August 31, 2008 Port Orchard

running under the Tacoma Narrows Bridges

We are home!!!
We have put exactly 400 hours on the engines and have travelled just over 3000 miles in 4 months minus 6 days and with two weeks off when we had to return home for family and business. It has all gone by way too fast. We have seen amazing stuff, been to amazing places, shared it with great friends and travel partners and are home in one piece with virtually nothing bad happening throughout the trip.

We spent the last few days in Longbranch with the Roche Harbor Yacht club in one of our famous wagon wheels. 25 boats formed the circle on Friday in relatively stiff breezes. For a while we were not sure the wheel would hold but after Glen, Dave, Nat and I put out a few extra anchors it would have held even in Dixon Entrance, well maybe not but it held together and the winds abated later that night. We had three wonderful days hanging out with old friends, that is just figuratively speaking, and having a grand old time. Three days if the longest we have spent in any one spot in the last four months by the way.



the Wagon Wheel and a jet powered Kayak

We went to the Labor Day dance at the Longbranch improvement club and had a good time listening and dancing to good old 60s and 70's music. Jim Valley of the old Paul Revere and the Raiders group showed up and played with the band for a while and it was really quite good.

Today James and JJ came down and rode back with us to Port Orchard. The water was perfect and except for a small thunder storm with a little lightening and a bit of rain we had a prefect run home.

We had to move the sailboat that was taking up our space at the dock but I found the email rom June telling me who he was and called him and he will move it out of here tomorrow. Until them we are sharing the space.

It is bittersweet to be home. Nice to have the journey safely behind us but it all went by so fast and there is so much more to see and do that were sorry it is over and we have to unpack and go back to work.

So, for now this will be the final entry into the blog for a while. We will perhaps pick it up again the next time were out but thanks for following along on our trip nd sharing it vicariously. we enjoyed keeping you entertained and hope you enjoyed the adventure as much as we enjoyed sharing it.

August 28, 5 days left

Were anchored in Gig Harbor today. Got in last night after a long rund from Port Ludlow on perfect waters. Hardly any breeze until we rounded Southworth and then we ran into 15 knot head winds and a nice chop but prior to that there was hardly a ripple on the water

We stopped at Brownsville for some fuel, they were selling it for the rediculous low price of 4.02 a gallon, wow what a deal.

The two tall ships, Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chief were there and whe we pulled out they were just leaving and were putting up full sail which is quite a sight.






further south we found more evidence of a windy night. Another sail boat driven aground after its anchor drug in the night. Not a good place to be but better than the two fishing boats in Port Ludlow.



The weather is not sounding all that great for the weekend, go figure its a holiday.
We will try to find Glen and Liz today and hook up with them for the evening.

August 27

Well, It blew fairly hard here in Port Ludlow. I have always thought of this place as windy and it lived up to its reputaion last night with a gust of 29.9 at the dock.

These two boats drug anchor with some serious consequences. Chris was happy we were not hanging on an anchor last night. For a while I thought we were going to tear the top canvas off it was rattling so hard.

August 26, Port Ludlow

We left Roche Harbor this am about 10 in perfect blue sky and calm wind conditions. The crossing of the straits went perfect on almost flat water all the way with the exception of a few lumps off Lime Kiln Point. The currents there were contrary to wind and out direction but by going further off shore we got out of the back eddie and eventually got a push south bound.

We had a free night of moorage at Port Ludlow that we won at the Mainship Rendevous last year that we thought we would use up so we are here for the night. The weather is changing again and it has started to rain and the wind is picking up.

At Roche we ran into Jim and Marcia Krell on Chinoo again. They arrived shortly after we did after running all the way from Campbell River. In talking to them about the weather it was a good thing we took shelter at Maple Bay and in Tod Inlet. They said the night we were at Maple Bay that they were in 35 knot winds on their anchor and woke up to a dragging anchor. They listened all night as numerous boats called for coast guard assistance and they heard of several boats that went on the rocks during the night. We never felt a ripple all night. Apparently it was not much better the next night when we were in Tod Inlet.

While walking the dog I ran into Gail Stewart, they were also at Roche, docked over on the guest dock after spending a couple nights at the outstation. Never did find Doug.

Weather and wind permitting we will head south tomorrow and maybe grab the illegal anchor bouy out in front of Steves house at Horsehead Bay. Yes Liz they have one of those over the top houses you mentioned in your blog and no you don't want to know what it costs.

And yes, I know it is a four day weekend and I don't have to go back to work till Tuesday but I am still going back with a bad attitude and Tuesday is only a week away.

August 25 Roche Harbor

Were back home in Washington!

We left Maple Bay on Sunday Morning in heavy rain and with strong winds forcaste. the winds never materialized and we had a flat sea all the way to Tod Inlet where we anchored for the night.
We decided to go tour Buchart Gardens late in the afternoon and evening since they are open till 11pm and the trails and gardens are all lit up and the rain eased up in the evening so we were able to spend about 3 hours wandering around the grounds and had a great time. It is the first time either of us have ever been there and it was well worth the time albeit a bit pricy to get in. The days of sneaking in the back way are gone with security fences and a credit card swipe at the gate and remote control cameras and speakers. You never have contact with an actual person but they get your money anyway before you get in.

We left Tod Inlet about 10 this morning in bright sun and perfect conditions and got to Roche and Customs about 1:30. customs was a breeze, about 15 minutes and we were through. the Roche Harbor Outstation was open so we slid in there for the night and will mosey south across the straits tomorrow, wind permitting.

Were winding down and getting close to the end of this amazing experience and have had virtually no problems throughout the trip that amounted to anything serious. count our blessings and keep our fingers crossed till were home and the trip is complete.

Not looking forward to going back to work but alas not much choice. Gotta pay for this little endeavor now and restock the bank account for the next time. Yes there will be a next time.

August 23, Our 34th anniversay

Our next boat, in our dreams

34 years ago today we were married. After four months together on the boat we may make it another couple of years. I think we still like each other and have not tried to throw each other overboard more than a couple of times.

We left Nanaimo this morning about 10 and ran Dodd Narrows just after flood began with about a 2 knott current. No problems



Dodd Narrows

We sitting in Maple Bay at the Maple Bay Yacht Club Reciprocal dock. Nice place and I am a bit surprised we found an opening here at all. But we got here fairly early and there was plenty of space. Its full up now however.

James, we are seeing a bunch of 26 tollys up here. We have actually seen a couple f McGregors as well but far more 26 tollys are in service in the Gulf Islands and Alaska for that matter.



26 foot tollys are popular boats

Steve we found a new boat for you and you would not have to change the name.



The bees have finally arrived. We have had virtually no bugs and no bees throughout this trip but today we have bees flying around. Chris bought two of these paper fake wasp nests that are supposed to scare away bees. I think they are nesting in them now.

Were supposed to get more wind tonight, winds up to 35 mph forcast for after midnight so we decided on a dock rather than a new untested anchor that I picked up in Nanaimo.

