and called it a night.





Shmoozing in Pt. Baker after our successful run through Rocky Pass








Friday, 27 July saw us underway from Pt.Baker at o800 on another fine sunny day. We motorsailed eastbound through Sumner Strait, turning southbound into Snow Passage, with the wind picking up astern of us, and the tide giving us a nice push. We sighted several whales sounding, and by 1235 we were on a broad reach entering Clarence Strait, bound for Ratz Harbor. I worked for awhile on fixing the heater, which seems to have a clogged fuel line...but was unable to repair it. By 1530 we were off Ratz Harbor, but with another fine sunny day, and the wind astern, we kept on going, and tied up for the evening at Meyer's Chuck, where we'd spent a day on our trip north. The fishing vessel ahead of us on the dock had been singlehanded by a fellow from Seattle (John), who chatted with us for awhile. We invited him over for some drinks, and shared our dinner with him (Shane barbecued some chicken and roast veggies). We were in bed by 2200. Wednesday 28 July saw yet another fine day. We were up at 0530 to catch the end of the ebb tide and get a southbound push. We got a nice wing-on-wing sail southbound in Clarence Strait, and by 1300 were on the approaches to Ketchikan. This time we got a dock near the centre of town, at Thomas Basin. The entrance to the boat basin is quite interesting when the cruise ships are in (there were 5 of them in town), as the entrance is partly blocked by one of them tied along the breakwall. It is necessary to slide around the end of the cruise ship with very little room to get in. We now have internet again, and laundry facilities nearby. The plan is to stay here for several days, and then head south again, to be back in BC by early next week. We walked to the harbormaster's office to check in, and discovered our friends on "Irish Dreamer" were tied up near the boat basin there....so visited for a short drink. Also tied up there was Stephen, on "Kharma", who joined us at the head of the ramp, at a very nice restaurant, for a catch-up of news, and a restaurant meal (Ihadn't had prime rib for awhile, so that was my deciding factor here!).
It is now Thursday morning, 29 July. Getting caught up on the blog, and then trying (again) to repair the heater will finish up much of my day.....then on to laundry and reprovisioning. We've agreed to meet up with Stephen ("Kharma") at a pub at 1800, so we'll see what we get into in the next few days before continuing into BC.

It's all downhill from here!!

Click on the map to see it better....a general idea of our routeing from Sitka, via Peril Strait, with stops in Tenakee, Hoonah, Glacier Bay, Juneau.







We've been having a fantastic time in Juneau, thanks mostly to cousin Barb's generosity. In addition to showers and laundry, she's organized some great trips for us. With three bikes and the loan of her car, we drove up the highway to a biking/hiking trail which leads to the Herbert Glacier. It took us about an hour of biking in the 5 miles, then hiking the moraine and boulders below the glacier before we decided we couldn't get much farther.







On the bike trail










We were treated to absolutely stunning views, as well as having much-needed exercise.









Hiking along the river below the Herbert Glacier









Following the hike/bike trip, Barb provided us with nice hot showers and laundry, and a wonderful dinner of tacos with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
The following day (Monday), required a bit of work before the play. We changed the engine and transmission oil on the boat, replaced the furling line to the jib, which was showing some wear, and did some battery maintenance. Then it was time to play again - thanks again to Barb, we had the use of her room-mate's truck and three kayaks, which we took to Mendenhall Lake (below the Mendenhall Glacier), and paddled up to the glacier. That took us a very scenic and enjoyable 4 hours, and we discovered a few new (or at least dis-used) muscles.







Kayaking below the Mendenhall Glacier










On the way back to drop off the kayaks we managed to load up the truck with enough food to restock the boat for awhile.
The original plan was to leave this morning, southbound toward Taku and Tracy Arm. In fact, from here, it will be all southbound (downhill) all the way to home.....not enough time to continue north for Haines or Skagway. We decided to spend one more day here in Juneau, as we still hadn't seen the downtown area yet. So at the moment, I sit at the local waffle restaurant (with free wi-fi), getting the blog updated as I feed my face. Then it's off to downtown, and then we will take Barb out for dinner before retiring for the night on our last night in Juneau.
You may think we've had enough of glaciers by now, but Tracy Arm, 2 days south of here, is reputed to have one of the most scenic glaciers of all......so of course we will have to check that out on our way back.

