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Marina di Ragusa, Sicily to Gozo, Malta

By Trawlers on July 14, 2015 in Seabird

After launching the boat, we waited a few days to get things straightened out and it was time to move on to our next destination, Malta, which is a small island nation about 60 miles due south of Sicily.

Our exit from Marina di Ragusa got complicated when we went to get money from an ATM in town. It was closed. All of them… We then went to recharge our phones and found that they could not do it. We then went to pay our bill at the marina by credit card and found that they could not do it either. We then went to the grocery store to buy food and they could not take our credit card….. Evidently, all the internet was down in the area because there was some construction going on involving digging a hole in the street and some local enterprising “businessmen” took the opportunity to steal the copper cable normally buried in the ground which carried all of the internet for the area! Finally, the office manager, who did not live in the area, was kind enough to do our billing from her home! Off we went…

Carol loves to read the various guides and books about our destination, so she does a VERY thorough study of everything to do with our destination. This is a good thing because I just hate reading the stuff myself. I get through about two pages and then I am bored. Don’t get me wrong…. I love our destinations….I just dislike reading about them before we get there.

Anyway, as you might guess, I knew little about Malta. I do recall as a child cheering for this guy pictured below. He was known as “Baron Mikel Sicluna From The Island Of Malta” who was a “Professional” wrestler on TV along the likes of Haystack Calhoun, George “the animal” Steele and Mr. Fuji.

Baron Mikel Scicluna from the Island of Malta (RIP)

Here is our route from Sicily to Malta: 60 miles

Back to our Journey. We did our normal 6 ways from Sunday weather checks. We used Passageweather.com, Ocens Weather, seaweather.net and a few more. Sometimes it is hard to believe that you will be encountering 10 knot winds on your voyage when it is blowing 30 knots at the dock. None of the reports really conflicted and it looked like 10 kts on the beam with 2-3 foot swells. Fortunately, this time, they were right on target. It was a beautiful ride with no mechanical issues. Actually, my biggest worry was that the desalination system (watermaker), would not work properly. We were intentionally low on water when we left with the idea that we would be able to make a few hundred gallons during the trip. I had just de-winterized the system and you never know how it will run for the first time in the season. It worked flawlessly, which was a good omen for the trip itself.

We plugged on at about 8.5 kts and in about 7 hours we pulled into Gozo, the smaller island on Malta’s west side.

Look how tiny Seabird appears after the ferry starts moving.

Mgarr marina is a small boat basin within the harbor at Gozo. upon entering, you are supposed to dock at the end of one of the T’s and check in with customs and immigration. It was one of the more pleasant check ins that we have had, because of the side tie docking and the very pleasant authorities. Check in took about 15 minutes. In the Med, a side tie floating dock is EXTREMELY rare and a pleasure for us. With only two of us on each boat, med mooring, while doable, is a bit of work, especially if there is little help at the dock. Anyway, we were on a side tie at the end of a T, with good electricity.

The first order of business was……you guessed it…….finding 3G internet SIM cards! Unfortunately, it was late when we arrived and the next day everything was closed by the time we got to town. Since we were only going to be there a few days, we decided to go the ancient route and use free wifi signals around the restaurant on our iPads.

We had done most of our touring in Malta last season so we didn’t do much touring other than our normal daily morning walks along the cliffs, which we loved. The views of the Blue lagoon across the channel and the spectacular crystal clear water was worth the trip.

We did this walk nearly every day along the coast of Gozo

The chief purpose of our visit was to fill up with cheap(er) fuel. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, the original plan was to head from Malta to Tunisia and fill up with cheap fuel. I think the latest price there was around $1.50 per gallon and we needed about 1500 gallons. Because of the recent problems with security there, we decided to skip the place and fuel up in Malta.

It is more expensive there (about $4.65/gal) but cheaper than the rest of Europe and as a bonus we add another 30 years or so to our lives.