I picked up a 40 lb bruce since Glens seemed to do all right the whole time we were in alaska and then Iread all the anchor tests and found out that the Bruce Anchor faired worse than all others combined for holding power. It sets everytime but drags an very low forces. so when I get back I guess I will contact the manufacture of my other anchor and see if the will send me a new one or go check out second wave to see if they have a CQR for cheap. That is what I had on the old boat and it seemed to do quite well and faired better in all the tests than the Bruce except it did not have as high a percentage of sets as did the Bruce. Too many variables to be sure what to use but for sure heavier is better.

Schedule is Todd Inlet and Buchart Gardens weather permitting Sunday or Monday.
Friday Harbor and customs on Tuesday
Wednesday cross Straits of Juan De Fuca to Port Townsend area
Thrusday run down to Quartermaster or all the way to Cutts Island
Friday Longbranch for the club cruise.
Sat and Sun at Longbranch
Sunday home
Monday Back to work if I remember what it is, where it is and what I do?
It will take about two weeks to unload the boat and clean it after living on it for four months.

August 22, 2008

Sunset before the storm at Lund

Nanaimo BC.
We left Lund Wednesday morning during a short lull in the winds. We stayed two nights, Monday and Tuesday, waiting for the winds to abate. It looks like we made a good decision about where to wait out the weather. After talking to some other boaters and hearing their horror stories about sitting out the storm at anchor the decision to find a dock was a sound one. The first night at Lund was not too bad but it was obvious that the winds kicked up fairly strong that afternoon and a run towards Powell River would have been fairly rough. We talked to a couple sailboats who came in from Powell river the second day they said it was a wild ride, like running through a car wash and it was even worse the day before coming up from Pender Harbor to Powell river which is when we would have been running that section if we had not stopped at Lund when we did. .
The second night, Tuesday, in Lund was a dark and stormy night just as they predicted, boy howdy! They predicted 35 plus mph winds and we certainly had that. The floating breakwater we were on was moving 30 or 40 feet back and forth during the peak winds and the canvas sounded like it was going to come apart at times. We had thunder and lightening and it rained several inches. I clocked steady 20 mph winds at the dock so I can only imagine how bad it was out where there was no protection. The floating breakwater that we were tied to is only about 100 yards inside the point of rock that protects Lund from a SE wind. We could see the rollers going by just off the breakwater and they were 3 to 4 footers easily and every boat that came in was rocking violently. Those that chanced going south bound were taking water over the top and they were only a quarter mile away from us so there was not much land protecting us from the winds. Again, I am very happy we were at a dock and not on an anchor. We spoke to some folks later who said they were anchored on Jedidiah Island, SE of Texada and they said they clocked 40 mph winds in the anchorage and their anchors dragged and had to be reset several times during the night to keep from being driven onto the rocks. The next night they were in Garden bay and the wind was so strong there that it tilted them sideways at the dock. Another couple who were in Lund the second night with us said that they were in Squirrel Cove with 70 other boats the first night and several of them drug anchor in 25 mph winds. People who were in Tenedos Bay also drug anchor all night. One guy behind us at Nanaimo apparently lost his tender during the storm and never found it.
We Left Lund Wednesday morning with the forecast for the winds to increase again around noon but figured we could make it down to Nelson Island where there were a couple of options for shelter if they did pick up
The winds were fine when we left but for the first several miles there were good 3 foot rollers off our Starboard forward quarter that made for an uncomfortable ride for about the first hour. After that we got behind Texada Island and the rollers went away and the remainder of the ride was quite nice. We tucked into Musket Island Marine Park on Hardy Island about noon just as the winds were beginning to pick up as forecast.
We tried to anchor but for some reason could not seem to get the anchor to bite. We tried 4 times and each time the anchor just skidded across the bottom with no bite whatsoever. I finally pulled it up all the way and there was no anchor. The plow portion of the anchor had sheared right off the shank and the shank was all that was left attached to the chain. Not a good thing.



All that is left of the Anchor

I quickly rigged the spare anchor and was able to get it to grab and then got us stern tied but I was a bit concerned about the direction we were facing if the winds picked up a lot and sure enough they did. The SE winds curled around the headland we were behind and put a pretty big strain on the anchor and the stern tie was tight enough to play music on. I decided that this was not the best place to be in a strong SE wind so we pulled the anchor and moved across the bay to Nelson Island and Ballet Bay which was a good move as the winds if anything were even stronger than the previous two nights. Ballet Bay is much more protected and once we got tucked in we did not even feel a breeze the rest of the night. But it rained again even harder than the night before and by morning I had about 6 inches of water in the dinghy to pump out.
Ballet Bay is nice but it is surrounded by private property which limits the available access to shore but for a storm shelter it is as good as it gets. Each time on this trip that there have been strong wind warnings we have been able to find secure shelter and usually have found a dock to tie to. Lesson learned, if there are high winds predicted, find shelter and say put. We were certainly more comfortable at a dock during the wind storm at Ketchikan and Annette Inlet and again at Lund than we would have been at anchor. The other wind storm when we were at Meyers Cove in Meyers Passage either never materialized or we were tucked away in a good spot. We going shopping for a bigger heavier anchor however since there is not always a convenient dock to tie to when the weather changes.



Ballet Bay after the storm

Thursday morning the winds had quieted down completely and we had a perfect day to motor across the Straits of Georgia to Nanaimo. We stopped briefly at Pender Harbor to pick up some diesel since we have been going about 40 hours since filling at Port McNeil. Figured I might be running a bit short and running out of fuel in the middle of the straits would not be a good idea.



Calm water in the Straits of Georgia

We were able to get a spot inside the harbor at Nanaimo and I think were going to stay a couple days and go exploring. The city has a bunch of parks with bike trails so we may actually get to use the bikes Sherm and Nancy gave us and of course Newcastle Island has all sorts of hiking trails to walk the dog on.

August 19th Still in Lund

We decided to stop at Lund due to the predicted high winds for the afternoon. We probably could have made it to Powell River before the picked up but there was no gurantee there would be room there and there are not many other options.
We woke up this am and I decided against a run down for the same reason and the winds if anything were worse this am than they were the day before.
Apparently we made a good choice. We talked to a couple folks who came up from Powell river and they said it was like being in a washing machine and it was worse the day before south of Powell River. So we could have made it but it would have been 40 miles of rough ride and I see no reason to do that right now.

It looks like the weather will get worse before it gets better. Looked at the satellite photo of the weather system and it looks like a lot of clouds out there and one tight low pressure system. Winds up to 35 or 40 predicted or tonight. OH boy.

We are safe in harbor so not to worry. If we get a chance to run south we will but most likely we will be here one more day and shoot for Thursday or even friday when the winds will shift to NW and be behind us. Still forcasting 25 plus MPH winds however for the rest of the week.
10 to 20 MPH winds we can do, 25 to 35 is not so much fun.

just photos

Our boats at Teakerne arm from above the falls.



