May 30, 2008
Meyers Chuck was recommended by several people as a great place to stay and it is. We visited with another couple that we met in Prince Rupert and a fellow who has been up about 20 times. He comes up every year, spends several days at Meyers Chuck then heads up to the Sitka area where he spends two months. He is a musician and plays for the boaters and sells Indian mask carvings for money. He invited us over after dinner for some music and we brought the drinks. We had a nice warm evening to sit on his upper deck and listen to his guitar and ballads.
Left Meyers Chuck for the Blashke Islands which sit at the intersection of Clarence Strait and Stikine Strait. There is not much written about them in the guide books but there appears to be a good anchorage and some exploring to be done by dinghy. The entrance to the anchorage is tight. Lots of rocks and the best charts we have do not show it in detail. Even nobeltec is a bit sketchy on the hidden rocks. The Douglas guide book has a drawing showing two bays that are accessible but nobeltec shows both entrances drying at low tide. We entered and found a secure spot in between the two bays. Both bays it turns out are able to be entered even at low tide with a minimum of 14 feet of water but you have to wind your way through some rocks to get there so it is a little stressful your first time going in but now that we have done it and know where the rocks are not, I would do it again. I would go all the way into the second bay as it has the better views but it is less protected than the little cove we chose to stay in. It is a great place to explore by dinghy or kayak. The only sign of civilization is a commercial fish farm operation in one of the bays on the other side of the islands.
I tried my hand at fishing again and caught some more crab bait but nothing that was edible by humans. It is really tough to fillet a flounder with a dull knife. The crabs were elusive as were the shrimp. Glen decided he wanted to drop the pots in a 350 foot hole he spotted on the charts and thought it was just a little way out from the anchorage. Half way across Kassevaroff passage in the dinks and we were there. Just a short run if the waves and wind are non existent. My back may never the same after this morning’s high speed run through the waves to pick them up.
Weather is still good. Cloudy this morning but it should burn off as it did yesterday by early afternoon.
Only problem to date is the Generator. Two days ago it did not want to stay running and then died. No fuel in the filter so I primed it and it ran for several hours and I checked it and the filter bowl was half empty again. Somewhere I am sucking in air and so far have not found the source. It runs but I have to keep putting fuel into the filter bowel to keep it running. I may have found the source this morning, a loose fitting but cannot fix it till I get to Wrangell. Will have to take the fuel pump off to tighten the fitting, hopefully that will solve the problem.
Were headed to Wrangell today to try and arrange dog sitters for next week and ensure I have a place to keep the boat for the week. None of that is firmed up so were hoping that we can get in early enough today to make those arrangements.
Phones and internet connections are still sporadic. Glen and Liz have had better luck now that we are in Alaska with AT&T. We still get good connection with the Verizon air card and the AT&T go phone works in the same areas but there are plenty of blank coverage areas.
Moorage at Wrangell was no problem. $148 for 8 days of moorage. They waived the requirement to have a boat attendant for us which both Ketchikan and Petersberg required and they were both quite a bit more expensive. Wrangell has a new marina that has plenty of room and both 30 and 50 amp service.
Meyers Chuck was recommended by several people as a great place to stay and it is. We visited with another couple that we met in Prince Rupert and a fellow who has been up about 20 times. He comes up every year, spends several days at Meyers Chuck then heads up to the Sitka area where he spends two months. He is a musician and plays for the boaters and sells Indian mask carvings for money. He invited us over after dinner for some music and we brought the drinks. We had a nice warm evening to sit on his upper deck and listen to his guitar and ballads.
Left Meyers Chuck for the Blashke Islands which sit at the intersection of Clarence Strait and Stikine Strait. There is not much written about them in the guide books but there appears to be a good anchorage and some exploring to be done by dinghy. The entrance to the anchorage is tight. Lots of rocks and the best charts we have do not show it in detail. Even nobeltec is a bit sketchy on the hidden rocks. The Douglas guide book has a drawing showing two bays that are accessible but nobeltec shows both entrances drying at low tide. We entered and found a secure spot in between the two bays. Both bays it turns out are able to be entered even at low tide with a minimum of 14 feet of water but you have to wind your way through some rocks to get there so it is a little stressful your first time going in but now that we have done it and know where the rocks are not, I would do it again. I would go all the way into the second bay as it has the better views but it is less protected than the little cove we chose to stay in. It is a great place to explore by dinghy or kayak. The only sign of civilization is a commercial fish farm operation in one of the bays on the other side of the islands.
I tried my hand at fishing again and caught some more crab bait but nothing that was edible by humans. It is really tough to fillet a flounder with a dull knife. The crabs were elusive as were the shrimp. Glen decided he wanted to drop the pots in a 350 foot hole he spotted on the charts and thought it was just a little way out from the anchorage. Half way across Kassevaroff passage in the dinks and we were there. Just a short run if the waves and wind are non existent. My back may never the same after this morning’s high speed run through the waves to pick them up.
Weather is still good. Cloudy this morning but it should burn off as it did yesterday by early afternoon.
Only problem to date is the Generator. Two days ago it did not want to stay running and then died. No fuel in the filter so I primed it and it ran for several hours and I checked it and the filter bowl was half empty again. Somewhere I am sucking in air and so far have not found the source. It runs but I have to keep putting fuel into the filter bowel to keep it running. I may have found the source this morning, a loose fitting but cannot fix it till I get to Wrangell. Will have to take the fuel pump off to tighten the fitting, hopefully that will solve the problem.
Were headed to Wrangell today to try and arrange dog sitters for next week and ensure I have a place to keep the boat for the week. None of that is firmed up so were hoping that we can get in early enough today to make those arrangements.
Phones and internet connections are still sporadic. Glen and Liz have had better luck now that we are in Alaska with AT&T. We still get good connection with the Verizon air card and the AT&T go phone works in the same areas but there are plenty of blank coverage areas.
Moorage at Wrangell was no problem. $148 for 8 days of moorage. They waived the requirement to have a boat attendant for us which both Ketchikan and Petersberg required and they were both quite a bit more expensive. Wrangell has a new marina that has plenty of room and both 30 and 50 amp service.
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