I hate adding fuel to the boat. Number one, it is expensive and time consuming as well as boring. The second thing is, while I love most things about our boat, the tank venting system is a bit undersized. If you add much more than 25 gallons per minute, it overwhelms the tiny vents and you end up with a geyser made of diesel fuel blowing 3 or 4 feet into the air, landing on me, the deck and, if I don’t move quickly, into the water, creating a potentially nasty situation with the authorities. To minimize the risk, I listen very closely to the gurgling in the tank as I fill it. When the noise changes, I stop.

Here was the problem in Malta: they really don’t have a fuel dock. You need to bring the boat to the side of a concrete pier and a truck pulls up with a tankful of diesel fuel and a very LOUD pump, making it difficult to hear the tank on board gurgling.

Actually, I did fine on the first three tanks. My problem happened on the fourth tank. Since I KNEW that tank was empty and it held 200 gallons, I told the fuel truck operator to stop at 190 gallons. Shortly after adding 100 gallons, that nasty diesel just burst out of the tank fill, all over me and all over the deck rapidly heading for the (gulp) overboard drain! Crap! I shut the hose off immediately and covered the drain with a small piece of absorbent cloth that I had nearby. Carol quickly ran to the engine room and got a bunch more and I was able to sop most of it up. The problem is that I actually had 100 gallons already in the tank when I started and had not verified it before refueling. The other thing was, with the loud pump on the truck running, I could not hear the gurgling sound when it was filling up.

I would probably write that up as one of my most miserable experiences on Seabird but I need to remind myself of the time the same sort of thing happened to me years ago in San Diego, but that time it was my sewage holding tank that blew up all over me and the deck…… Don’t ask……

I guess that is not a perfect segue into the subject of food, but anyway….we actually found a REAL Thai restaurant in Gozo. We had read that they served Thai food at this place up on the hill above the marina, but the big surprise came when we discovered that the chef was from Thailand. The food was so good that we asked to meet him and he came out to say hello. We had a nice conversation with him and he was very excited that we had spent two years in Thailand on the boat.

We stayed in Malta for a few more days and then headed back to Sicily for our next two stops which were Siracusa and Taormina.

A few more pictures of Malta……

This is an anchorage close to the Blue Lagoon and one of our favorites

This is from last season in Malta. It was a beautiful
small anchorage surrounded by rock formations.

The two images above are from the harbor that we
spent fourth of July last season.

A view from up top in Gozo

And….Last but not least….

This was a photo from one of our road trips in Italy. I wonder
what they named the roll…..?

Marina di Ragusa, Sicily to Gozo, Malta

By Trawlers on July 14, 2015 in Seabird

Baron Mikel Scicluna from the Island of Malta (RIP)

Here is our route from Sicily to Malta: 60 miles

We plugged on at about 8.5 kts and in about 7 hours we pulled into Gozo, the smaller island on Malta’s west side.

Look how tiny Seabird appears after the ferry starts moving.

We did this walk nearly every day along the coast of Gozo

It is more expensive there (about $4.65/gal) but cheaper than the rest of Europe and as a bonus we add another 30 years or so to our lives.

We stayed in Malta for a few more days and then headed back to Sicily for our next two stops which were Siracusa and Taormina.

A few more pictures of Malta……

This is an anchorage close to the Blue Lagoon and one of our favorites

This is from last season in Malta. It was a beautiful
small anchorage surrounded by rock formations.

The two images above are from the harbor that we
spent fourth of July last season.

A view from up top in Gozo

And….Last but not least….

This was a photo from one of our road trips in Italy. I wonder
what they named the roll…..?

MARINAS IN THE MED ARE VERY DIFFERENT TO THOSE IN NEW ZEALAND

By Trawlers on July 13, 2015 in Envoy

Envoy is still in Lefkas Marina, Greece and we plan to return there in September.
Marinas in the Med are totally different to what we are used to in New Zealand, and some of them can be quite a daunting experience. Ironically the only two boating-related injuries we’ve ever sustained have been in Med marinas.
The first one occurred while sheltering from a storm in a marina in Turkey. We were enjoying a cup of coffee in a local taverna when a horrendous gust of wind imploded its large sea-facing window, showering us with shards of glass and requiring us both to have a few stitches in hospital.

