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!
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