Tag Archives | Diesel Duck

We departed Sitka on Sunday, June 20 with the intention of being in Juneau a week later. In addition, we wanted to get in a short trip to Glacier Bay along the way. To do that we submitted a short-notice (48 hours) permit application for entry into Glacier Bay National Park waters (they limit the number of private vessels in park waters to 25 at a time).  By the time we lost cell coverage from we still hadn’t heard but the next morning, our confirmation notice was in my e-mail box, so we didn’t have to come up with a plan “B”.

Our first night out from Sitka was Appleton Cove and we were glad to be there.  As soon as we rounded the top of Baranof Island (Nismeni Point), the easterly winds started picking up.  Soon we were pounding through 4-foot steep chop powered by 20-knot head winds. Not unsafe, but certainly unpleasant.

The next morning was calm and early start allowed us pick up favorable currents and make it to Flynn Cove on the north shore of Chichagof Island.  It was a busy place that night with four other boats (three trollers and a charter cruise yacht, Alaskan Song).

The park was still operating with Covid-19 rules, so the mandated annual boater orientation was completed via a video presentation prior to submitting the application.  This allowed us to bypass Bartlett Cove and go directly to our anchorage for the night at North Sandy Cove.

Along the route, we did a slow pass by South Marble Island.  This is one of the highlights of a park visit because of the Stellar Sea Lion colonies and the nesting birds.  We thought the sea lion colony populations looked very healthy and the number of tufted puffins greater than in recent years.

Since we were only spending four nights in the park, one of which was going to be in Bartlett Cove on the way out, we decided to forgo a trip to Tarr Inlet and the calving Margerie Glacier. Instead we spent two nights in North Sandy Cove, one in South Finger Bay and the final night in Bartlett Cove.  We tied to the NPS dock at Bartlett Cove for our permitted 3-hours and took Drake ashore, the only portion of the park he is allowed to.  Sadly, it was raining so our walking was brief.

From the Glacier Bay we headed to Funter Harbor on Admiralty Island for the night. An early start on Sunday, 6/27, had us in Auke Bay shortly before 9 AM.  We were enjoying our first (of many) Hot Bite milk shakes later that day.

From here we will start a slow meandering cruise southward, fishing along the way. 

We departed Sitka on Sunday, June 20 with the intention of being in Juneau a week later. In addition, we wanted to get in a short trip to Glacier Bay along the way. To do that we submitted a short-notice (48 hours) permit application for entry into Glacier Bay National Park waters (they limit the number of private vessels in park waters to 25 at a time).  By the time we lost cell coverage from we still hadn’t heard but the next morning, our confirmation notice was in my e-mail box, so we didn’t have to come up with a plan “B”.

Our first night out from Sitka was Appleton Cove and we were glad to be there.  As soon as we rounded the top of Baranof Island (Nismeni Point), the easterly winds started picking up.  Soon we were pounding through 4-foot steep chop powered by 20-knot head winds. Not unsafe, but certainly unpleasant.

The next morning was calm and early start allowed us pick up favorable currents and make it to Flynn Cove on the north shore of Chichagof Island.  It was a busy place that night with four other boats (three trollers and a charter cruise yacht, Alaskan Song).

The park was still operating with Covid-19 rules, so the mandated annual boater orientation was completed via a video presentation prior to submitting the application.  This allowed us to bypass Bartlett Cove and go directly to our anchorage for the night at North Sandy Cove.

Along the route, we did a slow pass by South Marble Island.  This is one of the highlights of a park visit because of the Stellar Sea Lion colonies and the nesting birds.  We thought the sea lion colony populations looked very healthy and the number of tufted puffins greater than in recent years.

Since we were only spending four nights in the park, one of which was going to be in Bartlett Cove on the way out, we decided to forgo a trip to Tarr Inlet and the calving Margerie Glacier. Instead we spent two nights in North Sandy Cove, one in South Finger Bay and the final night in Bartlett Cove.  We tied to the NPS dock at Bartlett Cove for our permitted 3-hours and took Drake ashore, the only portion of the park he is allowed to.  Sadly, it was raining so our walking was brief.