My ear was half ripped off by broken glass from the window

The second one happened just last year in a Sicilian marina when I stepped on a concrete paving stone that collapsed under me, lacerating my foot.
In the Med many marinas are not well-protected from the open sea, so during strong winds, especially during winter storms, swells and surge can make them uncomfortable and in some cases untenable with large waves cascading over their protective seawalls. For example, one day in Italy’s Ostia marina there was such a large surge that we couldn’t safely disembark from Envoy and the boat next to us broke its stern lines and went adrift dragging its power cable and water hose astern.

Huge waves crashing against a seawall. One boat on hardstand to left has been knocked from its supports. Concrete blocks weighing several tonnes were moved more than 5 metres. Even if waves don’t come over the wall (and they do!) they can cause a heavy surge inside the marina

Med marinas don’t have pontoons or poles between the boats, which are moored stern-to the dock protected only by their fenders, and with a lazy line or sometimes your own anchor to secure your bow.

In six years cruising this is the only time we had a berth with a pontoon on our side

If a blow with some surge is expected it’s a good idea to use two bow lines, or at least ensure the one you have is strong enough to hold. Also to use additional long spring lines secured from amidships back to the jetty, as surge can easily break short stern lines and damage cleats, or indeed pull them out of your deck. Most marinas provide staff to assist with docking and to help make boats more secure if strong winds and surge are expected.
Apart from surge, wakes from ferries and fishing boats passing nearby or through marinas can be problem too.
Access to your boat in a marina is generally by passarelle (boarding plank) from your stern to the dock, and these should be used with care as accidents are common. We generally rig a safety line to hold onto while using the passarelle, especially when we have guests who are not used to this procedure.
Most marinas provide water, but it’s rarely potable and most cruisers buy bottled water for drinking. It’s a good idea to regularly fill your water tank in case of any problems with the marina water supply. Sometimes the water supply can be a considerable distance from the boat so long hoses should be carried.
Electricity is also commonly provided, but maintenance levels are poor – many power sockets don’t work or have low voltage, and power outages are particularly common during heavy rain and thunderstorms. Often the power outages are not just on the marina but for the whole local area. Power costs are mostly included in the marina berth charge, but in other cases it’s charged extra, normally using a pre-pay card. It’s a good idea to maintain a large selection of plugs and extension leads as the power sockets vary and sometimes there are not enough for each boat. In these cases a neighbouring skipper will generally agree to share his power socket with you, or the marina staff will make that decision for him.
We have always found security in marinas good and theft is rarely an issue provided that normal sensible precautions are taken.
Many cruisers in the Med don’t anchor at all, simply travelling from marina to marina without ever removing and stowing their fenders. This is particularly the case with chartered yachts, which are often poorly equipped with ground tackle, and with crew who aren’t confident in their anchoring ability and want to enjoy the marina’s action, restaurants and atmosphere. We try to avoid marinas as much as possible because they’re expensive (typically about $70 to $130 per night). It’s also time-consuming to set up mooring lines, power cord and passarelle, and many marinas and harbours require you to go through the inconvenience of reporting to the authorities to have your ship’s documents checked. Another factor is we like to swim as much as possible, which is generally not possible in marinas (not only forbidden but potentially dangerous to swim in areas close to poorly maintained shore power terminals).
Much as we prefer not to, during a typical year we inevitably spend some weeks in various marinas – preparing our boat for cruising at the beginning of the season and for winter at season’s end, when guests arrive and depart, in locations where there are no safe anchorages, for maintenance, for shelter from adverse weather (above Force 7) and when we want to leave our boat unattended for inland travel.
All marinas allow living aboard your boat in the water, and most allow living aboard on the hardstand (even if their advertised terms and conditions say this is not allowed).
Most marinas provide clean toilets and hot showers, but few have facilities to empty holding tanks so it’s a good idea to pump them out at sea before entering a marina.
It’s rarely a problem to discharge grey water or to use a washing machine in marinas. Laundry facilities are common in larger marinas but tend to be very expensive. Cheaper options can often be found in nearby villages.
Shops and markets for most supplies are generally plentiful.

