June 29, Morse Island to Sitka

Were off to Sitka today, an early morning start at 0700 after pulling the crab pots.  We have 50 miles to run but have a good outflowing current to push us through Peril strait.  Averaged 10 plus through the straits.  Jason and Johan are coming today.  We will pick them up and hang out somewhere close by.  Visit Sitka tomorrow waiting for Marie to show up and do dinner in town.  Leave on the first for somewhere north to fish and surf. 

June 28 Appleton to Morse Island

Moved again a bit further north to Morse Island anchorage.  There is a forest service cabin there that Jim has reserved for the 29^th and 30^th.  He is planning on a beach party the night of the 29^th.  We anchored next to the mooring buoy and I tied to it adding to our anchor security.  Were leaving early tomorrow for Sitka so did not want to be in the middle and ended up next to Nelsea on the outside.  We dropped shrimp and crab pots and did well.  I had over a hundred shrimp in the first pull after just a few hours soaking.  Mostly smaller ones but some good size prawns as well.  We caught 4 crab, one was a monster 8 incher.  One of the biggest I have ever caught.  Fished for a while with negative results.  Weather again was sunny and calm.

June 27, Ell cove to Appleton Cove

Leisurely run up to Appleton Cove with stops along the way to fish for halibut.  Buck caught a nice 15 lb. halibut in Echo Cove; the only fish caught this day.

Dozens of crab pots in Appleton did OK, several caught by various people, we got one nice sized one.  Tried fishing outside the cove with negative results

Weather was breezy but sunny and warm

June 26, Hot springs to Ell Cove

Moved today a couple miles north, sunny, calm and warmer.  Beautiful anchorage well protected from all directions.  A great waterfall nearby for photo ops with the boats.  Visited the Hidden falls fisher hatchery and got a tour.  They have up to 60 resident Grizzly bears that make the lagoon their home.  We saw 5 or 6 of them up close and personal.  They could care less about people. 

Got 4 shrimp, no fish.  Chum are running and several purse seiners were working the bay but they don’t like bait so we had no luck catching anything but black cod.

June 25 Baranoff Hot Springs

Rain today, heavy mist and then rain.

We tried fishing but nothing was biting and it was pretty miserable, cold wet and choppy.  Went out twice, trolled for salmon, nothing, bottom fished for halibut, nothing.  Plane unable to get in to pick up Linda and Nat due to poor weather conditions

June 24 Canary Cove to Hot Springs Cove

Woke up to cloudy sky’s and a bit of a breeze.   The plan was to head for Red Bluff Bay with a stop along the way to fish for halibut in one of Jim’s hot spots.  Glen, Pete and Willard just dropped lines off the big boats while Buck and I jumped in No Debt and Chris continued on at idle speed on Miner’s Debt.  It took only about 20 minutes and I had a nice halibut on board.  It was not big but it pulled hard and ran out the line 4 times.  Buck missed it the first time with the Harpoon when I got it to the surface but got it the second time.

Jim and Gary had continued on and were entering the Chatham Strait from Frederick Sound and began talking about 30 mph winds and 5-foot waves over the radio.  Gary was taking a pounding in his little 39 foot Bayliner  I decided it was time to catch up to Chris and the big boat if things were getting that bad.  We caught her while the conditions were still moderate, just 2 footers.  After getting No Debt back in tow we continued on towards Red Bluff.  Jim was about 5 or 6 miles ahead of us and kept a running commentary on the sea state and winds.  He was reporting 30 plus MPH winds and 5-foot seas.  Gary was echoing those reports claiming 6 footers at times.  We just were not seeing those conditions where we were but the reports were enough that we decided to abort the trip to Red Bluff and turn north to Baranoff Hot Springs.  Once we turned north thee seas were behind us and the ride became much easier.  We never did see 5or 6-foot seas or 30 mph winds. 

We found the dock full at the hot springs with commercial fishing boats and the normal summer time locals.   We found our regular stern tie spot across from the docks.  As soon as we could we jumped in No Debt for the trip to the hot springs.  As we were walking up the dock I spotted two young men getting out of Kayaks and went over to talk to them.  Conner and Kelly were kayaking from Ketchikan to Juneau in collapsible Kayaks.  They had just come from Red Bluff Bay in those conditions and said it was the most exciting day so far of their trip except for the first day, which was the day of the 50 mph winds in Ketchikan on June 3^rd.