From the Glacier Bay we headed to Funter Harbor on Admiralty Island for the night. An early start on Sunday, 6/27, had us in Auke Bay shortly before 9 AM.  We were enjoying our first (of many) Hot Bite milk shakes later that day.

From here we will start a slow meandering cruise southward, fishing along the way. 

We started the morning of June 5, thinking we were going to head south along the west coast of Baranof Island. After checking the current weather forecast, we changed our mind and decided take the longer but more protected route back out Peril Strait and down Chatham Strait to near its southern end..

We anchored the first night in Hanus Bay on Baranof Island’s northern shore and our second night in Denmark Cove in Little Port Walter towards Baranof’s southern end,  Fishing for Chinook salmon was permited in this area and Marcia wanted to give it a go.  We fished the morning bite just north of Little Port Walter but came up empty handed. We later fished the mid-day bite near Mist Cove, but it seemed that only pink salmon were biting.  After releasing a few “pinks”, Marcia called it a day and we anchored in Patterson Bay.  The anchoring grounds weren’t great but the scenery was spectacular and the weather settled.

From Patterson Bay, we headed north up Chatham Strait to Gut Bay for a couple of nights to wait for the Pacific Ocean swell coming into Chatham Strait to lay down. Gut Bay is another of the many scenic Baranof Island anchorages.

After a couple of nights in Gut Bay and with calmer conditions we headed across the Chatham Strait and fished south of Tebenkof Bay.  A fishing gear equipment failure cut short our efforts short and we anchored in Gedney Harbor for the night.  With the gear back online, we decided to head back to Fredrick Sound and visit some dog-friendly anchorages.  The weather was lovely and Drake enjoyed his time on the gravel beach, a short kayak paddle from our anchored boat.

After our break from fishing, we headed back down to Gut Bay.  On June 15, the areas open to recreational salmon fishing expanded and we were able to fish areas further north in Chatham Strait than previously.  Sadly, after a couple of days with only pink salmon on the hook, we called it quits headed back towards Sitka.

With one intermediate stop at Baby Bear we returned to Sitka on June 17. After 12 days of travel, 86.6 engine hours and 491 miles we were back where we had started.

We started the morning of June 5, thinking we were going to head south along the west coast of Baranof Island. After checking the current weather forecast, we changed our mind and decided take the longer but more protected route back out Peril Strait and down Chatham Strait to near its southern end..

We anchored the first night in Hanus Bay on Baranof Island’s northern shore and our second night in Denmark Cove in Little Port Walter towards Baranof’s southern end,  Fishing for Chinook salmon was permited in this area and Marcia wanted to give it a go.  We fished the morning bite just north of Little Port Walter but came up empty handed. We later fished the mid-day bite near Mist Cove, but it seemed that only pink salmon were biting.  After releasing a few “pinks”, Marcia called it a day and we anchored in Patterson Bay.  The anchoring grounds weren’t great but the scenery was spectacular and the weather settled.

From Patterson Bay, we headed north up Chatham Strait to Gut Bay for a couple of nights to wait for the Pacific Ocean swell coming into Chatham Strait to lay down. Gut Bay is another of the many scenic Baranof Island anchorages.

After a couple of nights in Gut Bay and with calmer conditions we headed across the Chatham Strait and fished south of Tebenkof Bay.  A fishing gear equipment failure cut short our efforts short and we anchored in Gedney Harbor for the night where we repaired the problem. 

With the gear back online, we decided to head back to Fredrick Sound and visit some dog-friendly anchorages.  As we passed Tebenkof Bay, we could see in the distance (a mile or two away) large numbers (>30) of humpback whales feeding. The feeding included bubble feeding which is always dramatic.

When we got to Fredrick Sound, the weather was lovely. Drake enjoyed his time on the gravel beach a short kayak paddle from our anchored boat playing with his favorite ball and wading in the water, .

After our break from fishing, we headed back down to Gut Bay.  On June 15, the areas open to recreational salmon fishing expanded and we were able to fish areas farther north in Chatham Strait than previously.  Sadly, after a couple of days with only pink salmon on the hook, we called it quits headed back towards Sitka.