On the hardstand
When your boat needs to be slipped for anti-fouling and below water maintenance it’s a big advantage to continue living aboard and most Med marinas allow this.
Ensure your ladder is stable, securely tied top and bottom, and used very carefully as serious injury-causing accidents involving ladders are common.

It’s a good idea to check your boat’s hull supports periodically, particularly wooden ones, as we have found they can move and need adjustment.

When wooden hull supports are used they can move and need regular checking

Most marina hardstand areas are very dusty and turn muddy during rain, so ensure your cockpit is well protected from dirty footwear and you have a mat at the bottom of your ladder. Keep an old hose especially for use on the hardstand as hoses generally can’t be cleaned sufficiently for normal use after being used there. The power cable also gets very dirty and needs a thorough clean after use.
Grey water cannot be discharged directly onto the hardstand so we place bowls in the galley and head sinks, and empty them periodically into marina storm water drains. In case we get caught short during the night we place a bucket in the head and empty it first thing in the morning.
Although living aboard on the hardstand is probably the least enjoyable aspect of the Med cruising life, it’s often improved by the fact that you’re probably looking up at some nearby ancient temple or castle, and after that time comes the great consistent weather, fascinating historical destinations and wonderfully interesting cultures and cuisines.
The next Blog posting will discuss boating etiquette.

A month in the Sitka Region – updated

By Trawlers on July 11, 2015 in Spirit

Alaska 2015 Part 9 – Cruising to Hoonah Sound, Sitka and Kalinin Bay

June 10 After Cameron departed we headed out to Kalinin Bay, catching some fish before heading back into Peril Strait and up Hoonah Sound to catch some Dungeness crab before the commercial season opens on June 15.

Bear with two cubs – Kalinin Bay

Not every day had rain – sunset Kalinin Bay

Moser Island – first day of crabbing/prawning was not so good, just a few crab.

Moser Island – second day – found the place for prawns – got our limit.

Kalinin Bay – King Salmon fishing and bear watching.

June 17, Return to Sitka – prepare boat for trip back to Seattle. We had to arrange for a local “boat watch” while we were gone. Our processor, Big Blue, had a freezer failure, so we had to buy an additional freezer for the fish we have caught.

June 18-20, 50^th Queen Anne High School reunion in Seattle for Patrick. It was fun catching up with classmates after so much time. There were 160 classmates from a class of 714 who showed up. After 50 years it was a little sobering to realize that 90 of Patrick’s classmates had already passed away.

June 21 – We return to Sitka, prepare Spirit for Sean and Margaret and the granddaughters, Josephine and Brita.

Sean and Josie looking at the bear

And the bear looks back

Miriam sharing a bedtime story with Josie

June 22-28 – Sean, Margaret and the grandkids tour Sitka and fish for 2 days in Kalinin Bay, catching 4 King salmon and rockfish. Josephine now knows were some of her food comes from, watching the fishing and cleaning process with great interest. Sean and Josephine also got to view a brown bear up close from the tender while in Kalinin Bay.

Sunset near the summer solstice in Sitka Harbor

June 29-July 2 – On our own for a few days. We headed to Kalinin Bay, but had poor fishing results. When we return we find that there is a mid-season change in the king salmon limits down to 3 annually effective July 1, so we are finished fishing for king salmon for the season. Now we are looking for Coho salmon and halibut.

July 2-10, Miriam’s cousin Reidun Crowley and her friend Keith Ackerlund visit. Fishing is spotty, but King, Coho and a halibut, along with rockfish make their way into our freezer. Reidum and Keith take home a box of their catch.