Falls at Teakerne Arm



Chris took this photo and I swear I am in the photo but you have to look close



The Alaska Crew at the Lake, Teakerne Arm



Dinghy rides from squirrel cove to Refuge cove



Playing in the reversing rapids into Squirrel cove lagoon

August 18, Lund

Foggy morning leaving Lagoon cove



Intimidating Johnstone Straits, like glass and a little fog.

We stopped at Lund to wait out the winds that were predicted sometime this am. We probably could have made it all the way down but it is about 2 pm here now and the wind has been kicking up the last couple of hours. So probably a good idea to stay here. We will get the laundry done, fill up with water and do some grocery shopping while were here. LUnd is the northern most point on Hwy 101. You cannot drive any further than this. We have been here many times with our kayaks as this is the starting point for many of our kayak trips into desolation sound.

The place is changing, there is a big new bakery restaurant, a big new modern home that was not here last time we were up and there appears to be several new large homes just north of lund across from the copeland Islands. someone has money to invest apparently.

I have not been putting in any photos now that we are relying on the air card and roaming charges force me to limit my time on line. But I am using the Lund hotel computer so i will throw a bunch of photos on this time to catch yall up with what we have been up to and the terrible conditions we have been dealing with up here.

August 17th Sunday at Prudeaux Haven

We cruised down from Pendrell Sound to Prudeaux Haven, probably the most popular spot in Desolation Sound for boaters. It is nice but the water is not as warm or as clean as in Pendrell Sound. We spent the day kayaking, dropped the shrimp pot, x our fingers and hope we do better.

Weather is changing. Looks like several days of big winds so not sure if we will make it south of Lund till that all changes. We could be in a worse place for the weather to go bad on us so we will just wait and see.

Probably will not be able to meet up with Sherm and Nancy now down around smugglers cove since we would have to make the full run tomorrow and that is not likely. The weather and water was simply too warm to leave up here any sooner.

We will stop in Lund tomorrow weather permitting and reprovision and fill up with water. Tuesday we may try to sneak as far as Powell River and then if there is a weather window scoot down to Pender Harbor and wait for the right wind conditions to cross the Straits to the gulf Islands.

Marine Forecast
Winds
Issued 04:00 PM PDT 17 August 2008
Tonight and MondayStrong wind warning in effect. Wind variable 10 knots becoming northwest 10 to 15 this evening then diminishing to light Monday morning. Wind becoming southeast 10 to 15 Monday afternoon then increasing to 15 to 25 Monday evening.

Extended Forecast
Issued 04:00 PM PDT 17 August 2008
Tuesday Wind southeast 15 to 25 knots increasing to 25 to 35 late in the day.
Wednesday Wind southeast 25 to 35 knots diminishing to 10 to 15.
Thursday Wind southeast 10 to 15 knots becoming northwesterly 15 to 20

August 17th Pendrell Sound

We left Teakerne Arm and went just a few miles to Squirrel cove on the 15th. Squirrel cove was very crowded, counted 64 boats in the cove with us including Impulsive, Kenny and Cindy Spiker from the club. They are not hard to miss with the two lighted palm trees on their back deck. After a day of kayaking and floating the reversible river that runs in and out of the lagoon in water that measured 75 degrees, we spent the evening on Kenny’s boat enjoying the full moon, clear sky and warm evening, of course with drink in hand.

Liz and Glen headed south to try and make it across the straits of Georgia before the next wind event and make it to a company retirement event that he is somewhat obligated to attend. We will continue south and maybe meet up with them somewhere in south sound just before labor day at Long Branch.

We were going to go to Grace Harbor but we have been there and heard that the water in Pendrell Sound is the warmest anywhere on the coast. Having never been there we went up and discovered a bit of heaven. There is nothing about this place in any of the guide books which is good because if there were it would be even more crowded than we found it. It is hard to set an anchor because the shores are all steep to, dropping to 150 plus feet within a few feet of shore. We had a really tough time setting the anchor, could not get it to set before we were right on the rocks, tried about 5 times at two different spots when we saw the Impulsive and Kenny asked us to raft up to them. They had one of the better spots near the only shallow area and so we dropped anchor next to them and backed in alongside where they were stern tied. I felt a bit better about not getting my anchor set when one of our neighbors mentioned that he has been coming her for years and more than once he has given up and left after being unable to get his anchor to set in the steep rocky bottom.
We ended up having a perfect spot, beautiful view down the sound with a 2000 foot peak rising at the head. The water here was 77 degrees and of course we spent a good part of the afternoon floating in the water before retiring to the back deck and getting to know the Spiker’s a bit better and they us. They were just made official members of the yacht club at the August Colors cruise even though they have been coming to cruises for the last two years and all along we thought they had been members longer than us.

Shrimp report, 0. Yep they won another round.

The sound we are in is a oyster preserve. The water is so warm it is where commercial operations raise oysters and the entire bay is a no wake zone so as not to disturb the operation and of course you cannot pick oysters here and it is a Rock Fish Conservation area so you cannot fish either.

Were going to Prudeaux Haven tonight, then Lund and then probably down Malispina Strait weather permitting to Pender harbor to get ready to cross the Strait of Georgia to the gulf Islands.

August 11, Rebecca Spit

We spent two nights in Von Donop Inlet. It is a quiet spot, the wind did finally die down later Saturday afternoon but then we had a pretty good thunder storm blow over us. We watched the clouds light up and listened to the thunder for about half an hour and then it started to rain. The aft canvas filled up and dumped right on top of poor Sophie who was not expecting a cold shower. Next morning we woke to sunny skies. We went exploring by dinghy and snuck into the small lagoon at high water and then decided to hike the short trail to Squirrel cove on the opposite side of the island. Supposed to be a 20 minute walk but there were minimal signs and the fork we took ended up leading us right back to the lagoon we had just explored by dink. We never made it to Squirrel cove.

Dropped the shrimp pot outside of the entrance to the inlet in about 280 feet of water. I picked up an ez puller from lagoon cove after pulling 400 feet of line twice without the aid of Glen and his dinghy I decided that 50 bucks was worth it if it made things easier. It does. My float is not big enough, I sank it as I raised the pot and then it stayed submerged so I have to get a bigger float. We did get about a dozen good sized shrimp however.

We pulled anchor and took a leisurely 10 mile run up to Rebecca Spit via Evans Bay. I wanted to check out the bay for future anchorage but it is not worth returning to as all the bay is exposed to south winds and the sore is dotted with private homes.

Rebecca Spit is a popular spot. There must be 30 plus boats here and all the shallow spots are taken so we anchored in 80 feet of water on the second try.
Chris is none too sure about our anchor since it has dragged twice on this trip so she had forbidden me to leave today fearing we will drag again. I think we set pretty well but this is an exposed anchorage a Southeast or Northwest wind decides to kick up. I guess she will have to take Sophie for her walk by kayak.

For some reason the Skype no longer works. On the way north whenever we had connectivity with the air card (at great expense) we could connect with skype. But ever since we have returned to BC, when we are connected, Skype does not recognize the connection and when you try to call it gives you a message that says “skype cannot initiate a call when off line” Makes no sense, we are on line and can do internet but not Skype. This whole staying connected thing in BC is hard sort out. No single system works everywhere or all the time.