With one intermediate stop at Baby Bear we returned to Sitka on June 17. After 12 days of travel, 86.6 engine hours and 491 nautical miles we were back where we had started.

After last year’s strange, hurried and very wet Alaska cruising season we hoped to return to some normalcy in this year’s season.  We started off with our “traditional” half loop around Behm Canal.  Ketchikan is on Revillagigedo Island which is surrounded on three sides by Behm Canal and Tongass Narrows/Revillagigedo Channel on its fourth.  We dislike retracing our entrance route into Ketchikan along Revillagigedo Channel so instead we continue out Tongass Narrows and work our way north along the west leg of Behm Canal, around the top of Revillagigedo Island and partway down the east leg of Behm Canal.  It is usually less crowded and it visits many sites that have yielded crabs or prawns for us in the past.

Only a short distance (~12 NM) from Ketchikan, we encountered an unusual sight.  The US Navy has an acoustic test station at the south end of the west channel of Behm Canal.  In all our past trips, one or two large barges sit lonely in the middle of the channel.  This year there was a buzz of activity, including a Coast Guard Cutter patrolling the perimeter.  The hub of the activity was a Trident nuclear submarine sitting on the surface between the two barges.  We have no idea of the kind of testing being done (and wouldn’t tell you if we did).  When we returned by the area a few days later, all was quiet again.

While we saw a half dozen cruising boats when we started up Behm Canal, they were all exiting and we saw only a few other boats along the way.  We did manage to get on the USFS buoy in Walker Cove in Misty Fiords National Monument.  We usually see bears on the beach foraging on the sedge grass but they weren’t there this year.  When we went to shore, we understood why. The sedge grass had only just sprouted, was sparse and only a inch or two high.  Hardly enough to feed a hungry sow and one or two cubs.

We attribute the grass’s stunted condition to the cold and wet weather.  Since we’ve been in SEAK, we’ve had above normal rain and below normal temperatures.  We’ve gone several days in which the high temperature we see on our outside thermometer never cracks 50°.  Our furnace is getting a workout this season.

After our Behm Canal foray we headed up to Ernest Sound and spent a couple of nights at Santa Anna Inlet, prawning nearby.  We then positioned in Roosevelt Harbor on Zarembo Island for our transit of Wrangell Narrows.  While there we met a couple of boaters from nearby Wrangell who knew our friends Jim & Rosy on Sea Venture who wintered over in Wrangell.  An attraction of Roosevelt Harbor is the USFS dock and access to logging roads.  We took Drake ashore in our kayaks for a well deserved walk (we were 8 days out from Ketchikan at this point).

Our arrival in Petersburg was at high slack and the notorious currents were quiet so the docking was uneventful.  We secured a slip just down from our friends, John & Kathleen on our sister ship, Laysan.  They wintered their boat in Petersburg but wisely return to their home in Hawaii for the winter.

After a couple of days in Petersburg and with outstanding weather (but a poor forecast for the next day), we made the long day’s journey to Takatz Bay on Baranof Island.  We sat out the poor weather in Takatz and spent part of the day watching a helicopter ferrying loads from a frontloading craft to some nearby location.  After talking with a guide from a small (<200′) cruise ship (it was taking its guests on excursions in Takatz), we believe the activity was the stocking of a nearby lake with smolt.  The fish were carried in the water tanks of tanker trucks which were driven onto the front loader.  The front loader beached itself and pumped the water and fish into canvas bags in a frame structure.  The helicopter would lower a short haul line down while hovering, the crew attached the short haul to the frame structure, the helicopter would fly off and dump its load and swap its empty load for a new load (they had two bag structures).  This went on for 2 to 3 hours.  The helicopter landed on the beach at the beginning and ending of the process and once in the middle (not sure if the helicopter refueled from a tank on the front loader).  It was all very interesting.

After our two nights in Takatz we continued to Appleton Cove and then to Baby Bear Bay.  In Baby Bear we took Drake to shore on an island (at least at high tide) since it was several days after leaving Petersburg.  After two nights in Baby Bear (again sitting out some rainy, blustery weather), we transited through Sergius Narrows and make our way to Kalinin Bay for the night.  An early start had us fishing the morning bite along the north shore of Kruzof Island outside Kalinin.  No luck.

