Juneau Alaska

6/23/13 We went shopping for groceries this morning before Jason’s fight was due in. He called just as we were finishing up and so we got back to the boat about the same time as he arrived. We picked up his fishing license then John, Jason and I headed out to try our luck at fishing. Nothing doing.

Snow covered mountains from Petersburg 6/24/13 Chris is leaving today for her grandchild fix at home. She took about 30 lbs of fish home with her freeing up some valuable freezer space. Jason and John headed out early to try their hand at Halibut fishing. Steve and Michelle and I followed a short while later. All the way across to Thomas Bay we heard Jason and John calling us on the radio but they could not hear us respond. They called often enough that it was obvious that something was wrong. I kept going past Thomas Bay to check on the halibut hole they were going to fish and Steve went into the bay where he found them. For some reason the battery went dead and they were unable to start the big motor and the radio would send but not receive. We anchored behind Spray Island, the currents were quite strong so getting the stern line to shore was a bit of a challenge. About 5 pm a large thunderstorm blew in with lots of flashes of lightening and thunder. A special weather alert was put out for dangerous winds. Sure enough a gust of wind of about 30 hit us and pushed us back towards the island we were stern tied to. We thought the anchor must have been dragging so we tried to reset by letting out the stern line but the wind was so strong it began to twist us around and we had to cut the stern line to keep from entangling us. In the process my home-build PVC line reel blew apart narrowly missing Jason's head and Michelle burned her hand trying to hang on to the line until Jason could get to the knive to cut the line free. Glen arrived and took two tries getting his anchor down and once he was set we pulled up and tied to him. By then the storm was past and the winds had died down. Just a bit of excitement.

Thomas Bay before the wind storm 6/25/13 Took the dinghy’s to the other end of the bay to go explore the glacier. I took NO Debt which was a mistake. I charged the batteries and wanted to see how long they would last with a fresh charge and without a working charging system on the motor. About 30 minutes. We went dead at the far end and had to motor back using the small kicker while the others continued up the river right to the face of the glacier. Bummer, we missed out on a fun run up some wild rapids. A Dozen shrimp and one keeper crab is all we got in the pots. Headed north with Steve and Michelle about 3 pm. We decided to anchor in the lee of Cape Fanshaw in Cleveland Passage behind Whitney Island. It was a fairly sheltered bay, no wind when we set the anchor and it was a good thing it was a good set because after dinner about the time we were getting ready to go to bed the wind came up fairly strong for about 2 hours. It rained all evening and well into the night. Jason caught a small halibut off the back of the boat about 10 pm. 6/26/13 John went out fishing this morning in our small inflatable, No Debt being out of service as I charged both batteries. We pulled them out of the boat after disconnecting them and gave them both a good charge while we were underway yesterday. Shortly after he left I heard a faint cry for help from John who had caught a large halibut and he needed help landing it. Jason and I quickly hooked up one of the batteries in No Debt and ran out to where he was hanging on to the fish. We managed to land him, the net being just big enough and we were able to kill it with a few whacks with the fish gaff before pulling him onto the boat. It took up most of the floor space on No Debt. No way was it coming on board the inflatable. Jason went back out in No Debt while John cleaned his fish and he called back saying he had a big one on. I had already secured the small dinghy on the back of the boat so I untied from Steve with Miner Debt and took John with me to help Jason net the fish. Unfortunately it was bigger than the net and when John tried to get him in he lunged and broke the cable leader on Jason’s line. Big disappointment. But shortly after that Jason caught another large one, about 30 lbs. and they were able to land that one. Three big fish in less than an hour with two being landed, not bad fishing.

We left for Tracy arm about 1015 planning on anchoring in Tracy Cove and using the small inflatables to explore Tracy arm to the glacier. Weather started fairly nice but by 1pm it was raining on us and looking less inviting the closer we got to Tracy Arm. It poured all evening and all night. We hunkered down in Tracy Arm and had a slab of Halibut plus steaks for dinner. Plan is to explore Tracy arm tomorrow, by dinghy if its nice by Miner’s Debt if its not. 6/27/13 It’s Not. Still gray and cold and raining. We took Miner’s Debt down Tracy Arm leaving Nelsea anchored in the bay. It takes a lot longer to get there than you think. There are no bergs in the arm like last time. Nothing but a few small bergie bits. We made it all the way to the face of the South Sawyer Glacier, within half a mile before the ice stopped us. We sat and watched skyscraper sized chunks of ice crumble into the fjord. It was spectacular and even with the clouds and rain everyone had a great time. The girls cooked up a great breakfast for us while we were underway. On the way back I went down to check on the engines and I had transmission oil leaking onto the pads I have laid down under the engine. I quickly isolated the leak to a loose fitting after my initial panic thinking I had blown a seal or something more significant. But a quick twist with a wrench and the leak stopped. Good thing I checked when I did, I caught it before I lost too much oil and did any damage.