We continued up to the hot springs with me on bear watch with the shotgun.  It has been reported that grizzly’s roam the area and have frequented the hot springs and the boardwalk trail.  We spent a pleasant hour soaking in the springs with various other groups before heading back to the dock.  We stopped to talk to Kelly and Conner again and I invited them out to the boat for dinner.  They were eager to accept having spent the last three weeks eating their limited rations of rice noodles and energy food.  We had a very pleasant evening talking with them about their trip and the area they were headed into.  We gave them some suggestions on where to go and what to see as they travel north past Sitka.  They have a web site that they are trying to keep updated and will write their story when they get home.  It is freeburnbound.cph@lan.com.

June 23, 2016

Another beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky.  We pulled anchor and headed for Cannery cove where Jim said there were halibut, shrimp and crab.  Glen stopped off for a bit to fish and caught a nice halibut which we all shared for dinner.   Dropped pots all over the cove and ended up with about 8 keepers between everyone.  I had 22 in one pull, all females no males and no keepers.  Fishing was a bust as well.  I did get three shrimp.

June 22, Lords Pocket

We all cruised over to Kake to shop, hopefully, and tour the town.   We were first over and talking to a local he told us to tie up behind the ferry landing float, he did it all the time and no ferry was due that day.  The store, the SOS for same old stuff, was just 500 yards down the road vs. the 2 miles from the public dock where we were.

We tied off to the float and climbed the 10-foot vertical ladder to gain access to the ramp.  Sure enough the best store yet was just down the road and we were able to find all the supplies we needed there.

After shopping and touring the town we tried our hand at fishing again.  Jim hired a guide in Kake while the rest of us tried our hand at finding the best halibut hole.  As it turned out I ended up in the same place as Jim and his guide but none of us found a fish that was biting.  Skunked one and all.

Buck and Lisa arrived by float plane at 530 pm.  They landed right next to the boat and once again their pilot proved Alaskan bush pilots are crazy good.  He dropped them off then took off and came back to do a low fly by buzzing the boats at about 20 feet.   

June 21 Monte Carlo Island. 

From Port Protection we cruised to the south end of Rocky Pass and anchored in the lee of Monte carlo Island.  It is a low, tree covered island that is not mentioned as an anchorage in any of the books.  The cove is surrounded by rocky reefs but is 30 feet deep right up to the Beach.  It is a great spot to stop prior to entering the pass.

We wanted to hit the Devils elbow at Slack but headed out a bit early.  The current gave us a 2 knot push through the southern part and we reached Devils elbow an hour before slack.  Plenty of water however, least depth of 12 feet for us as we led the fleet through.  Glen had lost his GPS leaving Hole in the wall so he tailed behind us.  I loaned him a spare computer and GPS so he at least had some older charts to follow.  There are no less than 45 way points and turns in the pass.  We anchored in Lord’s Pocket at the north end of the pass  about 6 miles west of Kake.

June 20, Hole in the wall to Port Protection and beyond.

After stopping at Port Protection for a short visit we continued on to a small Island at the south end of Rocky Pass.  Monte Carlo Island is not in any of the guide books but we found it to be a good anchorage fairly secure from a south wind.  Any other direction might be questionable.  Surrounded by reefs, enter from the north into a 25-foot deep, flat mud bottom, cove on the North side of the island.  It started raining once we got set up.  Stern tied with about 500 feet of line to keep us from swinging.

Port Protection is a quirky place as anyone who has watched the TV show can attest.

It is very remote and access only by boat or plane.  We bought out their fresh vegetables that had come in by barge that day.    Jim and Cheryl Matheson rejoined the group after a quick trip home.  They left us at the south end of Prince of Whales Island, going back to Ketchikan to get their fishing boat motor repaired.  It had a steering problem and we could not fix it in the field.  While they were gone the local mechanic in town fixed it for them.  So were back to 7 boats and reshuffled the order of rafting again.  Were no longer on the end so NO Debt becomes more of a hassle but we worked it out. 

Tomorrow we head through Rocky pass, a 20-mile, shallow winding pass with rocks and kelp beds aplenty.  We did it last year without a problem, I led all the way so should not be a problem but Jim and others are a bit worried and want to go at slack water since currents can run up to 6 knots thru there.  Tomorrow peak currents are only at about 3 knots.  