Our final night before Sitka, was in the outer cove of DeGroff Bay on Krestof Island.  We find that anchorage to be well protected and convenient for an early arrival in Sitka.

We’re planning three nights in Sitka, tending to chores and attending a concert associated with the Sitka Music Festival taking place this year after last year’s hiatus.  After that, we’ll go cruising for a week or so and return to Sitka for another concert later in the month.

After last year’s strange, hurried and very wet Alaska cruising season we hoped to return to some normalcy in this year’s season.  We started off with our “traditional” half loop around Behm Canal.  Ketchikan is on Revillagigedo Island which is surrounded on three sides by Behm Canal and Tongass Narrows/Revillagigedo Channel on its fourth.  We dislike retracing our entrance route into Ketchikan along Revillagigedo Channel so instead we continue out Tongass Narrows and work our way north along the west leg of Behm Canal, around the top of Revillagigedo Island and partway down the east leg of Behm Canal.  It is usually less crowded and it visits many sites that have yielded crabs or prawns for us in the past.

Only a short distance (~12 NM) from Ketchikan, we encountered an unusual sight.  The US Navy has an acoustic test station at the south end of the west channel of Behm Canal.  In all our past trips, one or two large barges sit lonely in the middle of the channel.  This year there was a buzz of activity, including a Coast Guard Cutter patrolling the perimeter.  The hub of the activity was a Trident nuclear submarine sitting on the surface between the two barges.  We have no idea of the kind of testing being done (and wouldn’t tell you if we did).  When we returned by the area a few days later, all was quiet again.

While we saw a half dozen cruising boats when we started up Behm Canal, they were all exiting and we saw only a few other boats along the way.  We did manage to get on the USFS buoy in Walker Cove in Misty Fiords National Monument.  We usually see bears on the beach foraging on the sedge grass but they weren’t there this year.  When we went to shore, we understood why. The sedge grass had only just sprouted, was sparse and only a inch or two high.  Hardly enough to feed a hungry sow and one or two cubs.

We attribute the grass’s stunted condition to the cold and wet weather.  Since we’ve been in SEAK, we’ve had above normal rain and below normal temperatures.  We’ve gone several days in which the high temperature we see on our outside thermometer never cracks 50°.  Our furnace is getting a workout this season.

After our Behm Canal foray we headed up to Ernest Sound and spent a couple of nights at Santa Anna Inlet, prawning nearby.  We then positioned in Roosevelt Harbor on Zarembo Island for our transit of Wrangell Narrows.  While there we met a couple of boaters from nearby Wrangell who knew our friends Jim & Rosy on Sea Venture who wintered over in Wrangell.  An attraction of Roosevelt Harbor is the USFS dock and access to logging roads.  We took Drake ashore in our kayaks for a well deserved walk (we were 8 days out from Ketchikan at this point).

Our arrival in Petersburg was at high slack and the notorious currents were quiet so the docking was uneventful.  We secured a slip just down from our friends, John & Kathleen on our sister ship, Laysan.  They wintered their boat in Petersburg but wisely return to their home in Hawaii for the winter.

After a couple of days in Petersburg and with outstanding weather (but a poor forecast for the next day), we made the long day’s journey to Takatz Bay on Baranof Island.  We sat out the poor weather in Takatz and spent part of the day watching a helicopter ferrying loads from a frontloading craft to some nearby location.  After talking with a guide from a small (<200′) cruise ship (it was taking its guests on excursions in Takatz), we believe the activity was the stocking of a nearby lake with smolt.  The fish were carried in the water tanks of tanker trucks which were driven onto the front loader.  The front loader beached itself and pumped the water and fish into canvas bags in a frame structure.  The helicopter would lower a short haul line down while hovering, the crew attached the short haul to the frame structure, the helicopter would fly off and dump its load and swap its empty load for a new load (they had two bag structures).  This went on for 2 to 3 hours.  The helicopter landed on the beach at the beginning and ending of the process and once in the middle (not sure if the helicopter refueled from a tank on the front loader).  It was all very interesting.