Glacier Bay and Juneau

After uploading the blog at the Hoonah Library, we managed to get in a last shower for awhile, and then depart the dock at 1000, crossing Icy Strait and bound for an anchorage on the north side of Pleasant Island, just across from the town of Gustavus. This would allow us easy entry into Glacier Bay Park the following morning. We motorsailed on a beam reach, with the tide current assisting us most of the way, spotting several whales surfacing around us. As we rounded the west end of Pleasant Island, the dock at Gustavus appeared free and clear, so we tied up at the dock (our guides warned it is usually full, but we found lots of room). It was cool and overcast, with rainshowers, but that didn't stop Shane and I from taking a walk along the road into town to explore a bit. Although there is a golf course, several restaurants, a grocery store, a gas museum, etc.....all was closed because of it's being a Sunday. We did manage to pick some wild strawberries along the side of the road, though, which we used in our salad in the evening meal. Back at the dock, several sportfishing boats were returning with their catch....lots of salmon and halibut, including 1 halibut weighing in at 293 pounds!!!!













Cleaning a very large halibut










We had a dinner of pork chops with salad, and then watched the movie “Lovely Bones”.....at least the first half, until the memory on the computer choked up and we had to shut it down. It was time for bed at any rate, as we needed an early start the next day.
Which we got....up at 0500, and off the dock at 0530, motorsailing in light airs for Glacier Bay. It was a nice sunny day, with Mt. Fairweather (15,300 ft +) plainly visible to the north.





Entering Glacier Bay, with the Fairweather range in background





We managed to arrive at the dock at Bartlett Cove, at the Park Entrance – just in time for the Ranger Station 0800 briefing and check-in (mandatory for all arriving visitors). We topped up the fuel, and were underway into Glacier Bay Park by 1000. We saw lots of wildlife the first day into the park. With warm, sunny weather, we enjoyed watching many humpbacks, sea otters, and a family pod of Orca.






A Sea Otter drifts by
















A Family of Orca






We passed several colonies of stellar sealions, and later viewed 3 wolves loping along the beach. 30 miles north of Bartlett Cove, we pulled into Blue Mouse Cove for our first anchorage in the park.







Sea Lion Colony


















Humpbacks









We had a dinner of leftover pork chops, and then finished our movie (“Lovely Bones”), making it to bed by 2230 – a very pleasant day, both weather and wildlife-wise!
Tuesday morning, July 13 – we woke up at 0700 to overcast skies, and less than ¼ mile visibility in fog and rain, with a north wind (the direction we were planning to go!). So back to bed for a bit, and relax at anchor. By 1000, the fog was lifting a bit, so we headed out to view some glaciers. At 1300 we passed by the carcass of a humpback whale on the beach with a brown (grizzly) bear feasting on it.







Brown Bear eating a whale carcass







We proceeded past the Reid and Lamplugh Glaciers, both of which were stunning glacier views. The weather was starting to close in again, so we returned to anchor in the inlet off Reid Glacier....as we anchored, the weather lifted again, so we stuck some food in the oven and rowed to shore, walking up the beach to the glacier itself.












Up Close and Personal at Reid Glacier











We returned to the boat with some pieces of bergy bit, for a glacial rum celebratory drink, and a slightly overcooked dinner of ribs and roast potatoes. We managed to have showers on deck, with a pre-wash in extremely frigid glacial water, followed by the warmth of our coleman shower.
Wednesday morning started with a howl. Actually, howling winds.....a very strong wind roared down the glacier, at full gale force, very cold, and very noisy....at three a.m. Our anchor was holding nicely, although I let out some more scope to 10:1, with a kellet, to be sure. I then set up an anchor watch for the rest of the night (although it's hard to call it night, as it was already light outside). A power boat also anchored in the bay dragged anchor and left. By 0730, the wind was still blowing, but down to 20-25 knots, so we raised anchor and motored up Tarr Inlet, weaving around various bergy bits and then facing the magnificent Margerie Glacier, also called “the Performer” because of the movement and calving of the glacier. We shared the area with the cruise ship “Ryndam”, and while we were watching, the glacier rumbled like thunder, and cracked and roared, dropping off several large chunks of ice.








