Alaska Pictures!!

I've finally uploaded some of our favorite pics from our time in Alaska this summer. You can check out all the fun here:

• Alaska - Sitka and area
• Alaska - Glacier Bay
• Alaska - Juneau and area
• Alaska - Prince of Wales Island

One of these days, I might attempt to tackle our pictures of the BC coast and Haida Gwaii! 

Prince of Wales

Here's a few pics from our trip down the west coast of Prince of Wales Island, Alaska.

Humpback whale in Sumner Strait

Entering Hole in the Wall

Faithful captain keeping watch in the rain

Tlevak Narrows

Totems in Klawock

Totems in Klawock

Sea Otter in Sea Otter Sound

Three bears playing in Waterfall

Humpback breaching (Blurry...but you get the idea)

Sunrise in Nichols Bay

Prince of Wales - West Coast

After leaving Port Protection, we made our way down the west coast of Prince
of Wales Island. We put in long days and the mileage ticked away. We had
been told that this part of Alaska does not see many pleasure boats, and it
is so true! Even our fabulous cruising guide is pretty slim on info in this
area. We've only seen one or two other pleasure cruising boats. There are a
few fishing lodges around here and we've seen several small aluminum fishing
charter boats. And several commercial fishing boats. The landscape is
stunning. Beautiful lush green slopes. Sadly, we're seeing more clear-cut
areas than previously...what a difference it makes. It would appear that our
previous explorations were in cruise ship territory, where those types of
practices are now discouraged.

Along this coast we've stopped at Hole in the Wall, Sarkar Cove, Klawock,
Dunbar Inlet, and hopefully tonight will be Nichols Bay. We've navigated
through several narrows - El Capitan Passage, Skookumchuck, Tonowek Narrows
(aka Little Skookum Chuck), Tlevak Narrows (aka The Skookum Chuck), and Dry
Pass. That's not a typo...three SkookumChucks. Awesome.

Today is the first day we could really sail. We tried motor-sailing on some
days, but it is usually with limited success. Winds have shifted to the
NorthWest, and we're expecting more of the same over the next couple days.
Should give us good and fast conditions for our passage of Dixon Entrance as
we set our sights on Prince Rupert. Finally, Renova is returning to CANADA!

It's A Small World

We anchored for the night in Deception Cove, a small inlet at the south end
of Wrangell Narrows. We were reading when we heard the huge engines of a
large boat...very close by. When John popped his head out, he was shocked to
see the AQUILA. We met this boat in Samoa. It's a big Alaskan crab fishing
vessel that was doing rat eradication work for the US National Wildlife
Service in the outlying US Pacific islands. John was thrilled to get a tour
of the boat and chat about Alaskan hot spots while we were in Samoa.
So...imagine our surprise, seeing them here, a year later!

We hailed them on the radio, and Kale and Angie invited us for breakfast the
next morning. What a treat. Smoked salmon and havarti omelettes with fruit
salad. Wow. We showed them some of our pics since we met them in Samoa and
heard about their work in the South Pacific, and their current work - they
have a crew of NOAA marine mammal biologists aboard. Their son Tanner is
keeping a blog... www.RVAquila.blogspot.com. We can't wait to get internet -
I'm sure it would be fascinating reading!

Petersburg

We stopped in "Alaska's Little Norway" for the night and really liked this
community - everyone was super friendly. Apparently, just over 3000 people
live here and we were told it was the wealthiest fishing community in
Alaska...that would definitely explain the big, beautiful homes we saw on
the way into the harbour. We took advantage of the laundry, showers,
grocery, seafood store, hardware store, and propane, before we headed out
again the next day, in time for slack tide in Wrangell Narrows.

We're on our way to Port Protection at the North end of Prince of Wales
Island. Home to "Alaska John" whom we met in Majuro. He and Heather are
cruising around here somewhere, and we can't wait to catch up with them and
share stories.

As we were untying from the Petersburg dock, we met a couple who had started
their cruising life many years ago in Majuro. It was fun to compare notes
and hear of their adventures...most noteworthy for us included being
attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden (they shot three of the pirates, and
their buddy boat rammed them)! Unfortunately, their boat was destroyed in
the Baltic Sea when they were hit by a 400+ ft ferry. Yet, they are still
cruising...albeit now in the comfort of a dreamy trawler. Amazing stories -
we wish we could have spent more time chatting with them.

Underway

I've returned from a sad, but wonderful, visit with friends and family in
Vancouver and Kamloops. We've now left Juneau, and are working our way
South. Our destination changes every day, but we'll let you know when we get
somewhere...