August 15, Teakerne Arm

The last couple of days have been really tough. The sun has been out, the temperature is in the 70’s and 80’s and yesterday if the thermometer can be trusted it was in the 90’s.
The water is in the 70’s so we have spent the last two day swimming. Yesterday we spent most of the day in the water. This place has a large waterfall that comes out of a lake a short distance inland. We hiked up to the lake with all the other boaters and spent a hour or so swimming in fresh water, then returned and took a shower under the falls before returning to the boat. We even got Sophie in the water a couple of times, not willingly however. The people at the lake thought we were torturing the poor animal.
This place is like Lake Washington on a summer day. There were boats of all kinds in here enjoying the warm water and scenery. There were people skiing behind jet skis, kits on tubes behind inflatable dinghy’s and lots and lots of boats that came in for just the day or to hike up to the lake. We are very definitely back in civilization now, we share our anchorage with lots of other boats and people now.

Today is going to be a repeat of yesterday, sunny and hot.
We left Octopus Islands after two nights there. They are a beautiful but crowded place but there was plenty of room with a stern tie to shore. We paddled around the area by Kayak and did some exploring. Glen and I did some fishing, just outside of the Rock Fish conservation area which means it is closed to all kinds of fishing. We both caught a couple bottom fish for fresh bait for the shrimp pot which we pulled twice and got nothing. The shrimp are even winning the fishing battle now. No shrimp or crab for the last week.

Not sure where we are headed today, probably spend a good portion here and then move down a few miles to Squirrel cove.

August 8, Von Donop Inlet

We left Cameleon harbour this morning about 1030 and hit dent and Yuculta rapids just before slack to slide through without any problems along with dozens and dozens of other boats all headed south with a few headed north.

Weather was warm yesterday and started that way today but right now it has clouded up and is blowing pretty hard inside the inlet where no winds are supposed to be able to reach. It was blowing 25 plus outside when we came in.

We will hold up here for a day or two and enjoy the place.

Now that we are south of all the hazardous passages and big water we can sit back and relax. The only challenge left is to get across the straits of Georgia and after what we have seen and done that should be a piece of cake.

Fish are still winning. Tried again last night, caught two dogfish and a small halibut off the boat at anchor and watched a large salmon jump next to the boat but without a salmon tag we did not throw him any bait.

August 7,2008

We are in lagoon Cove today. We left Potts lagoon about 10 this morning after a pleasant night anchored there. We explored the inner lagoon by kayak and apparently missed at least half of it not realizing how big it was. Interesting place with ruins of an old dam of some sort and tumbled down cabins along the shore.

We got into Lagoon Cove early, good thing because after we arrived a group of half dozen Grand Banks boats arrived and we watched as th obviously inexperienced captains tried docking. It turns out all the boats are two week leased and they are part of the mother goose expeditions. Guided by one experienced boater all the rest come out for a two week period an do a section of the alaska trip. This group is on the final leg home to Bellingham.

No luck with shrimp or crab last night and after two weeks of fishing for salmon I finally realized I do not have a salmon stamp for Candada. Good thing I have not caught any salmon up here.

We will try for Blin channel tomorrow and then head down through Yuculta rapids the next day and spend the rest of the time before Glen and Liz return in Desolation. Might not have any connectivity for a while once we are in desolation.

August , Port Mcneil

Reflections



Sunset in Echo Bay

We returned to Port McNeil today and dropped off Buck and Lisa for their long drive home. We talked them into staying one more day which was not hard to do. After doing the Pig Feed at Echo Bay we went up to Kwatsi Bay about 10 miles up Tribune Channel. We had good intel that there was good shrimping to be had in the bay directly across from it. It was good intel and we did fairly well but we were augmented with a few extras by Larry and Kathy who were a bit more succesful with four pots to our one.

Kwatsi is an interesting place, tucked in among towering rock cliffs. Last November at 6 in the morning a massive avalance of trees and mud slid off the cliffs and missed the home of the marina owners by about 100 feet. Must have been a pretty exciting few minutes.


We tried out hand at fishing in the bay and fortuneately for us we did not catch anything but a large shark. There were 18 to 20 lab salmon jumping all over but they had no interest in anything we put in the water. It was a good thing cause Larry told me later that Kwatsi bay is closed to all fin fishing. Hoo Boy!\

The evening was glorious with warm sun and blue sky but shortly after the sun went behind the mountains the fog rolled in. Next morning we were greeted by heavy dew and think fog. We also watched as two large cougars came down to the shoreline and prowled the waterline for about 30 minutes. We got a few good shots of them from a distance.





As we left the bay I called the marina opeerator, Anka, and told her of the cougars thinking the other boaters there might like to see them. She reacted quickly when I told her there were two cougars working their way down the shoreline towards them. She said "Two Cougars!!!!" Yes two. We then saw her running up the dock to her house and s few moments later she called her husband on the marine VHF and said, Get home, NOW, I need you here!. His proper response, I am on my way!.

I guess they must have had problems with cougars cause they were not happy about the sighting and I doubt if they were going out to take photos of them.

We stayed in Waddington Bay last night and woke again to thick fog. The night before I sent Lisa and Buck out in the dinghy to drop the shrimp pot and they came back about 45 minutes later all excited. They had been surrounded by about a hundred porpoises swimming, jumping and following the dinghy within arms reach. They did not have a camera so the came back to get us and the camera to proove it really happened. We went back out and for about 20 minutes we sat in the dingy and watched a huge pod of them swimming, jumping clear out of the water and swimming at breakneck speed right under our boat. Buck was able to reach out and touch one as it went by. Pretty exciting stuff.

We went back and enjoyed Shrimp Cocktails, Fried halibut, Shrimp skewers and crab for dinner. A better meal could not be had in any of the finest restaurants. What a way to send Buck and Lisa off. I think they had a grand time.

We will slowly head south now, working our way down into Desolation Sound in about a week. tomorrow night maybe Lagoon Cove, then Forward Harbor and then catch the tides back through Dent and Yuculta rapids into Desolation.

after the storm

July 31, only one more month left

Buck and Lisa drove up from Seattle to Port McNeil and joined us yesterday. They were a bit later than we thought, not that it really mattered, but I was headed up to the Laundromat to check emails to see if they had left a message for us since there is no way to call us on a phone up here. Glen has the only working phone and he and Liz had already headed out and we were going to meet them after picking up Buck and Lisa. As I got to the head of the dock, they pulled in and parked and I think it took them both a few moments to recognize the bearded one, I look a bit too much like a local right now.

They had a few things they needed to shop for and had to arrange for someplace to leave their car for a week and then we were off. We only had a short run down across Blackfish Sound to meet up with Glen behind Mound island. It was uneventful on calm water under gray skies. It is quite cool right now with rain forecast for the next couple of days but no wind of significance is expected. That will be good.

