Sitka to Lagoon Cover

A morning high water slack through Peril strait also meant for an early departure from Sitka so we topped off the water tank and off we headed in the early morning drizzle, our destination being Appleton cove. Just as we were entering the cove I heard a rather muffled MAYDAY RELAY (relayed distress call) for Olympic Mist, Mike’s boat. We only heard that it was in distress and did not know where but given the transmission quality it was some distance away. We spent the night wondering how Mike was and if he managed to get a rescue sorted out.

We set off in the morning heading for Ell Cove on the east side of Baranof Island. As we left Peril strait and entered Chatham sound we picked up an unlikely cell phone signal and took the opportunity to call the coastguard to find out the status of Mike’s distress call. They informed us that he was towed into Craig having suffered a damaged propeller, which Mike later told us that it was done by a crew member running over a log a few minutes after he left his watch. All was well.   

The fishing boats were out in force as we neared Ell Cove and we wondered if we could get into the tiny cove but as luck was with us we had the place to ourselves. We took the dinghy and Kayaks down and the girls went exploring and Jude and I went fishing. We caught a few good sized rockfish but missed a large Halibut which snapped the line on the rod, probably just as well as it would not have been much fun trying to get a large halibut in the dinghy.

A 37 foot Nordic tug came into the cove with 3 young men on board and there was sudden interest from the girls which was later dowsed by the fact that they were considered too old for any further flirtatious actions. Jude and I however invited them over for drinks and supper on our way back from fishing and we spent a fun evening chatting to them.

Beautiful Takatz

Our next destination, Takatz, is one I have been anticipating since the beginning of this trip primarily as it is one of the favorite haunts of one of our friends in Friday Harbor, Keith. It certainly lived up to all that had been portrayed. We explored the inlet, its islands and river seeing natural springs bubbling up from the sea bed and riding the river rapids down in the kayaks.

Kayaking up the river in Takatz

 We dinghied over to two other boats for drinks, Gillian and David on Carousel and Jim and Peg on Nightfall. It turned out that Jim and Peg had also lost their dog to a Cougar in Blunden Harbor in 2009. We explored a small island which seemed to have some sort of abandoned hunter’s camp.

Much needed hot spring bath in Warm Springs

We had all been looking forward to spending some time at Warm Springs, long soaks in the natural pools and even more extensive ones in the hot tubs conveniently provided and the top of the dock. It’s always a pleasure to come back here and we always meet more interesting people. We met up again with Rob and Tania on Highland Mary, having first met them in Taku harbor, and the girls got the tour of their boat which they found far more spacious and luxurious than Sarita.

We decided to skip Red Bluff bay as our grizzly bear quota had been filled especially with the girls encounter and instead decided to negotiate the fabled “Rocky Pass”, an intricate and supposedly challenging narrow and shallow body of water linking Frederick sound with Sumner strait, which incidentally would save us quite a few hours of motoring. We made our way through a group of islands and decided to stop to try and catch a halibut which we did, bringing it to the surface and into the net but our luck shattered at that point and the decent sized fish snapped the line with one flick of its tail and shot out of the net along with quite e few expletives from my mouth. It’s just not meant to be. It reality we should have used the gaff and not the net.

We anchored at the top of Rocky pass waiting for slack water the following morning to make the transit. Whilst waiting a went kayaking to see if I could find some Geodes which we had been told existed in the area but it turned out to be quite a big area with quite a few bears so foraging for rocks on the beach on my own was not probably a good idea.

Humpback whales bubble feeding outside Warm Springs

Sailing down Sumner strait

In the morning we nervously departed and entered the pass. Guide books say this should only be done with some local knowledge and stories of groundings were vividly described. In reality with modern technology such as GPS chartplotters and better markings the pass is quite easy to transit. We did it at near high water slack and had about 3 knots of current against us as we went through Devil’s elbow. Safely outside in Sumner strait the sun came out and enough wind enabled us to get the sails up and make a steady 4-5 knots towards Exchange cove for the night.

A beautiful dawn sky greeted us the next morning as we made our way to Meyer’s Chuck, a small SE Alaskan community and a free dock to tie up to.

Dawn departure from Exchange cove

Our prayers for Salmon were answered soon after we arrived when Sterling, a young Alaskan pulled up at the side of our boat with a load of salmon. He asked me if I wanted one and I said sure, what do you want in return? Cash was not king here but half a bottle of vodka secured us a king salmon, some Pink salmon and a guided tour of the area whilst Sterling carried his automatic 12 gauge bear gun. Guns and Vodka make great bed fellows?? Sterling was very kind and showed us some of the local sites, taking us out to a house on a small islet with an amazing view of the Strait. We watched as a group of yachts sailed into the harbor in sunshine.