Margerie Glacier Calving










We continued past the Grand Pacific Glacier, which is quite large, but also very dirty-looking (hard to tell it's actually ice). At this point we were at 59 degrees 3 minutes north latitude – likely as far north as we'll get on this trip (57 miles south of the Arctic Circle) and only 1 mile from the Canadian border, which crosses the glacier just inland.




A Seal adrift on a bergy bit









We then turned south again, passing Russel Island, and across the bay to check out the dead whale carcass.....this time with 2 smaller grizzlies nearby. They walked up the beach and then swam out to the carcass (it was high tide, and the whale was partly submerged), and started ripping and tearing at it. We then continued back to our previous anchorage at Blue Mouse Cove, anchoring at 1830. We had a nice dinner of spaghetti and salad, and hit the bed at 2015 after a very long and tiring day.
Thursday, July 15 was to be our last day in the Park. We were up at 0730, and underway by 0830. A cloudy day (some breaks), good visibility, and light and variable winds greeted us. We crossed over to have a look at a large rock face, and viewed some mountain goats.....a kid with its mother, with the ram on a ledge overhead, keeping eye.







Mom and Kid


















Dad watching over them













We then motorsailed back southbound on the east side of the bay, spotting dolphins, and a mother bear (black bear) with a very small cub. Several more humpbacks surfaced and breached throughout the day. There was not much wind, and a lot of current against us, but by 1700 we were finally getting a bit of a nice sail, as the wind finally picked up from the southwest. We docked off the ranger station in Bartlett Cove at 1845, and checked in with them, getting a transit permit for anchoring overnight in the cove and then leaving in the morning, instead of having to leave the park by midnight. We were able to have a quick supper on the boat (Shepherd's Pie), then visit the Glacier Bay Lodge for showers and a go at the Internet, and a beer. With a limit on the number of people allowed on their wifi, we had extremely limited use of the Internet, so just managed to have a quick look at email and Facebook. We then had to move the boat off the dock, and anchor for the night.
Friday morning we moved the boat to the fuel dock and topped up our diesel again (we'd used 11 gallons of motoring and heat in the park). We got underway by 0930, clearing the park just over an hour later. We managed to get a good push from the end of the ebb tide, out of Glacier Bay, and then caught the flood to push us eastward again, down Icy Strait. We were bound for Funter Bay, at the east end of Icy Strait, north end of Chatham Sound, and the south end of Stephen Channel (they all meet there). It was mostly a motoring trip, with no wind, but only ½ mile visibility in fog and rain. I did manage to pick up some cell coverage for awhile and chatted with Linda. We tied up to a float in Funter Bay at 1830, barbecued some steaks for dinner, then had a quick game of Scrabble before getting to bed by 2300.
It is now Saturday 17 July. We got underway at 0810, but lost a fender outbound and had to return to retrieve it, getting away again by 0830. In spite of a forecast for northwest winds of 15-20 knots and 3 ft. seas, we were experiencing Southerly winds instead, so got a very nice sail northbound in Stephen Channel, running wing-on-wing. By 1100, we rounded Pt. Retreat into Saginaw Channel, bound for the north end of Juneau at Auke Bay, now motorsailing in an easing wind. We did manage to spot several more whales in the channel, and at 1240 we passed “Star of the Winds” outbound from Auke Bay, with a fresh crew on board, and bound for Glacier Bay. By 1345 we were tied up at the dock in Auke Bay, and called Customs and Border Patrol for clearance into the port. We also called Linda's cousin, Barb Bonner, who lives in Juneau. She had just been kayaking in front of a calving glacier – obviously an exciting experience!
Barb showed up at the boat a short time later, and took us in tow for a bit of a tour – starting with the Alaskan Brewing Company brewhouse. Barb has been reading the blog, and knew that one of our big interests may lie here – very astute! We tested the 8 available types of brew available, and were appreciative of them all....although I found myself most attracted to the darker ales. While there, we met one of Barb's room-mates, who, with some smooth-talking from Barb, volunteered us the use of her truck, to allow us to avail ourselves of the use of 3 bicycles and 3 kayaks which Barb and her room-mates own. Barb then took us for a tour of the area, suggesting some interesting places to go with the bikes and kayaks, and viewing the Mendenhall Glacier.