Arrival in Juneau

We've arrived in Juneau! We were hoping to have internet here at the dock,
to upload a few pics of our recent travels, but no luck. Yet.

The blog will be quieter this week, as I make a trip back home to be with my
family. Sadly, my grandfather passed away last week - one of our worst fears
as we have cruised in remote locations in recent years. I'm so grateful that
we have on board communications and that we're in a part of the world where
I could make travel arrangements.

John will stay with the boat in Juneau and take care of a few boat projects.

UPDATE: managed to get a few pics of Glacier Bay, Elfin Cove and Pelican onto the blog. Enjoy. 

Glacier Bay

What an amazing place. We were able to get a four day permit to visit this
National Park and UN Biosphere Reserve. We weren't planning to come here,
but we're glad we did. Our first day, we were able to see orca, humpbacks,
sea lions, sea otters, and a moose! And it was sunny!

Here's some fast Glacier Bay facts:
- The Park is over 3 million acres - the size of Connecticut
- Last night, the tide went from 18ft to -5ft.
- 250 years ago, there was no Glacier Bay - it was all ice.
- Glaciers have now receded 60 miles to the head of the bay.
- Most glacier here are receding, except two (one growing/one stable).
- 2 cruise ships, 3 tour boats, 6 charter boats, and 25 private vessels are permitted in the park each day.

Here's a few snaps...
 

 

Puffin

Sea Otters were EVERYWHERE...and crabs were not

This guy was near the visitor centre!

Brrr...a chilly Alaskan day

Hanging with the bergs - an amazing way to spend one's birthday!!

Elfin Cove

This was a community where we felt at home! After tying up to the (free)
dock, we wandered around this picturesque boardwalk community.

the walk to the grocery store

 As is our pattern, we checked out the local pub, and found the beers and fries to be
very tasty, and the locals were friendly and chatty.

The Elfin Cove Lodge

I needed to make some unplanned travel arrangements, so I asked the Elfin
Cove Lodge at the top of the dock if I might use their wifi. Donna, the new
owner, was so happy to help and she offered me a comfy seat in the lounge,
drinks from the fridge, the use of their hot tub, and even offered her car
when we get to Juneau. It is a beautiful lodge in a stunning location and if
you are contemplating an Alaska fishing trip, you should check it out:
www.elfincove.com

Yup

Happy Canada Day

Pelican

Arrived in a very quiet Pelican. Is this typical? Or is everyone a
fisherman, and heading out for the commercial king salmon opening tonight at
midnight? Or maybe everyone has left for the holiday weekend?

The Pelican boardwalk

Whatever it, this boardwalk town is pretty quiet. We paid our $16 in moorage
through a slot in the harbourmaster's door. The café opened just for us, so
we could browse their gift shop, but they had closed early for the day. The
grocery store looks like it hasn't been open in many months. The library,
however, was open, and I took advantage of their wifi and got caught up on
some blogging.

Rose's Bar and Grill is apparently famous, although we hadn't heard of it.
Rose has been in business 39 years and was featured as a 'Bar of the Month'
in Maxim magazine. We stopped in for a beer and burger in front of the wood
stove, but it was pretty quiet - just four locals playing dice. The burgers
were expensive and only mediocre, and we didn't drink enough beer to get up
on the bar and add our names to the hundreds of others on the ceiling. Maybe
next time...

 

Charged by a Grizzly Sow

Yep - thought I'd get right to the point with that title. No guessing here.

We were walking returning along a boardwalk trail from a nice dip at the
White Sulphur Hot Springs, chatting away, when we heard THE SNORT.

Our ears picked up. I hear John murmur, "there's a bear...it has a cub".
This is not good news.

The cub quickly scampers up a tree, and the sow turns to us. This all
happens in a milli-second, and I'm still processing what that SNORT implies.
John turns and says, "RUN". Oh gawd. The fear of running in full yellow
slicker raingear, down a slipperier-than-snot boardwalk from a charging
behemoth of a grizzly bear is significant, I assure you. Of course, in my
mind, I'm thinking, this is bad, really bad. I glance over my shoulder, John
is herding me along, and this BIG BLACK face is barrelling down the trail
after us. Again - Oh GAWD.

Somehow, we decide to stop running. We've only gone maybe 20 meters or so,
but we both know you are not supposed to run. But, I've discovered it is
really hard to NOT run, from a charging bear. I cower behind a tree, John is
beside me with his pack in front of him, ready to throw it at the bear or
something. But she stops. She roars. She paws at the ground. She stands on
her hind legs. OK OK I get it. We're SO leaving.