Burnt out tree in Myer's Chuck

Chillin on the deck

Meyer's Chuck

Meyer's Chuck

Having fuelled up, stocked up and done some laundry in Ketchikan we departed on one of the longer passages on this journey. The forecast was for 20-25 knots from the NW, i.e behind us but it did not eventuate until we were only a couple of hours from Prince Rupert. Having checked into customs we dropped the anchor again in Pillsbury cove and had a peaceful night before we went to town the next day to stock up on products that we were not allowed to carry across the border.

Sailing across Dixon entrance 

Sailing across Dixon entrance 

The girls explored the delights of Prince Rupert whilst Jude and I did the shopping. I was also very pleased to find a second hand lens in replacement for the one I drowned last year. It was a fraction of the price of a new one.

Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht club

Prince Rupert

Check out the size of that floating debris!

Departing in the morning with the flood tide taking us up Granville channel the wind God blew on us and we raised the sails and sailed most of the way to Lowe Inlet. with 25-30 knots behind along with the current we made good time although it was a challenge to keep the sails set correctly in a channel. Its great to turn the engines off and sail downwind. Much better that heading into 25-30 knots of wind like one boat we saw going the other way.

We dropped the prawn trap on entering Lowe inlet and then the anchor in the same spot as we had on the way up. From the anchorage we could see Verney falls and I could see Salmon leaping so I decided to go and see if the salmon run had started. We all went and watched salmon leaping all around the boat, one nearly jumping into the dinghy.

The girls doing morning yoga exercise 

The following day we departed for Bottleneck inlet making more headway south to drop the girls off in Vancouver on the 4^th August. We were joined in the anchorage shortly after our arrival my “Spirit of Freedom”. I dinghied over to say hello and have a chat. It turned out that they know Kirk and Kris on Linger Longer.

Bottleneck inlet

Troup Narrows was our next destination which lived up to our expectations of delivering some crab and with water warm enough I went for my first swim of the season. There were two motor boats in the anchorage but with plenty of space no generators could be heard.

Ocean falls

Ocean Falls is a place we intended to go to last year but we never made it. As it turns out it was a perfect destination for everybody to explore. Being the old site of a town that once held 5,000 people and now pretty much abandoned it provided many places to explore including an old hotel, church and high school all in a pretty bad state of repair. Some of the old houses could be entered and they had the feeling of a place suddenly abandoned by a plague or other natural disaster.

Abandoned buildings of Ocean falls

Jude and I are now turning our minds to Mexico, our “intended” winter destination which requires travelling south down the Pacific West Coast of the US. There is quite a bit to do in preparation and we will have to get the boat hauled out to have its bottom painted. The list of things to do is growing the more we think about it. The idea of spending winter in warmer climes is appealing but at the same time we have grown to love the Pacific North West and will no doubt miss it just as much.

Pruth harbor beach

Pruth Harbor offers everybody the chance to stretch their legs on beautiful sandy beaches, which are a rarity in the PNW. The girls even donned their swimsuits and went swimming in the sea whilst Jude, Katya and I went for a walk along with another lady we had met in Ocean falls. On the way back to the boat we were given a large fillet of Ling Cod which came from a 76lb fish that had just been caught. Ling Cod is or favorite fish we have decided and great for fish and chips! Jude cooked it up and it was devoured in silence by all onboard.

We crossed Queen Charlotte sound in calm conditions, again the weather predictions of favorable sailing winds failing to appear but at least it was calm and not too rock and rolly. Blunden harbor was our destination and this is where the people we met in Takatz lost their dog. We saw the commemorative sign they had created and this made us think of Luda, our dog, who we lost in Forward Harbor two year ago. We explored the old Native American settlement and its midden but failed to find any of the trading beads we had heard other finding.

Lagoon cove is probably our favorite rural marina in the Broughton islands not only because it offers very friendly service but also that it has the opportunity to walk on a number of trails. The evening pot luck run by the marina allows you to chat to other boaters and eat the delicious prawns provided by the marina. We stayed for two days and on the second day our friend Kirk and Kris joined us and we caught up on the adventures we had both been having since we had last seen each other. 

Alaskan encore

May 1^st came and the first real signs of summer with it. The sight of excited people and our friends leaving for Alaska was too much for us and we decided to cast off the lines and head north again for the summer, a few weeks earlier than we had originally planned.