I had to replace my windshield wiper motor on the fly bridge for the Seaview window insert. Lucky it was a standard part and the marine store had several in stock. I turned the wiper on during the heavy rainstorm we passed through yesterday but forgot to turn it off as we were navigating between rocks and things. As I docked I began to smell something hot, not quite like overheated wires but close. I started checking wires on the bridge, under the command console, under seats, and I finally touched the wiper motor I nearly burned my hand it was so hot. The wiper had stopped in mid stroke on the dry window and the motor burned up trying to move it. Lesson, don’t run the wiper on a dry window. Gil Fetzner had warned me about that problem before I left, as he did the same thing with his new Seaview window just showing people how his new window insert worked.

We docked next to Dave and Janet Robinson on Ashanti, other club members who were just hanging out at Port McNeil. Shortly after we arrived, Jim and Marcia Krell on Chinoo, another club member arrived and docked just across from us. We had first run across Chinoo at Ketchikan on the way up back in May. They too are headed home.

Buck brought up more fishing gear and says we are going to catch fish this week. Were going to give it our best and see what happens. The fish seem to finally running so just maybe there is a salmon out there with my name on it. We even pulled out the fishing for salmon made easy book and read it to find out how it is supposed to work. Stay tuned for more fish stories.

We joined Liz and Glen as planned at the Mound Island Anchorage. It rained all day and then it rained harder. We moved up to Joes Cove on Eden Island after a slow run through the many islands that make up the Broughtons. We tried fishing for a while off Mamalilaculla, the old Indian village on Village Island; again the fish won another round.

Joes Cove is a nice secure anchorage but there were several other boats that we shared the anchorage with. We went out in the Dinghy’s for another try at catching a fish and once again, the fish won. We tried numerous different lures and bait none of which seemed to entice the fish to nibble. It kept raining and after a couple hours in the rain in the dinghy and as the rain got even harder Buck and I decided to retreat and let the fish win this round.

Next morning the rain let up, there were patches of blue sky and as it turned out we were finally going to see blue sky and sun in the afternoon. Glen got reservations for us at Pierres at Echo Bay for Friday and Saturday for the pig roast so we pulled the empty crab pots and near empty shrimp pots and trolled our way towards the next stop. The fish won another round today and Buck is now convinced that there is really something to the Miner Curse which prevents us from catching anything significant.

Pierres at Echo Bay is a great place and our first real social event since leaving home. There are dozens of boats and there are a number of old acquaintances here. I spotted a boat headed in to the bay just ahead of us and the captain looked amazingly like Larry Claiborne and the first mate much like Kathy. At lo and behold it was. So we spent a pleasant afternoon at happy hour talking to them and recounting our various experiences and voyages. We found a couple other boats from the yacht club, Ray and Sue Biggs and Richard and Merlyn Symms were here as well.

Katie said you all wanted to know if we survived the storm. We did but it was a was a dark and stormy harrowing night and for a while we were not sure we would make it. The wind blew 60 plus, the waves were an epic 18 feet high and the rain came sideways. We had extra lines out, double the fenders and prayed the docks would survive the night and that we would not have to seek refuge in the fish cannery next door.

At least thats what it was like somewhere near us but fortuneatly for us, not at our dock. We spent a perfectly calm and quiet night with nary a ripple on the water. The fish smell did blow the opposite direction all night so at least we were relieved of that ominous threat. We were quite comfortable in Port Hardy as was most of the fishing fleet that came in to wait out the storm. We could see the waves out in front of the harbor a mile or so out in the strait but the trees did not even sway on the hills around us. It did rain a bit but not enough to keep us from walking to town again. I would not have wanted to be out in the straits however because it was as I described above out there just a mile from us and at Cape Scott just 45 miles to the north they were reporting 60 mph steady winds with higher gusts. The 18 foot waves were reported in the area we crossed the day before.

Today we are in Port McNeil, 16 miles tot he south after Sherm and Nancy left bright and early this morning to fly home we shoved off and went in search of the elusive salmon. They are still elusive and the score remains the same Tom 0, Salmon winning.

We got some more advice on how to catch salmon so we spent some more money on different lures and frozen anchovies. Yep were going to try fishing with Anchovies.

Port McNeil is a much nicer place than Port Hardy, smaller however but it does not have a smelly fish cannery.

Glen and Liz continued on south a bit and will wait for us in the Broughtons tomorrow after we pick up Buck and Lisa. Hopefully they will make it here by early afternoon so we can shove off and get back to our search for the wild salmon.

One positive thing about last nights stay at Port Hardy is we caught about half a dozen crab right off the docks in about an hour and had crab and steak for dinner. Funny thing is that I left the pot down all night figuring I would have a full pot by morning. Nothing in the pot at all when I brought it up. Go figure. 6 in an hour and then nothing. Even the crab are getting the upper hand on us.

Right now I am sitting in the laundry mat doing the wash with Chris and using thier free internet connection so this one is comming your way without any photos.

And yes, my official return date is still September 2. My budget for fuel is gone so I may be rowing the last 300 miles and will have to go back to work to pay off the second and third mortgage I had to take out for fuel. Hopefully Buck got the message to bring long oars with him.

July 27th, Port Hardy

Reflections on a perfect morning



Outer passage, south bound from Prince Rupert

We crossed Queen Charlotte Strait this morning with relative ease. Chris did not much like it but it was a much easier crossing than the one we did northbound. We had little wind and 4 foot rollers that were a bit uncomfortable but nothing that caused us to take any spray over the top. We kicked up the speed to shorten the time in crossing and were over in less than four hours. Glen decided he was going to go and explore Nakwato rapids despite the storm warning that came out this morning. There is a 920 MB low in the gulf that is going to be making it presence known sometime early tomorrow morning in the way of 45 to 50 mph winds from the SE. The coast guard made a special weather warning announcement at 10 am this morning. The weather service is calling this an unprecedented low pressure system for this time of year. According to the books this type of wind is virtually “nil” during June, July and August. Not sure where Glen is tonight, hopefully somewhere nice and snug.

Were secure at a fairly substantial dock outside of the breakwater at Port Hardy. There was no room inside, all space was reserved and occupied so were relegated to the outer docks. It could be an interesting day tomorrow but it should not be too bad where we are. The worst part of this place is the fish smell. We are adjacent the fish processing plant and every once in a while, no almost always there is an overpowering smell of fish wafting through the air. It is not very pleasant. Our only other option is to make a run for Port McNeil but there is no guarantee of dock space and we cannot raise the harbor master to see if there is any. So were going to weather the storm and the smell here. We moved behind the new concrete dock and off the old wood dock and pointed the bow towards the direction of the wind so we should do better when it does get here. The advantage of the storm is we will be up wind from the fish processing plant so the smell should blow away from us.



Our view and the source of the offending fish odor

Apparently the fishing is very good for the last couple of days anyway. We wove our way through dozens of small fishing boats out on the point today and have watched them come in all day long with their catch.

We walked the town today, a nice walk but it being Sunday, most everything was closed down except the latte stand and book store.

Our AT&T go phones are not working. For some reason AT&T says my phone number is not valid and so I cannot add any money to the account which is at a zero balance. Chris’s phone just will not work. So we are back to being phoneless again.

