the hot springs
We left Sitka and motored down the coast to Goddard Hot springs a distance of about 10 miles. For a short portion we are exposed to the Gulf of Alaska but it was a picture perfect day and there were only very small rollers breaking on the multitude of rocks that make the navigation interesting. It is a maze of small reefs that ensures you pay close attention to the charts. We tried trolling for a while for salmon, it appears they are finally in and the fishing is not bad out here. We had no luck except for a small black rock fish that I caught. The girls were watching a small seal following the boat about where the bait and lure were at and shortly after the seal dove down the line went tight and they screamed that I had caught the seal. When I reeled in the line it was not the seal but the rock fish. Not sure what I would have done with a seal.
The hot springs were great. There are three of them with the uppermost one out in the open. It is an old wood sided pool with a foot of rotten wood sediment in the bottom that you stir up when you step in. The water is really hot; it takes a bit to get into it. It looks like your bathing in mud after everyone stirs up the bottom. There is an old claw foot tub someone has set into the pool so everyone had to get their photos in the tub. The mosquitoes were out so the mud pool was the preferred location while up there. We moved down to the middle hot tub which has a forest service wood building around it. We tried getting in but not even Debbie could stand the 115 plus degree water.
Deb in a tub
We moved down to the lower one where a group of Kayakers were enjoying it and joined them. During the evening at least 5 fishing vessels pulled in and most of the crews took their turn in the hot tub at some point in the evening. We went twice, once before dinner and once after. Well worth the effort. Debbie was even warm for the first time since she arrived in Alaska. We found out she was not only wearing long pants and shirts but had on long underwear to boot while we are running around in shorts.
We woke up this morning to the shallow water alarm, were in 9 feet of water and the rocks we are stern tied to are just a few feet behind the boat. Plenty of water left however as we are at low tide and the water is going back up now. Debbie is out this morning with Sophie in the Kayak in her own little slice of heaven. She is looking at all the marine growth and animals on the rocks, it is a minus 2 foot tide this morning and I don’t think I have ever seen her grinning so much as she is this morning. Not sure what she sees than we don’t one rock covered with sea slime looks like any other up here but to here it is a different world with her biology background.
I caught a few monster starfish and she thought that was just great.
Were in no hurry today, Glen and Liz will run back into Sitka to be there in the am to get Shaun and Nichole off and pick up the next group of passengers. We will find a place to hang out near Sitka and then meet Glen and the gang at Shultz bay just this side of Surgius narrows on Sunday night. We will need to top off fuel before we head north towards Peril strait We will be out of internet touch after leaving Sitka so this will be the last entry for about a week. We are going to do the east side of Baranoff Island, the hot springs and Red Bluff bay and then run over to Tebenkof Bay and spend a couple of days there before going north Petersburg and then on to Wrangell to drop off Debbie. We got good advice on where to catch some halibut and that Tebenkof Bay is a hot spot for crab.
Sherm, can you check on the possibility of changing debs flight from Wrangel to Petersburg. that will give us a bit more time to loiter about.
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