Barb and Kelcy enjoying the view at Mendenhall Glacier











We all trooped into a very popular Thai restaurant for dinner, and found that the reason for its popularity is it's great food.....and large portions, too! In fact, even with Shane along, we couldn't finish it all. We retired for an early night at the boat, and were in bed by 2130. More adventures from Juneau to follow.

On to Icy Strait

We enjoyed the fireworks in Sitka, but discovered that THE FIREWORKS (July 4^th.....and, auspiciously, also for Kelcy's Birthday) had been postponed – the ones we'd seen (quite good, actually!) were just some private displays visible from the harbour. We celebrated Kelcy's birthday on the 4^th with a nice sleep-in. The weather continued to pour down rain, but we walked through the inclement weather into town, and found a nice warm and dry restaurant for our lunch (it was far too late for breakfast). We had a nice window seat, and watched the 4^th Celebration Parade from the comfort of the restaurant. Being a national holiday, not much was open, but we walked around town. I was planning on treating Kelcy to a restaurant meal out for her birthday dinner, but all the restaurants were closed by late afternoon – so we found an open grocery store and got some food for dinner, returned to the boat, and fixed some stroganof for dinner with an attempt at baked alaska for the birthday dessert.....it's hard to beat egg whites into a merengue using just a fork, but I managed, kind of, and the baked alaska turned out reasonably well until the ice cream inside melted and we had a merengue slide.

July 5^th continued to be damp (I hesitate to call it rain, per se – more of a steady drizzle and mist, with fog). A bit more exploration of town filled our day, including a trip to the local computer shop to try and repair my ailing boat computer. The hard drive was making scratchy noises and I felt it was about to fail, so managed to get the drive copied onto a new one just before it crashed. Whew! That is the computer we use for chart plotter/tide calculations, etc.....as well as onboard movie entertainment and internet from various harbours. I do have my laptop for backup, but the boat computer is much more convenient. Our day was followed by the promised night out for dinner. We found a very nice place called Van Winkle's, and managed to enjoy a very good meal before walking back to the boat in the rain (by now, the rain was back with a vengeance).

The next morning dawned foggy and misty, but with our radar and navigation lights on, we departed at 0700, northbound again through Olga and Neva Straits. We'd been hoping to head for Icy Straits and Glacier Bay via the outside from there, in the Gulf of Alaska, with a promised lull in the weather. The lull arrived, the skies cleared, and the weather put out a small craft warning for the Gulf waters due to sea conditions.....so we continued back on our previous route, for Peril Strait northbound and eastbound. We found a convenient mooring buoy in Shultze Bay, just west of the beginning of Peril Strait, and spent the night on the buoy. The following morning, we were off at 0630, to catch the tide for the narrows.....and discovered that it was July 7^th, and not the 6^th....the tides we'd planned to catch were almost an hour later than what we'd been planning on. So we dawdled a bit, and then headed into the Strait, waiting for 3 large fish factory vessels and a tug with tow (Western Mariner) before running into the narrows. By early afternoon, we were motorsailing on a broad reach, eastbound in the strait, with whales sounding all around us. One of them actually surfaced right beside us, less than 3 feet away, and eyed us over, before rolling over and diving under the boat. I was worried that we would hit it, or that it would hit us (either way, we'd likely get the worst of the encounter). But the whale surfaces on the other side of us and swam lazily alongside us about a boat-length away, then dove and disappeared.

The curious whale....you can see how close he got!

As we approached our anchorage for the night, at Hanus Bay, Portage Arm, a couple of orca swam by us.

Greeted by Orcas

The anchorage was quite nice, and we especially appreciated the finally clear skies, sunny weather, and warm temperatures.

Enjoying the sunset with popcorn

We opened up the boat and hung out our bedding to air. Shane and I rowed to the nearby island and walked around the sand beaches, watching a small deer nibbling on some seaweed near the shore.

Going for a walk on a deserted island

A garbage fire took care of our burnable waste, and we had a pleasant evening in a protected and scenic anchorage, with a fondue for dinner, and drinks watching the sunset (okay....it sets at about 10PM, but it stays light for hours afterward). A late night movie (“Rescue Dawn”), and bedtime a little after midnight.