Dawn start

Given that we were leaving 3 weeks later than last year we decided that we would put in some long days and make some good progress up to Alaska. We cleared customs in Friday harbor and headed over to Bedwell harbor to clear Canadian customs and then made our way on to Montague harbor for a restful night before our next passage on to Nanaimo.

It was wonderful to be off the dock, on our way north and back into the simple cruising lifestyle. We have so much to look forward to including my father joining us in Ketchikan.

After a quick overnight stop in Nanaimo and a Canadian vegetable shop we departed on a long leg to the Octopus islands. The winds were with us and we had a lovely sail up the Strait of Georgia and into the group of islands just as it was getting dark.

The following day we decided to get another early start for the morning ebb tide through Okisillo channel and up Johnstone Strait. Last year we seemed to have everything against us, wind and current and our progress was slow. This year was totally contrary and not only did we have the current with us but 20-25 knots of wind behind us to we raised the sails and make excellent progress all the way to Port McNeill attaining a speed of 12knots over ground at one stage, an all time record for us under sail.

Another quick provision and fuel stop we took the favorable forecast for SE winds and made a dawn start for our crossing of Queen Charlotte sound and into Fury Cove. The winds were light at first but soon picked up and we had a great sail to the entrance to the cove.       

The next few days we made early starts with the draw of Bishop Bay hot Springs making them easier. We have not had much luck with crabbing but we have caught a good amount of Prawns near Shearwater. Yum.

After a brief stop in Butedale to see if Lou was there we went on to Bishop Bay although there was only one other small boat on the dock we used a mooring buoy rather than tying up to the dock as there was a sign limiting it to 30 ft boats. Ah well. We were soon enjoying our lovely warm soak in the springs. We stayed one additional day and then made our way up Granville channel to Lowe Inlet where we again had great success with the prawning. We now have enough to last us a few weeks.

Onwards to Prince Rupert. We avoided staying in town, instead staying in Pillsbury Cove, just near the start to Venn passage. We went ashore and spent the afternoon walking along the beach and trying to find the petro glyph, which we failed to do.

Another early start for our journey across the border to Ketchikan. The forecasts were accurate and we raised the sails soon after entering Dixon entrance and were making 9knots over ground with 25-30knots on our beam. Great sailing. The skies were clear and we arrived in Ketchikan around 5:30pm, called customs who came to the boat and issued us a 1 year cruising certificate. For a change it was not raining in Ketchikan.

We had about two weeks to wait before Rog was due to arrive from London so we decided that it was the perfect opportunity to visit Behm Canal and Misty Fjords. Our first night was spent in Naha bay tied up at the dock which we had to ourselves for a day. We had heard that the nearby lagoon was worth kayaking around and we used the specially built portage run to take the kayaks into the lagoon. There is also a great trail that leads around the northern part of the lagoon.

We visited Yes bay, which had been recommended to us by Bill who runs the lovely adventure tour ships Catalyst and Westward, and it was not a disappointment. We spent a few lazy days there visiting various islands, crabbing and walking up to see a beaver dam.

Fitzgibbon cove yielded our biggest catch of crab ever:-14 big boys, most of which we had to put back as we simply could not eat them.

Onwards to see Waterton and Punchbowl inlets, both spectacular destinations with classical shear granite walls rising up from the ocean to over 4,000 feet high. Quite spectacular.  As all the anchorages had people in them we headed over to shoalwater pass and anchored near the forest service cabin and used the fire pit there to have a roaring fire and toasted marshmallows.

Having managed to pass away two weeks it was time to head back to Ketchikan, civilization and pick up Roger and continue onwards. However our hearts sank as Jude had a message from Australia saying that he father had taken a turn for the worse. On arrival in Ketchikan Jude called home and it was decided that she should get on a plane as soon as possible. Accordingly a flight was booked for the following day to Sydney and Jude departed the following morning only a few hours before Roger arrived.

Rog and I did our provisioning in Ketchikan taking on enough food for about three weeks and we headed off. Before we left we heard that Jude’s father had passed away, surrounded by his family and in peace. We mourned his passing and thought of everybody back in Sydney and what they must be going through. Yefim was a wonderful man, much respected and admired.