Sunriseon Mt. Edgecumbe as we head out fishing

Puffins at St. Lazaria Island

We celebrate an old fashioned 4^th of July with fireworks the night before and a hometown parade on the 4^th. We watched the fireworks from Steel Tiger along with Jim and Cheryl Matheson from Sea Jay (they cruised with us to Alaska in 2011).

July 11 – Maintenance day in Sitka. Dinner at the Channel Club for a farewell to Sitka for the 2015 season. We retrieved our last fish from Big Blue, who finally fixed the freezer situation as we were leaving. We will have to ship our catch from Petersburg when we get there.

July 12 – Depart Sitka for the last time this season, heading back through Peril Strait to fish and prawn. We hope to be in Petersburg in 10 days. Limited internet and cell phone coverage until Petersburg.

Catching Up

By Trawlers on July 11, 2015 in Seabird

The last part of last season was a leisurely trip to Malta and then stops in Siracusa, Sicily, Taormina, the Aeolian islands and a few rolly nights at anchor on the southwest coast of Italy before crossing over to Sardinia and Corsica. After that we crossed over to Elba, a pretty island between Corsica and the northwestern coast of Italy. Details? Ummmm…….. Unfortunately, it was almost a year ago and I have been negligent in my duties as the Chief Blogging Officer aboard Seabird. Had this been 500 years ago, I would have had to walk the plank!

Map of our Journey last Season

Just to get you close to being up to date, here is a brief summary of what we did after the last blog to this season:

Elba is where Seabird and Sans Souci sadly departed. Ken and Roberta had made plans to winter in San Remo in Northern Italy and, although we had originally planned the same, we fell victim to the lure of southern Sicily (Marina Di Ragusa) and the incredible value. Wintering the boat in San Remo was going to cost $22,000. Sicily was a fraction of that at $2500 for the winter. In addition, we would be only a hop, skip and a jump from Tunisia, where fuel was $1.50 per gallon vs $8 in Italy! We needed approximately 1500 gallons, so do the math!

We had a great solo cruise south from Elba. We stopped in the Port of Rome, which is actually about 40 miles from the marina by train. We spent one long day in Rome visiting the Vatican and St Peters.

On our cruise south, we passed close by the port of Giglio. Many of you remember the cruise ship Costa Concordia hit a reef there and sank in 2012. Cruising by there, it was hard for us to believe that the captain actually cruised that close to the land. Seeing where it was first hand, I can tell you that I would not be comfortable cruising that close even in OUR boat!

This is where the Cruise Ship Costa Concordia Went Down

There was no place to anchor there so we found a marina in Calla Gallera. While we were there, I remembered that two friends, Diane and Carlo, were vacationing nearby and we emailed them hoping that we could say hello. It turns out that they were staying about 3 miles from where we were and came over with their family.

After returning to Marina di Ragusa with the boat, we prepared here for the winter, rented a car and drove (via car ferry) to the mainland where we met my sister Diane and brother in law Mike in Tuscany, where we had rent a small villa for a few weeks in the countryside. We used it as a base for touring about. It is a complete departure from the boating lifestyle, but we had lots of fun.

Back to Marina di Ragusa……..

Marina di Ragusa turned out to be a wonderful, vibrant little Sicilian town with friendly people and great, reasonably priced restaurants. Our boat was well taken care of by a fellow named George Rizzo, who also arranged for repairs and the haul out after we returned, as well as an apartment to stay in while the work was being done. The marina itself is fairly new and the boatyard had first class equipment.

Haulout at Marina di Ragusa

We took the opportunity while the boat was hauled to take care of a few items:

Our Dinghy Davit, which is basically a hydraulic crane that lifts the inflatable dinghy off of the deck and lowers it into the water. Unfortunately, towards the end of last season, the system “sprung a leak”. We just barely had gotten the dinghy into the water when it gave out. I love hydraulic systems, but they operate under 3000 pounds of pressure and they don’t really just leak.. They blow out in spectacular fashion, leaving an oily mess, and, in our case, all over the deck! Fortunately we were able to isolate that valve and still use the hydraulics for the bow thruster and anchor windlass. Anyway, it needed a complete overhaul and George arranged to have his mechanic, Leonardo, take it apart, bring everything back to his shop about two hours north of Marina di Ragusa, and fix it. He also drained and replaced the coolant in my many systems on board and installed a new ( but noisy) fresh water pump. He also installed some new parts in our stabilizer system. The area he had to work in was absolutely tiny and I was afraid to show it to him on his first visit, figuring he might not take the job. Both of these guys are larger than me, but somehow squeezed into a place that I could never get into.