We are a day ahead of schedule to get Sherm and Nancy off due to weather so we will sit around tomorrow and read books, play dominoes and try to keep the boat from breaking loose from the dock.



This is the direction the wind will come when it does arrive

Marine Forecast
Winds
Issued 04:00 PM PDT 27 July 2008
Tonight and Monday Gale warning in effect. Wind northwest 10 to 15 knots diminishing to light early this evening and becoming southeast 10 to 20 late overnight. Wind increasing to southeast 20 to 30 early Monday morning and to 30 to 40 late Monday morning. Wind increasing to southeast 35 to 45 Monday afternoon.

Waves
Issued 02:00 PM PDT 27 July 2008
Today Tonight and Monday Seas 1 metre building to 2 to 3 late Monday morning and to 3 to 5 Monday afternoon.

July 25, 2008

Were sitting in Oliver Cove Provincial Marine Park off Reid Passage which is just north of Shearwater. We had a relatively short run from Meyers Passage today because we got a late start. We decided to go exploring by dinghy, just a short 20 mile excursion to the end of Alexander inlet. We figured not too many people ever venture to the far end because it is the middle of nowhere but when we got there, two boats were anchored there. Nice place but it is well off the beaten path.



Yes that is a bent propeller and shaft stuck in the rock in front of the sign. Warning, rocks win when you run over them.



The gale force winds never materialized that was predicted. We had a perfectly calm evening and it did not start clouding up till much later today and right now it is raining. We came back down via moss passage which took us into Milbank Sound where the rollers were getting bigger by the minute. Somewhere out there the wind is kicking up and causing these big waves. This was not Liz water and she was not feeling well, skipping dinner after less than 20 minutes in them. I was even getting a bit queasy so were happy that were sitting here safe in the anchorage. Right now just outside of our anchorage, the rollers are breaking on the rocks in big white plumes of froth and spray. Hopefully they die down a bit by tomorrow so we can sneak across Seaforth Channel and into Shearwater without too much rocking and rolling.

I went exploring in the dinghy after taking Sophie for her walk and found a black bear lying in the grass in a small cove just out of sight of the big boats. We were in the dinghy about 50 feet away and the bear showed little or now interest in us until Sophie spotted the bear and started barking. The bear got up and slowly walked towards the trees stopping to check us out several times before disappearing into the woods. Unlike the brown and grizzly’s we saw that ran the minute the saw us, this one was in no hurry to get away.

I went back after dinner with Chris, Sherm and Nancy to see if the bear had come back but no such luck.

We are going to try and get into position to run across Queen Charlotte Strait on Sunday. That means we need to be at Fury Cove tomorrow night. It sounds like our window for good weather for crossing is just one day with high winds forecast later in the week.

tough life



perfect morning in Monckton Cove


Calm before the storm, outside route

July 25 from in front of Klemtu

July 25, Meyers Cove in Meyers passage

We left Monckton Cove this morning intending to head inland to avoid the pending gale force winds that were predicted for late afternoon. The day was unbelievable. It was clear blue sky and no wind and the water was like glass. The updated weather report seemed to indicate the low that was headed our way may have stalled a bit and that we might be able to finish our outside route before it hit so we went for it. The outside route down Laredo Channel is beautiful. There is a number of possible inlets and protected anchorages along the way and I had all of them plotted just in case the front moved in faster than we anticipated. If the wind had picked up while we were out there it wound not be a nice place. The fetch and size of these waters is nothing to take lightly. Camano Sound is 10 miles across and opens to the ocean, Laredo sound is 5 miles wide and opens to the south west ocean swell. But the scenery is unbelievable, the islands a totally different climate and eco system. The islands are rock with a shallow layer of dirt for trees to take root so anything that grows is small and sparse. It looks more like an eastern Washington topography instead of a pacific coastal one. The outer passage is definitely worth doing if the weather is right and one needs about four days to do it right and spend some time exploring the many coves, inlets and lagoons that proliferate the area. We were very disappointed that we could not spend more time around the Anger Island area or that we could not stop there for a night as there are miles and miles of inlets to explore by dinghy. We needed to keep moving and get further south than those anchorages would allow.

We made it to Meyers Passage, a distance of 72 miles, just as the barometer began to fall and the wind changed from the NW to the SW and picked up a bit. The high cirrus clouds were forming and it looked like we timed it just right. Two large cruise ships entered Laredo Sound from the ocean as we crossed it heading towards protected waters in Meyers Passage. We found Meyers Cove just at the narrows of Meyers Passage and were able to get the anchor down and firmly set as the wind seemed to be picking up. But then the wind died and the clouds dissipated and as evening wore on it got nicer. Were still waiting for the winds to pick up which should happen sometime tonight and the clouds and rain to roll in but as of midnight the stars are out in all their brilliance and the winds are dead calm. The latest weather forecast still calls for Gale force winds but now scheduled for Friday morning into the afternoon.

We have made it further south that we thought we might, equal distance to being at Klemtu on the inside route. We might run north a bit and see Fjordlands National park on our way to Shearwater and Bella Bella tomorrow weather and wind permitting.

We had a fabulous dinner thanks to Liz of pasta, crabmeat, tomato crab bisk and fresh bread. You would pay big bucks for such a meal in a restaurant and it would be hard to beat the setting here in the middle of wilderness on the back of Glen and Liz’s boat, watching eagles soar overhead and enjoying the beautiful sun and blue sky. Tough life but someone has to do it and it may as well be us.


July 23, 2008

Ok, I have finally lost track of time. What was the last thing I posted? Leaving Prince Rupert at 130 on Monday, we actually got kicked out by the harbor master, evicted I think, apparently we overstayed our welcome. But we were ready to leave anyway. There was a 15 mph wind and current pushing me up against the dock but we got away cleanly. The outside of the dock is not a great place to be cause the dozens of fishing boats that come and go all day keep your rocking. I was more queasy sitting at the dock that I was crossing Dixon Entrance.

Leaving Prince Rupert I had to dodge dozens of gill netters and their nets. The wind had kicked up the waves and the three foot rollers made it hard to see the nets. With Sherm and Chris helping me find the identifying orange floats that mark the end of the nets we were able to avoid running over any of them. Running over a net is likely to ruin both the gill netters day and ours.

We stayed at Captains Cove at the west end of Ogden Channel. It is a very good anchorage. The guide book talks about a noisy logging operation that detracts from the site but that operation has been shut down for at least 5 or six years by the large amount of new growth on the log dump platform.

I managed to catch two nice cutthroat trout out of the river that flows in the bay but nothing else was biting. We did well with the crab pots catching 12 in the two pots we put down. Unfortunately we did not do so well with the shrimp pots, catching nothing but snails in either one.