The next day, 8^th July, was another beautiful sunny day. We started off with light winds and motored out of Peril Strait and into Chatham Sound northbound. As the wind picked up, we were able to sail on a close reach, into Tenakee Arm, and then wing-on-wing another 8 miles, to Tenakee Springs. This turned out to be one of our favourite towns so far (maybe a village is more like it). They have roads, but no motor vehicles, except for the fire truck and garbage vehicle. Everyone walks, bikes, or golf-carts around the town. There is a hot spring here, with a bath house surrounding it. It's basically a rock cleft with the hot water, and the town has posted hours for separate bathing for men and women (no clothing is allowed). They also supply some well-used bicycles for people like us to borrow and get around, so we managed to ride our borrowed bikes the length of the roadway and back, before taking our baths.

Exploring Tenakee by bike

We got some limited internet from the town bakery, so were able to post a bit of news on facebook, check emails, etc.....but not enough bandwidth for the blog. Dinner of barbecued chicken (still nice weather.....it actually hit 78F, which for here is quite warm) and Kelcy made her way into town for her bath, joined by most of the teenaged girls of the town. I discovered the diesel in the day-tank for our heater was dripping into our hanging locker....so made some temporary repairs, and hit the sack.

The following day, 9^th July, started out warm and sunny for our departure. We motorsailed out of Tenakee and back into Chatham Strait, still northbound. By noon we were turning westbound into Icy Strait, with the wind following us around the corner for a broad reach. A pod of dolphins greeted us into Icy Strait, as did a few more whales. By 1400, we were turning into Hoonah Bay, and sailed past the cruise ship “Royal Princess”. All tied up at the Hoonah waterfront, we walked into town, and caught a shuttle bus to a restored cannery/museum and toured the area. The cannery is run by the local natives, and is a cruiseship destination. Lots of crafts and stores around the museum, all quite interesting.

Visiting the Cannery/Museum

By the time we left the cannery, we were back to clouds and showers, with a mile and a half to walk back to town (shuttles only seem to run out to the place, for the cruiseship people). Instead of getting wet, we hitchhiked a ride (first car stopped) back into town. We then went to a local pub for a beer, before returning to the boat for dinner, and a movie (“The Spy Next Door”).

A friendly bear outside the pub in Hoonah

Saturday morning dawned bright but early, for a 6 AM telephone call.
I telephoned the ranger station at Glacier Bay to apply for a short-notice permit to enter the park. They require reservations 2 months in advance, to get into Glacier Bay Park....but I was unwilling/unable to accurately predict our timing for this. So I took a chance on getting a short-notice permit. The Rangers allow 24 private boats per day in the park, and hold back 6 to 10 permits for a short-notice, requiring 48 hours notice. By calling them at 0600, we were able to get a permit to enter on Monday, for 4 days. Perfect!!! So the rest of the day I spent ripping apart the faulty day-tank and replacing some of the fittings and lines to correct the leak. Kelcy and Shane got the laundry and grocery shopping out of the way. After a dinner of sweet & sour pork, we moved the boat to a slip with power, to allow us to charge the batteries and really cool down the refrigerator/freezer. I'm working on updating the blog with the hopes of uploading this in the morning before we leave for an anchorage across the strait, near the Glacier Bay Park for the following day's entry. The local internet is at the library, across from the high school. Because of that, Facebook is blocked from access, and Shane and Kelcy were unable to update anything from here. I'm hoping I can get a quick upload of this before we leave in the morning. If you're reading this, I was successful!

Shangri-la, flamingoes, and whales

There is a lot of time and experiences passed since the last entry in Wrangell. This may be a long, but eventful entry, as we now have an internet connection in Sitka.
So....to go back a week, to our departure from Wrangell the morning of 27 June, bound for Petersburg. We wanted to time our arrival at Wrangell Narrows, 20 miles distant, for the end of the flood tide....so we left at 0800, on a cool, but sunny morning, and entered the start of the Narrows at Alexander Point, on schedule at 1130. The channel was well-marked, but quite narrow in spots. With a bit of larger traffic it could have been a problem, but we had very few other vessels joining us in the waterway. I posted Kelcy and Shane on the bow to watch for hazards and mark our progress through the twists and turns, following range markers and lateral buoys for another 24 miles.