She made these marks after stopping her charge...just 20 feet from us!

We high tail it back the way we came. It felt like we'd only been walking
for a few minutes before we met the bear, but our return trip to the
springs, and the comforting variety of guns that we'd seen there, seemed to
take an eternity. We were both babbling with the shock of what just happened
and grinning from ear to ear with the luck of being able to walk away. We
also were both straining our necks behind us to be sure she didn't change
her mind.

The crew was surprised to see us return so quickly, and were pretty alarmed
at our story. It turns out that this is not a normal Alaskan experience,
even for these guys, who live in the wilderness for months at a time. Simian
and Jenson were planning on exploring the trail anyway, so they offered to
walk back with us. After resting for an hour or so, we prepared for second
attempt to return down the trail with our dinghy.

As much as I hate guns, I've never been happier to see a couple guys holster
their pistols, and load up the shotgun. On the return trip, we saw the trail torn up with huge paw prints, and saw where she stopped, only 20 feet from the tree I was 'hiding' behind.

We didn't see mama and her cub again.

White Sulphur Hot Springs

We had a great trip from Klag Bay to White Sulphur Hot Springs. We left late in the day to time the tides, and spent the day in the cockpit despite the persistent rains. Highlights were the sea otters in Ogden Passage and many humpback whales outside of Fleming Channel.

This trip into the West Arm of Mirror Harbor was our tightest passage yet. Rocks were everywhere. We moved at a snail's pace, in neutral gear, just engaging forward every now and again to maintain steerage. the *'s on our chartplotter below indicate rocks - the ones that are charted. 
 

The red line is our boat's track. The *'s are the rocks.

Our efforts were well rewarded. We arrived late in the day, so decided to delay our visit to the springs until the next day. We packed our lunch and made our way down the short, 15 minute trail to the Forest Services site. We were expecting a cabin that is rented out by the USFS, but we had heard that it was often empty, because the site is so remote.

In fact, we arrived to find 5 people there! These were contractors for the USFS, who were there to build a new cabin, and would be staying for a month. They had just arrived the day before, and we had noticed their float plane overhead several times during the day. They took three loads to get all their gear to the site, and the building materials were arriving separately!

After a nice chat with the crew, John and I enjoyed the tub and our packed lunch.

Since today was the first day on site, the crew were having a slow day - getting set up and having a rest - they had come straight from another remote building project! We enjoyed chatting with them. And as soon as we left on our way, John pointed out the pistols that each of them were wearing and the shotgun that stood by the door. Well. This is the USA, after all. 

And...in the end, we were grateful for those guns...

Klag Bay, Chichagof Island, SE Alaska

Our second day has us travelling through more narrow channels, requiring a
sharp lookout. We're also paying close attention to the tides, which can be
huge, creating a good rip, and can make all the difference up here. John has
his sights set on Klag Bay.

If you've been reading the blog for a while, you know how John loves old junk. This bay was the site of a gold and silver mine from 1905 to 1930, so there is plenty of junk here for those that love to root around and explore. I could hardly complain...he did take me to the craft store in Sitka, and wait patiently for me to make my difficult decisions!! :O)

We arrived mid-day and spent the afternoon ashore, checking out the mine ruins. A cabin noted in our guidebook was no longer here, but we found other buildings, a mechanics shop, generators, tanks, slag heaps, rail system, and an entry to an old mine shaft.

As we enjoyed our hot chocolate in the cockpit after dinner, John spotted a brown bear and cub way up on the slopes of the mountain above. In the morning, we spotted another bear on the shore closer to the boat.

Kalinin Bay, Kruzof Island, SE Alaska

June 26

We left on Tuesday morning and set our sights north. Our plan is to head
around the northern end of Chichagof Island and hope to make our way to
Glacier Bay by early next week. We are anxious to get going, as there are so
many interesting stops along the way!

We had a constant drizzle throughout the day, which John braved in the
cockpit. I mostly ran support from the dry cabin - there was lots to do, as
we navigated through a couple of narrow channels requiring a close watch.
Occasionally, I was up on the bow, watching for rocks and other hazards. We
finished the day in Kalinin Bay, a popular stop at the entrance/exit to
Peril Strait. This is the route most boaters would take to get to the inside
passage, and calmer waters. There are three boats here when we arrive, and
four more arrive throughout the afternoon. But it's a big bay and there is
room for many more.