June 19 El Capitan to Hole in the Wall

Next morning was breakfast of Waffles and fruit and then a hike up to the caves for a tour.  The two seasonal rangers met us and gave 6 of us the grand tour again.  These are huge caves, not yet fully mapped and the tour only shows you the first 500 feet of cave.  There are several miles of caves total.

From the caves we traveled through El Capitan Pass which is a narrow ten mile long dredged channel.  We pulled into Hole in the Wall just south of Port Protection for the night.  It blew hard all afternoon so it was a bit or a rock and roll ride into the entrance.  We had to put out three anchors and two stern lines cause even inside the wind had us pushed sideways onto the drying flats.  Steve was a bit concerned when he had 3 feet of water under his keel.  

June 18  Edna Cove to El Capitan

Went out again with Steve, Willard and Diane in the morning.  Immediately had a big one on but he took everything from the weight down.  Ended up catching 5 black Cod, a big Ling Cod and Willard had something really big on.  He fought it for a good 30 minutes but never got it close enough to see what it was.  It finally pulled so hard it untied his knot and was gone. 

We moved from Edna to the docks at El Capitan Caves.   It was fathers day so we set up dinner on the dock and had a great fish and chips dinner with the black cod.  It is great eating. 

June 16 & 17 Esquibel anchorage to Edna Bay

Went fishing in Roller bay with Steve and Gary in Nellie.  Caught 5 halibut but no salmon in Roller Bay.  Moved to the north end of Noyes island and fished in the lee of the point.  Within 5 minutes Steve and I caught 2 King’s, one 14 lb. and an 11 lb.  Good fun.  Perfect weather, a bit windy and bumpy out in Roller Bay which is the Gulf of Alaska.  We moved the morning of the 17^th to Edna Bay.  This is a big open bay with a marble mine, houses and a new landing just built for a new logging operation.  While we were there a barge came in and unloaded tons of heavy equipment, cables, ecology blocks, anchors and floats and assorted other stuff. 

We went out fishing on Nellie again and caught a bunch of black cod.  I had a couple huge fish on but one bit right through the leader so it must have been a big ling cod. 

Nat got a good sized cod and Linda a nice King after we moved inside a bit and fished the kelp line.

June 15 Noyes Island to Esquibel Island Group

Moved on to new anchorage north of Noyes Island, small indent in the Esquibel Island group called Nagasay Cove a very pretty and very remote feeling place.  Entry was via a very narrow kelp strewn channel called Launch Passage.   Book said go to the south of two small islets so Glen went north.  The south side was full of Kelp, the north not so much and was three times deeper.

Chris and I chose to go around to the ocean side and rocked and rolled a bit and still had to dodge and weave through kelp and rocks to get to the anchorage.  As I was weaving I noticed a black object rise up next to the boat 20 feet off the port side in my peripheral vision.  Thinking rock with surf breaking over it, I looked and thankfully it was just a whale.

June 14

Left Craig and headed for Fishegg island just a mile north to wait for Nat and Linda to arrive.  Glen had to break in his new motor and take it back for a final check by the dealer so we decided to stay close by Craig.   Put down a crab pot and got only one crab.  No one else caught any.

Steve and I tried fishing for Halibut but no luck.

June 13 & 14  

Refugio Harbor to Craig.  We stayed in Craig a couple nights to shop and do laundry.  The harbor was full but the harbor master gave us the entire municipal dock.  It was blowing hard when we docked and the harbor master was duly impressed.   He had doubts that we could all fit much less get in with the winds blowing as they were.  It was a narrow entry between two piers and required me to enter nose first and pivot sideways to give room for Steve and Willard.  We fit with feet to spare and no one dinged a thing. 

We went to dinner that night at the fireweed lodge in Claywock.  Had a great meal, it was Gary’s 75^th birthday. 

Glen found a new motor, cheaper than in Seattle and so he bought it and had it installed on his inflatable.  He went from a 50 to a 70 hp. motor.  We started a pool to see how quick Glen hits something with it.  (4 hours)  (twice)

June 12, 2016

On to Refugio Harbor.  Not a good choice with forecast 35 knot winds out of the SE.  Very open and exposed on 3 sides.  Winds picked up and blew hard and then changed direction blowing from astern.  The one stern line we had out seemed a bit minimal when I awoke at 3 am to check on things so I got Willard up and we put out a second stern line.  It was a wet rainy windy day.  Fortunately it is light at 3 am up here so we did not have to do it in the dark.   The hi-lite of the day was a humpback whale swam into our anchorage and right under our boats one time before wandering off again into the open water.  He was 10 t0 15 feet off the side of Nelsea with everyone trying to get photos.   Everyone is on the bow with cameras when the whale suddenly surfaces at the stern and it was like a Laurel and Hardy comedy watching everyone scramble and push to get to the stern for a photo op that came and went before anyone could get the photo.  