Kelcy & Shane navigating us through Wrangell Narrows










Just past halfway through, the tide changes direction, so we were able to ride the current all the way through with a bit of a push. By 1530 we were tied up in the north harbour at Petersburg, beside a large Nordic Tug (a very skookum and well-appointed motor yacht), "Reflections". We did a bit of a walk-around in town, and tried to find a bolt for our windlass at the two hardware stores. I had thought Petersburg would indicate some of Alaska's Russian history, but instead discovered that the name has nothing to do with St. Peterburg, or Russians, but rather a Norwegian Community history and spirit. Many of the buildings have Scandinavian-style shutters, and there is a viking ship in the centre of town.






Petersburg homes









We were able to get a bit of internet here, and managed a few Skype calls, but somehow missed updating the blog.









Exploring Petersburg




The following morning was a bright, sunny, and almost warm day! It was a good day to further explore the town, and get our laundry, showers, shopping in order. We went over our charts and sailing plans for the next few days (allowing Kelcy and Shane to do the planning now) as we were going to make for Sitka, on the West Coast, for Kelcy's birthday on July 4.
Tuesday, 29 July had us up very early for a long run out of Petersburg and down Frederick Sound. We were up at 0530 and underway by 0600 with only scattered clouds, and light winds, no seas - a very pleasant day. We spotted our first bergy bits, small icebergs which had calved from the glaciers around us.






This Bergy-bit had been carved by nature to resemble a wolf






From 1300 through 1500, we saw lots of humpback whales sounding and breaching, and by 1630 were anchored in a corner of Pybus Bay, Cannery Cove.









This whale waved goodbye as we approached Pybus Bay





"Reflections" was anchored here already, and radioed over to us to invite us for drinks and appies. After a pleasant motorsail, with lots of whales to entertain us, it was a nice way to finish off the day, chatting with our new friends Harry, Pat, and Phil. We didn't make it back to our boat until 2030, so fixed a quick "Hamburger Helper" type of meal, cleaned up, and hit the sack.
Wednesday, June 30 was back to cold and cloudy....visibility down to 2-3 miles in rain and fog, and a bit of a chop was building. We needed to sail 20 miles to the end of Frederick Sound, against the wind, and did so with reefed sails and a motor assist to allow the boat to point into the wind a bit better, and shoulder into the building steep chop. Until we rounded the corner into Chatham Channel, my crew was feeling a bit green around the gills. But with the wind astern of us, northbound int Chatham Channel, all became pleasant again. We pulled into the small village of Baranof Warm Springs, and managed to get the last spot on the dock, by 1600. The village has a hot spring pool beside a scenic waterfall, and have piped water down to a boardwalk beside the water with public baths available. So we were able to soak in a beautiful handmade wooden tub, and relax looking out over the snow-capped mountains.







Time for a warm bath with a view









With the whales and pleasant sailing yesterday, and the warm springs and baths here, perhaps we'd discovered the Shangri-la may actually exist in Alaska! After a nice dinner prepared by Shane, we walked up the trail to the actual hot springs, and found them to be actually quite hot...not warm, as the village name suggests.


The Trail to the Hotsprings

Again we had a nice soak, and walked back to the boat, to be invited onto a 51 foot power vessel, "Allegra", tied to the dock. Vic, the owner, stays here the summer, playing his guitar and singing, and carving wooden masks, for charter/cruise ship visitors, to pay his way here. He feels sorry for sailboaters with their limited size and amenities, so we and another sailboat, "Raven", enjoyed his singing and playing , while sharing some wine and cookies.