Leaving Captains cove we headed south to Monckton inlet via Ala Passage. Ala Passage is a narrow, rock strewn meandering passage that cuts out about 10 miles of open water in Principal Channel. It is much more scenic and enjoyable albeit a bit more challenging than the open water. Glen led the way since he had electronic charts that covered the route while both my Nobeltec and C map were missing the necessary charts for this particular area. Not sure why but they are not there. Without detailed information there is no way one could safely maneuver through this pass. I had the paper charts and those helped but it would not be easy using paper charts alone. I have to admire those captains who used only paper charts to find their way around these waters, I guess were spoiled by GPS which shows where you are at any given moment within a few yards. I do keep the charts handy and follow along using chart books just in case the electrons fail but so far they have been almost flawless for both Glen and I on this trip.

Principal channel is huge. For as far as you can see to the SE and back NW the channel runs without obstruction. It is several miles wide and if there were a gale blowing either direction this would be one ugly piece of water to be on. Luckily there are numerous inlets to pull into to get out of the weather if the wind were to pick up.

Monckton inlet is another amazing place. We are tucked in a small cove on the north side of the inlet, entry through two narrow openings into a small bay, just big enough for the two boats in about 25 feet of water. We took a dinghy ride to explore the far reaches of the inlet after a dinner of crab, salad and fresh baked biscuits. At the end of the inlet is a small lagoon which we were unable to enter due to the low tide. I am not sure you could enter it even at high tide by dinghy. We also found a small creek entering the lagoon a little further down the inlet. The water coming out of the creek was 65 degrees while the water outside is four or five degrees colder. Not sure what makes the water so much warmer, a hot spring or a large shallow lake that the creek drains from, guess we will never know on this trip. In the same bay we found a man made rock dam. My guess is it is a fish trap of some kind, as the tide goes out it forms a shallow pool from which fish could be caught. No telling how long ago it was built. For sure there is not any sign of active use or any sign of human activity of any kind in the entire inlet.

The entrance to the inner bay is a bit tight. The map shows only 6 feet of water at low tide but we anchored in 25 feet and we only had a 6 foot tide that night. It does show only about 6 feet in the entrance and Glen got down to 2 feet as we left. He went a bit further south than I did, by just a few feet and came close while I saw a minimum depth of 8 feet as I left. Gotta be careful in these places and make sure you are spot on in your navigation to avoid the rocks and shallows in these places.

By the way, the gale winds never appeared.

July 21, Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert

We made it! We managed to get across Dixon Entrance after yesterdays aorted attempt. We left this morning at 0630 to take advantage of the predicte weather window. The weather bouy's were still reporting 7 foot seas but winds were down to 15 to 20. We had about 3 hours of 7 foot rollers but the wind was down and the rest of the crossing was relatively simple and easy. If these were 7 footers today, and I believe they were, yesterdays had to be 10 or 12 footers. Everyone made it across ok including Liz who fell asleep part way across. Sleep is the best defense against sea sickness if you can get there before you get sick. We picked up the speed a bit to get through the worst of it faster and probably burned all the fuel I put in in Kethcikan. We were able to maintain about 14 knots once I activated my one good trim tab and got the nose down. Without it we could not get more than 11 knots at full throttle. Trim tabs lowered the nose and made for a much smoother ride through the big stuff. We also followed Glen so he was able to smooth out the waves a bit for us which made it a bit easier and better ride.



Following Glen in 7 foot rollers

We met a couple of brothers who pulled in to Annette Bay and tied up to the float next to us last night. They had been out gill netting at the mouth of th bay when we entered. They told us that the winds kept picking up after we went past them until about an hour later they were getting concerned and guessed the wind speed to be 40 plus with gusts to 50. We actually saw a small water spout blow across the entrance of the bay out past where they were fishing. They said that we made a good decons to turn around because Dixon would be no place for anyone n a small boat tonight. They thought this was one of the worst storms of the season and the weather forcasts had not called for anything this severe. I clocked one gust at 36mph on my wind meter and that was in the shelter of the bay so I know it was blowing much harder out in the open.



Annette Bay during lull in storm


Nancy was over talking to them about fishing and must have told them of the lack o fish in our freezer because one of them brought over a couple of nice salmon for us. We invited them over for ice cream and fresh fruit which they gladly accepted. We had a great evening listening to them talk about their lives as fishermen out of the small village of Metlakatla on the island. Their entire family fishes, all five brothers as well as dad. One of them owns a house in Spanaway and both of them graduated from Bothell High School so it was like talking to neighbors. Really nice guys and enjoyable to listen to. They make a good living fishing and love Alaska.

Were sitting here in Prince Rupert tonight enjoying the warm sun and blue sky which we have not seen for a while. Nancy is cooking one of the salmon and dinner should be great.



dive bombed by a seaplane as we entered Prince Rupert

Once we leave here it may be a while before we post again as we are going to go the outside route down principal channel on the west side of Pitt island and I seriously doubt if we will have any connectivity until we are back in the area of Shearwater.

July 20, Ketchikan 5 miles south

Well, we found out what Dixon entrance is like in wind. Yikes! We turned back at the north end of Mary Island . Reported winds were only 15 but it looked like 30 or 40. We were still in the lee of Mary and Duke Island so we thought it best to head for Kah Shanks Cove instead of Foggy Bay. It was only another few minutes and it was clear that we were not going to make even Kah Shanks taking water all the way over the top of the fly brindge. We turned back so the waves and wind were astern and headed for the nearest cove, Moth bay but when we got there it was quite obvious that there was not enough protection in the cove from the south winds and they were supposed to get even stronger as the afternoon went on.

We found shelter behind Bold Island as we headed north and we agreed that the best opition now was to head to Anette Bay which was well sheltered from south east winds. unfortunately it is only 5 miles south of our starting point in Ketchikan and we travelled about 20 miles to get there.

Hopefully tomorrow we will have lower winds and will give it a try one more time because the reports for later in the week are about the same as for today, higher winds. It is still raining

We found a large dock floating in the end of Annette bay that we tied to. Were the only boats here. At the end of the bay there is an abandoned military base. It looks like a prison camp without fences. Signs say it is the Task Force Alaskan Hiway. It appears to be a base camp for an engineering battalion of navy seabees and army engineers. It looks like it was recently used with tended gardens and fresh tire tracks yet everything looks like it has been boarded up for years.

July 19 Ketchikan

Creek Street in Ketchikan

Storm! Our first storm and thank goodness we were at the dock in Ketchikan. We recorded gusts up to 38 mph in the harbor behind the breakwater last night. It was really blowin and raining hard for the first time. Gale warnings in Dixon entrance with reports of gusts up to 50 mph and wave heights of 13 feet. Good thing we don't have to cross until Sunday or Monday.



Sherm and Nancy got here right on time and brought the rain with them. this was definitely a rain gear type of day. Even so we endd up walking the town and touring the shops along with 5000 of our closest friends from two curise ships. If you want tourist jewelry, nic naks or other useless items you can find them aplenty here in Ketchikan. We found a few of these items and figured they were ideal for family gifts so our christmas gift shopping is done.

debbie, too bad you missed it but We finally got a photo of a killer whale jumping right in front of the boat and some good sized salmon jumping clear out of the water in the river.