June 10 and 11

Moved to Crab Trap cove just south of Hydaburg.  The cove is well named.  I caught 10, 8 inchers in my first pull.  Beautiful crab.  Others did not do so well.

We visited the community of Hydaburg with trepidation.  Locals in Ketchikan told us not to go there, it was a hostile place and not to leave our boats unattended because others have had stuff stolen off the boats while gone. 

We found the people there very welcoming and hospitable.  We got a tour of the village, spent two hours with Haa Goo the village elder, carver ad story-teller.  He told us of his early life and being set to boarding school where they attempted to assimulate him into white mans ways and beat any attempts by him and his friends to maintain their culture.  After many years of being bitter and hateful he has decided to share his story and rebuild his culture.  It’s working.  Enjoyed our visit and would recommend to others to go and stay at their docks, nice new ones and enjoy their culture, arts and history.

June 8 & 9, 2016

Moved on to Hetta cove, a very secure and landlocked cove where the Haida have a fish camp and have set up a fish weir for counting returning salmon.

We stayed two days here to fish.  Shrimping was good, did not crab however.  Steve caught a 44 lb halibut after Gary came back with a fish story.  He hooked a halibut and fought it for 45 minutes and could not get it on board.  He said it was 5 feet across and must have been at least 100 plus lbs.  He put a harpoon into it but it took off and broke the tip right out of itself.  Big mean halibut.

We did catch a couple of big yellow eye which are great eating.

June 7, 2016

From Hessa Inlet we wound our way through the barrier Islands to Mable Cove.

Beautiful setting, not quite as remote as Hessa Inlet with logging visible, a house with a satellite dish near Clump Island, probable the most southern place on the whole island.  Again we tried fishing and only Jim came back with halibut, two good sized ones. 

June 6, 2016

We stayed an extra day at Hessa Inlet, fishing and exploring.  Again, other than Jim we had no luck fishing, several rockfish but no halibut and no lingcod. This is a wild and remote place with virtually no sign of human habitation.  No logging, no other boats and one wonders if how many others have ever been in this place. . 

June 5, 2016

We left Kendrick bay to round Cape Chacon, the southern tip of Prince of Whales Island.  It means 20 plus miles exposed to Dixon entrance.  Locals had advised us to round the cape at any time other than at slack tide, which seemed exactly opposite of what would seem best.  The charts show rips and one local said he has rounded the cape a thousand times and had calm seas only once.  There are reports of 6 foot confused seas even when there is no wind when the tides change.  Three currents meet at the cape and create confused and violent seas when the tide changes even with no wind.  We rounded the cape during full flood tide, one of the largest tide exchanges on record and had perfect flat conditions. 

Once around Cape Chacon it’s another 10 miles to Cape Morse before turning into Bushman Passage, a narrow rock strewn entry to Hessa Inlet.  The anchorage was ideal and well protected.  This is where Glen had arranged for Liz and Diane to meet us by float plane that afternoon.  While waiting we tried fishing and put down crab and shrimp pots.  Struck out on all counts.  The floatplane came in and the pilot, a long time Alaskan bush pilot put on quite a show, buzzing the flotilla before dropping the ladies off.  When he took off I was in No Debt at the north entrance to Bushman Passage.  The pilot’s take off was one of the shortest I have ever seen, rocking up on one float and turning on that float before going airborne, skimming just a few feet off the water as he turned into Bushman pass where I was sitting.  He flew 10 feet off the water passing by me with his floats 6 feet above the water, his wing passing over no debt so close I was sure he would take off my radio antennae.  I was pretty sure he was surprised by my presence and thought for a moment he would crash but he was fully aware of what he was doing and after passing over me and Steve and Michelle who were ahead of me in Nellie, he pulled up in a steep climb, roll over in a tight turn and dove back down to buzz us again a bit higher before returning to buzz the flotilla giving everyone a display of amazing Alaskan bush flying.  I got the only photo of the whole event.