Over the next few days we made our way to Wrangell to meet up with John and his wonderful dog Phoebe. We have not been to Wrangell before so it was good to see a new Alaskan town. We had a meal out with John and did some vegetable provisioning before we departed towards Petersburg and to meet up with some other friends, Phil and Gerri, whom we wintered in Friday Harbor with. We were assigned a slip alongside them and spent the evening together and the following evening Gerri cooked a delicious meal, which even Katya ate, and we got stuck into the scotch.

I had a well deserved hangover the following day and the thought of a long passage was not that welcoming but I soon felt better as we got underway and had a strong cup of tea. We made our way to Chapin cove on the south side of Admiralty island where we had the anchorage to ourselves and enjoyed some rare sunshine.

I had to take Roger to see warm springs before we headed over to Tracy arm to see the Sawyer glaciers. We managed to squeeze on the dock at Warm springs and we indulged in both the natural springs and the baths, having several lovely soaks each day we were there.

Cannery cove was our next stop and at first we had the anchorage to ourselves and then 6 other boats turned up. We waited out a passing low which bought much rain, which when it cleared left clouds of mist rolling at the head of the anchorage.

Our passage over to Tracy Arm cove was uneventful but we did manage to get a bit of sailing in before the winds died down.

Fortune was shining on us for our trip up Tracy arm to see the glaciers as the sun shone and the cruise ships, or any other large vessels were absent. The ice did not seem anywhere near as thick as last year and we were only a week later. As we headed back down Tracy arm we passed a “Beyond the Stars” a Hanse sailboat with a crew from Victoria BC.

Our short 3 hour trip to Taku harbor turned into a great sail as soon as we excited Tracy arm. 25-30 knots of wind from behind and the current with us gave us a great run although it got a bit choppy as we passed on large inlet. Tying up to the dock in Taku was great, just so we could stretch our legs after being boat bound for 5 days. We walked along to look at the old cannery and Tiger Olsen’s old cabin and played on the swing. We spent two days in Taku walking and talking to the locals along with meeting up with the crew of Beyond the Stars.

3 weeks seems to have passed quite quickly and it was time to head to Juneau to meet up with Jude, Gaba, our niece, and her good friend Maddy. I decided that we would go Auke bay rather than downtown Juneau being cheaper to stay and closer to the airport and good old Costco for our provisioning.

The girls arrived on time and I picked them up in a car which we had hired so that we could also do the provisioning. The tranquility experienced over the past few was about to be shattered, albeit in a nice way. All available space on the boat was going to be used either to sleep or for food storage. 6 people on a 48 foot boat.

Fully laden with people food and fuel we set off for Swanson harbor and on towards Elfin cove. We attempted to get into Glacier bay but we could not get a permit, shame as it would have been good for the girls to see the glaciers.   

Elfin cove was as delightful as ever and we took the opportunity to eat out at the local bar and stretch our legs and buy some Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

We departed Elfin cove to head on the outside, or open ocean, to Didrikson bay. We saw some Puffins and caught 3 large Rockfish in somewhat wobbly conditions.

We transited Ogden passage and smooth channel on our way towards Kalinin bay stopping off to watch an acrobatic display from a passing Humpback whale. On arrival we did some exploring and the Gaba and Maddy had their first bear encounter, seeing an adolescent grizzly eating grass on the fringes on the inlet.

Kalin bay has a great hike, which takes about 4 hours, to sea-lion cove which has a sandy beach which is reported to be used by the Sitka surfers. I stayed behind to stay with Roger and dropped the girls off at the trailhead. There was another group of walkers at the trailhead who were also doing the walk.

A couple of hours after I dropped the girls off at the trail head I went out to look for the bar the girls had seen the previous day. Sure enough there he was sitting down munching grass in the same spot. I watched him for a while and then he started making his way over to where I was supposed to pick the girls up after their walk. I waited to warn the girls and direct them to an alternative pick up place.  The girls were all very excited on their return and retold a story of their bear encounter when they started the walk. It turned out that there was a grizzly bear sitting on the trail eating grass. The man who headed the party of other walkers slowly approached the bear trying to move him off the trail. The bear ignored the man and continued eating grass. The man approached nearer again trying to move bear off the track. Still no joy. The man then took out his bear (pepper) spray and gave the bear a full frontal spray but the bear was not bothered. The man moved to within about 15 feet of the bear and again sprays the bear and still no moving. Eventually the bear slowly moved off the track seemingly unconcerned by the walkers or the bear spray.

We departed for Sitka the following morning a four hour journey through a couple of narrows which were easily transited. We tied up at the dock and went to see if we could find Mike who we had met last year. Unfortunately we had missed him by a only a few hours.