Salmon jumping in Ketchikan creek

July 18, Ketchikan

It is Raining, honest to goodness Alaska Rain and blowing. Were tied up to the pier in Ketchikan so were good but it is wet. This is the first real rain we have had since Shoal Bay back in May on our way up. Sherm, Nancy, better pack your rain gear on top of your luggage.

We got in about 1100 am this morning after crossing Clearance strait with 3 foot rollers and 20 knot winds. It was not bad since we got across with the flood tide so the current and wind were going the same direction. I can only imagine that it was quite a bit worse when the tide started ebbing and running against the winds.

Last night we went exploring an found the old indian viallageof Kassaan and the remains of the long house and the remaining totems on the beach. There were a few grave sites and lots of bear sign.

Our refrigeration problem is resolved. We were able to pick up a new refrigerator in town and they delivered it to the boat an hour later. Glen and I had it installed in an hour and were ready to go shopping and restock for the rest of the trip.

Unfortunately as we approached Ketchikan the Glending engine synchronizer stopped workin. We were just rounding the point into Tongas Channel when the port engine started loosing RPM's. My first thought was a plugged fuel filter. I shut off the synchronizer and the RPM's came back up. So tonight I am reviewing the manuals on the Glendening to see if I can troubleshoot the problem and get it running again. It is not as significant a problem as the refrigerator as we can run without it but it is nice to have it working.

Hopefully trouble only comes in threes because I have had the three allowed problems now. Tonight when we got back from dinner at the Ketchikan Yacht Club we were able to open the cabin door without any problem but when we went to open the door to head over the Glen and Liz's boat for our nightly movie the door would not open. the latch has broken and the door will not open. We will work on that tomorrow as well.

July 17, 2008, Snug Harboer Anchorage

We spent the evening of the 15th doing laundry after saying a tearful goodbye to Debbie. She had a wonderful time and we will miss her unbridled enthusiasm for everything Alaska. We had pizza for dinner and brought the leftovers back to the boat and stored it in the refrigerator. Later that night I told Chris that something smelled in the refrigerator but did not think to much more about it. We did a little more shopping for groceries and wandered down the street to look at a jacket that Chris wanted my opinion on. I thought it looked good so she bought it and we ended up talking to the proprietor for about 30 minutes about just about everything including raising kids. We had stopped in a small store that was also the offices of a guide and outfitter. We ended up spending an hour in there talking to the owner and his volunteer summer helpers. They were a husband wife team who were retired from the forest service. He was a former type 1 Incident Management Team Planning Section Chief so he and I talked about incidents we had been on for quite a while. He had been a regular cutomere of the guide for years and had asked if he could work for the guide outfit when he retired from the forest service. For the last two summers he has been coming up with his wife and working on the boat having a grand time. They were kind enough to give me a hand drawn map of some good fishing grounds and guaranteed that if I went there I would catch salmon. I had to promise to not share the secret spot with anyone however so the map is now shredded and the location secretly marked on my own maps. We decided to alter our intended course south and try out hand at fishing there. They were headed out the next morning and would be down there with clients so it sounded like a good bet if we were going to catch any fish before we met us with Glen and Liz.

The morning of the 16th we got up and prepared to get underway. I was just ready to cast of the lines when Chris came on deck and said we might want to wait a minute, the refrigerator seemed to be not working, everything in the freezer was thawed out. Uh oh. I checked the electrical connections and the kitchen outlet had popped its breaker. I reset it thinking that was the problem but in hindsight, the light in the refer never was off and when I checked later the refrigerator was not on the same circuit as the reset circuit.
We ended up throwing out all the frozen foods including several sealed bags of frozen fresh caught crab. That was the most painful part of the whole deal.As it turned out the refrigerator was simply no longer making things cold but we did not determine this until we were well on our way south out of Wrangell. We might have been able to find a refrigerator in Wrangell but it would have been difficult for me to remove the old one and replace it by myself. .

I decided the best option right now was to head south for Ketchikan and hope they had a refrigerator that would fit into the same space. We were out of phone contact so we just had to keep heading south. I tried calling Glen a couple of times to let him know of our change in plans but could not raise him on the air. We stopped for a short while at the secret fish spot and tried trolling a green hoochie but had no luck. We spotted the guide boat about half an hour later just south of the location but still in the area he had identified as a hot spot so I know we were fishing in the right spot but our luck remains bad when it comes to fishing. I wanted to stop and try again but it was getting late and if we were going to make Ketchikan before dark we needed to keep going.

I finally raised Glen as we neared Point Stanhope and discovered they had stayed in a cove in that area and were just getting underway heading south. Between the two of us over the radio we decided to alter plans. They had enough room in their refrigerator to take on what was still good from outs. He had phone contact so he called Ketchikan and found a store that had several refrigerators that would fit in our space. So we decided to hold up short and anchor in Snug cove on the outside of Thorne Bay on the East side of Prince of Whales Island. We would then get into Ketchikan either Thursday or Friday and have time to purchase and install the new refrigerator before Sherm and Nancy arrive on the 19th.

We entered Snug Harbor cautiously because the book again says there is only two feet of water over the entry bar at low tide. We were at mid tide so we were expecting 10 feet or less. We discovered a minimum of 25 feet of water over the lowest point so once again the book is overly cautious and the charts are less than accurate. The nobeltec shows 16 feet at low tide so it appears to be much more accurate. It is a perfect little protected anchorage that no one goes into because of the caution and charting showing such a shallow clearance.

Glen and Liz caught two good sized salmon at their stop last night, alright it was from right in front of a fish hatchery so does that count?

We tried fishing again and again the fish won. I trolled for an hour out to a point off the entrance to thorne Bay where there were dozen other boats fishing. No luck. I watched others pull in salmon but nothing on my line. Of course when I reeled in the line to head south I discovered that the flasher, hoochie and all were gone, all that I was trolling was the deep 6 diver. I guess without a hook and bait the chances of catching anything is pretty small. No idea when it broke but the line between the deep six and the flasher was broke in half. Hmmm!

Were now in Smith cove with 20 plus MPH winds blowing outside. The sky is blue and it is a gorgeous day except I am watching Glen filet his fish while I have nothing to do but type.



Eagles everywhere you look

Before leaving Snug harbor we took a little dinghy ride into Thorne Bay which is a large community as far as Alaska communities go. It was a large logging center which is still a fairly important part of their lives. We will miss the biggest logging rodeo in the country which is next week. Oh well, another time. Apparently this is not a show but an actual logger competition with real loggers going head to head with chain saw throwing and axe throwing. We were told we could throw a chain saw if we attended. Oh boy, I guess I will have to practice for next year.



We found a Piper Cub on floats at the dock so we had to take some pictures for Steve and Ed.



Piper Cub on floats

Were having Glens fish for dinner and the shrimp we caught in my trap. Glens trap was missing when we went to pick them up, adrift in the current somewhere. He found it a mile or so down from where he dropped it hung up on a shallow spot. No shrimp however. This is the second time his pot went adrift, the first time off Taku inlet and we never did find that one.