June 4,2016

After a whirlwind trip home to move mom and dad were back in Alaska.  We flew down on Wednesday the 25^th and with a lot of coordination and planning we were able to move them in one day.  Jason, Becky, Mike helped otherwise it would never have happened.  I rented a u haul from Tacoma and picked it up on Friday.  After Memorial day traffic died down I headed north to Mt Vernon where Becky had found two rooms.  They followed a few hours later.  Jason and I caught the 455 ferry with reservations and Becky, Chris and Mikey followed on the 640 by walking on. 

When we arrived we had breakfast then headed up to the parents place.  They were up and mom had sort of started packing her room but initially I figured we were doomed to failure as did my father.  Once the rest of the crew arrived we made quick work of mom’s room stuffing shit in boxes and hauling them to the truck.  We started on Dad’s room as soon as he left for breakfast and had it cleaned out before he got back.  We decided to try and catch the 1040 ferry with the furniture and let mom and dad and the girls follow on the 1:55 which i had reservations for.  I feared if they did not get on the earlier ferry they would loose the reservations at 155 so they waited and we left.

We hit very little traffic and were at the new place in Gig Harbor by 3 pm.  Unloaded and set up both rooms with the beds, TV and chairs.  The rest would get organized later.  The parents were delayed by customs since they were on the international ferry so they did not arrive till late.  We missed the dinner service so we ordered pizza.

Mom and dad were in good spirits and seemed pleased with their new facility.

Dad’s room was easy, mom on the other hand took the next three days to organize and cull all the junk and garbage.   My shed is full of boxes most will go to the dump or goodwill when we get home.

On June 4^th we flew back with Steve and Michelle.  We apparently missed a week of really horrible weather, heavy rain and wind.  The day before our arrival winds were clocked at 50 mph in Ketchikan.  A cruise ship attempting to dock in the harbor was pushed against the pier by the high wind causing several million dollars in damage to the dock and the ship.    I found the boat in good condition but the rear line from No Debt to the Miner’s Debt was broken.  Hard to imagine that waves big enough to break the mooring line could have been generated inside the marina. 

Glen had crossed Clarence strait the day of the high winds in Steve’s 20-foot Grady White to pick up Nichole his daughter.   The waves were 9 feet on the crossing. 

The winds had died by the time we arrived and when we left to cross over to meet Glen and company in Kendrick bay on the SE side of Prince of Whales Island.  Our crossing was on mirror flat seas, hardly a ripple. 

 May 24, 2016

Sudden change in plans.  We are flying home on Wednesday so we can coordinate moving my mom and dad from San Juan Island assisted living to Mallards Landing in Gig Harbor Assisted Living.  We gave mom the information when we were up in April and when I next called her she had made the decision and decided to move.  We were originally planning on September but the rooms are there now and ready for them to move in and they are at a great price.  We only have 9 days to make it work since we have to be back to move the boat by the 4^th of June. 

May 23, 2016

Decided at the last minute to head out and see what Dixon Entrance looked like.  Still forecasting gale winds for east Dixon but no stations are reporting high winds in any area.  Ocean swell 1 to 2 meters.  Figured we could get to Dundas anyway and hunker there if it was bad.  But it looked pretty good with about a 15 kt wind at our tail so we kept going.  So far ¾ of the way cross it was a good decision.  Sun has come out and we have blue sky and blue water and light wind chop with low westerly swells.  So far so good.  

We are in Ketchikan!  The weather held till we arrived and then the wind picked up to 30 out of the north as we milled about for two hours off the fuel dock waiting our turn to fill up. Finally got to the dock and were able to relax after a rather uneventful crossing of Dixon.   Forecast was for 11 foot seas and gale force winds yet we had aybe 3 to 4 foot rollers with an occasional 6 footer but virtually no wind and what there was, was out of the south behind us.   Good thing we crossed today cause the forecast for next several days is much worse. 

Kethcikan with 4 cruise ships a day is a bustling place after three weeks of the inside passage. 

We met up with another fleet of 6 boats out of Bellingham, a mother goose type trip where there is a lead boat and captain and everyone else is leasing the boat for the Washington to Ketchikan leg of the trip.  From there others will sign up and take the boats to Juneau or Sitka and then another group will run them south.  For three days we were on parallel paths with 12 boats within a few miles of one another.  It was a traffic jam in Grenville Channel.