Goddard Hot Springs

We had a few more things to do in Sitka before we could push off and explore. But most of it had to wait until working hours. So we decided to head to the local Hot Springs for the weekend. Our fishing friends had told us that it can be busy with tour operators during the day, and fisherman at night, but we weren't worried. We were looking forward to a good soak.

We had a beautiful day for the 16 mile trip. Of course, we ate cheese dogs for lunch.

We set our hook in 45 feet of water (much deeper than we're used to...but we're trying to remember how tides work again), among two fishing boats. There were also three kayakers camping nearby.

We were impressed. The tubs were clean. And there was always at least one tub to soak in, we were never crowded or rushed out. They were HOT. We relaxed and didn't do a spec of boat work. It was lovely.

Some Images of Sitka

This is such a picturesque town!

Here is the Eliason Harbour - Renova is nestled in at the far, far end.

We popped into St Michael's Cathedral. Sitka was the colonial capital when this was a Russian colony. As a result, there is an incredible Russian history and influence here. Hence, the Russian church.

Crab Feast

We arrived in Sitka just in time for the Annual All-You-Can-Eat Crab Feast!
What could be a better introduction to this town! The event is put on each
year as part of the annual music festival. We arrived before the advertised
start time and were in awe of the massive line up that was already stretched
around the building. Apparently this is serious business here. These folks
brought their own tables and chairs, most with table clothes and the
requisite crab claw crackers. Some had candles, butter warmers, napkins and
everybody had a bottle or two of wine. Oh...we felt like such tourists,
arriving in our regular sneakers (no fishing boots), and relegated to sit on
the damp wharf. But, do not be mistaken. We were not at all sad. We had crab
a-plenty. And the company of a local whom we peppered with questions about
Sitka history, highlights and must-sees!

We returned to the boat, more determined than ever, to find some used crab
pots.

A Week in Sitka Alaska

Our first week has flown by! It's been wonderful to be within reach of
hardware and grocery stores, people to talk with, and a seemingly endless
supply of french fries.

We've spent a LOT of time working on the boat, and haven't done as much
exploring in town as we were hoping. We have wondered through town tons.
We've peeked into one or two of the MANY tourist shops on the main drag. But
we've had success. We've dried and stowed several sails that we don't plan
to use in the near future. We've cleaned every piece of fabric on the boat.
We've fixed the compass light, freshwater pressure pump, engine pre-heat,
boom preventer and several other little projects. Given how long the passage
was, we're lucky that we had very few equipment/mechanical failures.

The biggest failure we've had is our computer. While here in Sitka, the
screen on our little netbook went belly up. What a disaster. I've spent
untold hours trying to retrieve the data and transfer to the big computer,
that is normally reserved for back up and movies. This is the big reason
that we haven't been posting our pictures or updating the blog. Sorry. We
hope to catch up soon.

Bald Eagle - no wonder there are not any working wind instruments on the
sailboats here!

First Day in Sitka

Our first day in Sitka has been glorious. We've been revelling in wandering
around the town, getting our bearings, and chatting to anyone who will
listen.

Checking in with the harbour master and clearing customs was a simple
procedure. In fact, it was so simple, we wondered if we'd forgotten one, or
several, steps! Only customs seemed concerned with our arrival. No
immigration. No health. No agriculture. And Customs only seemed interested
in issuing us our cruising permit, without concern for our clearance papers
from our last port, what items we have on board, etc, etc. When we asked her
if we should check with immigration, she said it wasn't necessary. We were
Canadians, after all!! Nice. We're happy to be here.

After receiving our cruising permit, we pulled on our walking shoes and
headed for town. We inspected the sporting goods store (cabin heaters), the
grocery store (greens), the trinket stores (souvenirs), and found a cute
restaurant for lunch. We also picked up a new comforter for the bed and a
propane cabin heater.

We returned to the boat for a rest and shower, during which time the
forecast gale began to make it's appearance in the harbour. Rain began to
fall, and wind whistled through the rigging of the boats. By the time we
were ready to head out for dinner, we decided against walking into town for
a dinner that we would likely sleep through. Instead we hit the nearby
golden arches and quickly returned to the boat for an early night. We were
exhausted, and slept blissfully for 10 hours, each of us waking only a few
times, our bodies well tuned to a 5 hour sleep cycle.

Now, onto boat projects and more exploring...

**We don't have internet on the boat here in the harbour, but we'll still
attempt regular updates.**