Entertainment at Baranof






We had a very enjoyable time, and managed to get back to the boat in time for a 10PM bedtime.
We got underway from Warm Springs Cove at 0800 on Thursday, July 1, motorsailing northbound in Chatham Channel. We had to weave around numerous Seiners....there was obviously a salmon fishing opening happening around us. It was a cloudy and cool day, with only light winds, until we approached and entered Peril Straight, a 49 mile stretch of water which runs westward. The wind picked up on our nose, and we found ourselves bucking a bit of current as well as a head-wind. Our fuel was getting a bit low, with all of the motorsailing, fighting of currents, and weaving....so we emptied our jerry can of fuel into the tanks, and motored another 18 miles to a very protected anchorage named Appleton Cove, being greeted by another humpback whale at the entrance. We were well set with the anchor down by 1600, and celebrated with some fine Appleton Rum which had been kindly passed on by our friends Ray and Kathy on "Summer Breeze", way back in B.C. We had a barbecue of steaks with roast veggies, and continued to enjoy some Appleton Rum in Appleton Cove, while we watched "Pirate Radio" as our movie-du-jour.
Friday July 2 was another cool and cloudy (but not rainy)day. I still wasn't happy with the level of fuel in our tanks, so drained our heater daytank to add a few more gallons of diesel. As we motored out, a crab-boat was entering the bay to check his traps. I radioed him to see if he might have a bit of diesel fuel to spare, or some crabs for sale. He did have some crabs, and actually gave us three very nice Dungeness crabs....a nice treat for us to celebrate Linda's birthday (my wife, at home, for those of you unfamiliar). To conserve fuel in spite of the current and wind against us, I motorsailed at idle speed along the edges if the channel, picking up the back-eddy, or minimizing the current. We had 18 miles to go in Peril Strait to time our transit of Sergius Narrows, which had to be done at slack tide. We actually managed to arrive in time to anchor just off the narrows and wait an hour. Another sailboat, "Kharma", who we'd seen off and on since before Prince Rupert, was doing the same. He radioed over to us to confirm the slack water time, and then followed us out through the narrows, and then continuing a further 10 miles out of Peril Strait, and into Sukoi Bay, for a calm night at anchor. "Kharma" offered to give us a bit more fuel, which we gladly accepted....although sucking on the siphon tube to get it out was a bit tastier than I'd really liked. We shared some drinks with Steven, the single-handed sailor from Seattle, and then headed back to the boat to devour our crabs in honour of Linda's birthday. Yummmmmmmm!











Our boarding party at "Kharma"




The wind and current continued to fight us the following day, as we motored out of Sukoi Bay in rain and fog. We were now southbound in Neva Straits. As we passed a small island, a passing power boat radioed over to us to look closely at the northwest corner of the island. According to him, there is a little-known area here where a flock of flamingoes spend the summer, nesting here. We thanked him, and looked carefully ......there they were! It was amazing to see such birds so far north. I called up Kharma, following us about a mile astern, to tell him....he was dubious. We looked again, very carefully - some clever Alaskans with a sense of humour had put a bunch of plastic (or maybe wood)pink flamingoes in the trees. Very clever....very funny....we'd been had!







Flamingoes nesting in the trees, Neva Strait








As we continued southbound in Neva Strait, a pair of humpback whales decided to join us, and followed alongside, sounding every few minutes. I slowed down to let them get ahead, but they stayed alongside....so we continued, and they stayed with us for a full 20-30 minutes. Truly an enjoyable and awesome sight here in Shangri-la.

These whales followed alongside

We exited Neva Strait for Olga Strait, which leads into Sitka Sound, and Sitka. The wind was forecast to be southeast 25, so we had tied reefs into the sails, and secured everything for a boisterous approach to the city. A line of islands protects the inside waters of the Sound, however, and we made an uneventful sail into Sitka, tying up by 1500. We've been warned by the harbourmaster of the possibility we may have to move, or raft onto another boat, as all of the slips are assigned, and the one we are in belongs to a fishboat out on the salmon opening, but may return. I managed to hike around town a bit, admiring the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, and the old-style buildings in town, including a Fur Store (you don't see many of them anymore). The two chandlers in town didn't have any sail batten material, so I ended up with a yardstick from a hardware store to improvise until I can find some to repair a broken batten.
Steve, from Kharma, joined us in the evening for a bit of scotch and Pyrat rum, and we watched the fireworks bring in the 4th of July, and Kelcy's birthday.




Although that made it a late night, we were able to sleep in today, and will shortly walk into town for the 4th celebrations, including a parade. Until the next wifi connection, we have finally caught up to present-day Blogging, again!