Jason and I are now alone as Steve and Michelle have left for Juneau to drop off John and Elise. The others were delayed a bit and will not be here till tomorrow. Jason and I will probably wait for them here and then head up to Taku Harbor or we may stay another day and run all the way to Juneau on Saturday so Jason can catch his plane on Sunday. We shall see. As I recall fishing was better in Taku so we may head that way tomorrow and not wait for the others. The rain has finally stopped and it is a beautiful afternoon here in Tracy Cove. Jason put down my shrimp pot last evening and we went out to recover it and could not pull it up. It was stuck on something and the entire float was pulled under water and we almost lost it as I could barely reach down in the 47 degree water far enough to release the catch to let it float back up. We put my anchor retrieval ring on it with 300 feet of rope and Jason used the small inflatable to try to pull it free. After several attempts it popped loose from whatever was holding it. I figured with the amount of force we used the pot would be bent double but there was absolutely no damage. I have no idea what it could have been snagged on. The sad part is there was only one measly tiger shrimp in the pot. There are 6 other boats in here with us tonight so were not really alone but it feels wild and remote. A layer of mist settled on the shoreline, eagles and loons were calling making it see like we were far removed from civilization. Jason and I fished after dinner off the boat till little mosquitoes chased us inside about 1030.

6/28/13 We pulled anchor and fished for a couple of hours off the little islands just outside of Tracy arem and waited for the others to catch us. They arrived about 2 pm and decided to try to anchor in Sumdum cove 23 miles down Endicott Arm It took multiple trys but we finally got the anchors down about 4 pm. It was too late to gothe 25 miles to the Dawes Glacier so we dcecided to pray the weather holds for tomorrow and run down by dinghy. Jason and Glen went out fishing and caught several cod off the point. Steve and Michelle returned and joined us.

Sunset photos taken at 11pm in Sumdum cove 6/29/13 50 plus miles in the dingy. We ran all the way down Endicott arm to the face of Dawes Glacier and took a side trip into Fords Terror. Really a great trip. Fords Terror is a huge fjord that is entered by big boats at slack water because the entrance is a narrow 90 degree dog leg surrounded by shoals at the entrance. We went through at peak ebb so it was like running a river to get in but once inside it is a stunning area with emerald green water. Two other boats were inside for the night. We left after about an hour of exploring and went the rest of the way to the Glacier. There were lots more large icebergs but the little chucks of ice that kept you from getting close to South Sawyer were not here and we could have gone right up to the 300 foot face of the glacier but if one of the columns had decided to collapse while close up it would be a bad day for all concerned.

After getting back to the boats about 4 pm (long day in a dinghy) Jason and I pulled out and headed for Taku Harbor. It was a pleasant run up Stephens passage and we were able to find a spot on the public dock inside. No crab. NO fish. 6/30/13 Got up early and ran to Juneau by 10 am. Jason and I walked into town and got a good breakfast at the Rockwell in downtown Juneau. four cruise ships were in so the streets were crowded. got Jason off with a chest full of fish and I went over to pick up fuel. We had a temporary spot until our permanent spot opened up on the intermediate Vessel Float. By the time I finished picking up fuel, 250 gallons my slip was open and I went down and got tied up without any problems considering I was solo. The dock master is very nice and helpful. It was hot and sunny all day but by 8 pm it had started to rain and by midnight it was raining hard. 7/1/13 RAIN!!!! It is pouring outside and blowing. On top of that the reverse air is not working, something is plugging the intake so I cannot get any water into the pump. Tried pulling the hoses off but cannot clean it from inside so I called a diver and he will be down tomorrow to clean it from under the boat. The mechanic for the motor on NO Debt will also be down in the morning. I am sitting in the library where they have free internet writing as it is too wet to walk around town with the thousands of tourists. I need to walk down to the other end of town and get a couple 5 gallon buckets with lids so I can change oil. gotta go get some PVC parts to fix the stern line reel and pick up more oil.