Leo turned out to be a great mechanic, something you do not often find. He is what is referred to as a “Shade Tree” mechanic. He is a REAL mechanic who can diagnose and fix things as opposed to a “parts changer”, a guy who keeps changing parts until he finds the problem. Leo is the best.

We also got a new outboard motor to replace our dying, 18 year old Yamaha. Italy has an unusual system. Anything over a 40 HP on a boat requires a special license. I wanted a 60 hp. The response was “so you want a 40/60?” Huh? Well, evidently, you can buy a 40, a 50, a 60 or a 70 hp, all with a 40 hp motor cover. I decided it best not to question it further. I have a dinghy with a VERY fast 40hp.

I mentioned fuel cost savings by going to Tunisia. Unfortunately, we had to change our plans because of the Terrorist incident there. We decided that it was not worth the risk and ended up buying our fuel in Malta, which was more expensive than Tunisa, but cheaper than Italy.

Having everything completed, we were back in the water and ready to go.

Also, if you want to track us in real time, go to the main web page at www.seabirdlrc.com and click the “Current Location” button on the left. When you get to the tracking page, just scroll down to the larger chart. Our location is accurate to within 10 minutes!

Next up…….cruise to Malta

Miscellaneous Pics from our late summer and early fall cruising.

Havent seen this one before? A dinghy with wheels and a separate engine to power them!
Bet you have not seen this before! A dinghy with three
wheels and a separate engine to power them on land!

World famous Tropea Onions at a roadside stand

Swordfish boat at the Messina Straites in Sicily
Look closely at the far right of the picture and you can make
out the guy on the bow platform waiting to stab a fish! the platform
is longer than the boat!!!!

After our hydraulic Dinghy davit broke we had to have
these kind folks at the shipyard load it for us. Price?
They actually did it for free!

This is the city of Pompei. It was covered in Lava after a
Mount Vesuvius Volcano eruption in 79 AD and recently discovered.

This is Malta. You can see why we loved it

Here we are anchored near the Blue Lagoon in Malta

Tropea (the place with the onions) at night

Seabird at Ponza, another of our favorite anchorages in Italy

Here is the marina we stayed at in Tropea

And, last but not least, there is a rumor that in Corsica,
when the wind reaches 43 mph…..strange things happen

HUH?!?!?!?!

Catching Up

By Trawlers on July 11, 2015 in Seabird

Map of our Journey last Season

Just to get you close to being up to date, here is a brief summary of what we did after the last blog to this season:

This is where the Cruise Ship Costa Concordia Went Down

Back to Marina di Ragusa……..

Haulout at Marina di Ragusa

We took the opportunity while the boat was hauled to take care of a few items:

Having everything completed, we were back in the water and ready to go.

Next up…….cruise to Malta

Miscellaneous Pics from our late summer and early fall cruising.

Havent seen this one before? A dinghy with wheels and a separate engine to power them!
Bet you have not seen this before! A dinghy with three
wheels and a separate engine to power them on land!

World famous Tropea Onions at a roadside stand

After our hydraulic Dinghy davit broke we had to have
these kind folks at the shipyard load it for us. Price?
They actually did it for free!

This is the city of Pompei. It was covered in Lava after a
Mount Vesuvius Volcano eruption in 79 AD and recently discovered.

This is Malta. You can see why we loved it

Here we are anchored near the Blue Lagoon in Malta

Tropea (the place with the onions) at night

Seabird at Ponza, another of our favorite anchorages in Italy

Here is the marina we stayed at in Tropea

And, last but not least, there is a rumor that in Corsica,
when the wind reaches 43 mph…..strange things happen

HUH?!?!?!?!

Feeding the Fish

By Trawlers on July 8, 2015 in M/V Alpenglow

So we left Petersburg with high hopes for equaling last years fishing results in Fredrick Sound. As we entered Pybus Bay on the way to Cannery Cove, we dropped three prawn pots in the same location as we did last year that gave us good results.

After a quiet night at anchor being the sole boat, we headed out to the fishing grounds on the west side of the West Brother Island. First we stopped to reap a disappointing prawn harvest. Probably it was the hubris of taking the area for granted and putting three pots down instead of our normal two. We reset two pots in a different area using the tried and true method of looking where somebody else, hopefully better informed than us, placed theirs.

When we arrived on the fishing grounds, Marcia began her utmost to repeat her 2014 performance. As Marcia joked, she must have caught the two stupid halibuts last year because the wily fish underneath our boat repeatedly stole the herring and octopus off of her barbed circle hooks. The worst offense occurred when one fish (or perhaps a “gang”) took all three chunks of herring from each hook of a treble hook.

Eventually we called it quits and headed back to Cannery Cove for the night. Perhaps it was the forecast for wind and rain that prompted boats to head for the protection of Cannery Cove, but in any event, there were four other boats in the anchorage that night.

The next morning, after a rainy and blustery night, we headed out and pulled our two prawn pots from the previous day. We had been sufficiently humbled by the prawn gods so they rewarded us with a nice haul, sufficient for a couple of meals. The halibut gods, though were not appeased and the fish remained elusive. The night was spent in the nook between West Brother Island and the small islets on its west shore. A very scenic anchorage but not one we’d want to weather a storm in.

From there we continued up to Gambier Bay and some more disappointing fishing, both for halibut and prawns. We tried a new (to us) anchorage behind Good Island. It too was scenic but not one we’d want to be in during any significant weather.

The next day we crossed Stephens Passage headed for Port Houghton and Sanborn Inlet. We dropped a couple of prawn pots near the entrance just in case our luck had changed. The next morning upon departure for Tracy Arm Cove we were pleasantly surprised to find dinner waiting for us in the pots.

As we approached our destination, Marcia saw what she first thought was a log or dirty piece of ice floating in the water. As we got closer, we saw it was a moose swimming in Holkham Bay. We were quite far from shore and its origination or destination weren’t totally clear. Currents are pretty swift there so it could have easily been taken well off its intended course.

From Tracy Arm Cove, you can visit either Tracy Arm and the Sawyer Glaciers or Endicott Arm and the Dawes Glacier. We’ve been up Tracy Arm twice but had never been up Endicott Arm. We decided to try the new (to us) area and headed out the next morning.

As we started down Endicott Arm, the ice chunks in the water were large but infrequent enough they were easy to dodge. As we got further in, smaller chunks of ice were common and often difficult to see in the filtered light from the cloudy sky. At the head of Endicott Arm was the Dawes Glacier, the source of the ice in the water.

Our original plan was to do Tracy Arm the day after Endicott Arm but a weather forecast for 30 knot winds persuaded us to head for the public dock in Taku Harbor and wait out the blow. Other boaters had similar ideas and the dock was pretty full when the winds started to pick up.

From Taku Harbor we made our way to Juneau and its Statter Harbor Marina in Auke Bay, where we were fortunate to find a spot without a lot of searching. From here we’ll pick up Marcia’s Arizona cousins whom we’ll take first to Glacier Bay National Park and then to Sitka where they will depart on July 22.

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Marina di Ragusa, Sicily to Gozo, Malta

Marina di Ragusa, Sicily to Gozo, Malta

MARINAS IN THE MED ARE VERY DIFFERENT TO THOSE IN NEW ZEALAND

A month in the Sitka Region – updated

Catching Up

Catching Up

Feeding the Fish

Fabulous Fourth

Fabulous Fourth

Side Trip to Iceland

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