After our two nights in Takatz we continued to Appleton Cove and then to Baby Bear Bay.  In Baby Bear we took Drake to shore on an island (at least at high tide) since it was several days after leaving Petersburg.  After two nights in Baby Bear (again sitting out some rainy, blustery weather), we transited through Sergius Narrows and make our way to Kalinin Bay for the night.  An early start had us fishing the morning bite along the north shore of Kruzof Island outside Kalinin.  No luck.

Our final night before Sitka, was in the outer cove of DeGroff Bay on Krestof Island.  We find that anchorage to be well protected and convenient for an early arrival in Sitka.

We’re planning three nights in Sitka, tending to chores and attending a concert associated with the Sitka Music Festival taking place this year after last year’s hiatus.  After that, we’ll go cruising for a week or so and return to Sitka for another concert later in the month.

The 2021 cruising season has begun and it bears a resemblance to last year but also to the pre-Covid-19 cruising seasons.

In 2020, during the early phases of the pandemic everything was locked down and we were confined to Puget Sound. But in late June 2020, the Canadian government began allowing boats to transit their waters, even for “non essential” purposes (e.g., recreation), if going from foreign port to foreign port. The transit had to be “direct”, “continuous-uninterupted”, and “by the most reasonable route.” The most important aspect of the policy
was the ability to stop for essential or safety reasons (e.g., anchoring at night). The rules the Canadians have in place this year are pretty much the same. The process is a bit more routinized this year but the intent and operation is pretty much the same.

We are currently in Ketchikan having completed the trip abiding by the Canadian rules as best as we could. We cleared into Canada at the Van Isle Marina near Sidney, BC on May 8. We cleared back into the United States in Ketchikan on May 14. We anchored the night before in a US anchorage about 20 miles from Ketchikan. From our last US anchorage in Washington to our first US anchorage Alaska we made five stops in British Columbia and covered 585 nautical miles. During the six days we averaged over 97 miles per day.

The difference we are seeing between 2020 and 2021 are the numbers of US boaters availing themselves of the opportunity to transit. Last year, the Canadian transit policy went in effect with little fanfare and relatively late in the cruising season. This year US boaters have been chomping on the bit and planning for summer 2021 in SE Alaska all winter and spring. On the day we arrived in Ketchikan, we counted at least ten other US boats doing
likewise.

Our itinerary in Alaska is not set in stone but we hope to get to Sitka, a stop we didn’t do last year, and do more fishing. We’ll try to get to Glacier Bay but will focus on a short notice permit rather than an advance notice permit. Beyond that we’ll let conditions and opportunities direct our route.

After three relaxing nights at Prevost Harbor it was off to Anacortes for two more nights at Cap Sante. The last day of our cruise, September 2, was a bouncy crossing of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and a windy run down Admiralty Inlet & Puget Sound to Eagle Harbor, where our cruise started on July 2.

Our cruise was 63 days long.  We anchored 42 nights, tied to mooring balls 4 nights, to a dock 14 nights, and traveled through the night twice (once northbound through BC and the other southbound).  We had the anchorage to ourselves 19 times. 

Over the cruise, we covered 2527.3 nautical miles (NM) and accumulated 399.7 engine hours.  For the purpose of calculating our average speed, I exclude hours in which the engine was idling for extended periods such as when trolling or drifting while sightseeing.  We had 11.5 hours of that time.  Using that method gives us an average speed of 6.51 knots (2527.3 NM / 388.2 Hr).

Below is a map of the places we visited on our 2020 cruise. If you click on a mark it will name the location and the distance and time needed to get there.

When you chat with anyone about 2020, words like “strange”, “unusual” or “weird” will be part of the conversation. All of those describe our cruise as well. The table below shows our ten trips to SE Alaska. Our 2020 cruise clearly stands out from all the rest.

Our transits through Canadian waters were the fastest we had ever done. The northbound journey was 581.3 NM (from last anchorage in WA to the first anchorage in AK) accomplished in 134.1 clock hours and 85.5 engine hours. The southbound trip was 531.6 NM in 126.3 clock hours and 78.6 engine hours.

The trip was short by historical standards, and hard when you look at the miles covered per day. The weather was crummy much of the time (Petersburg had 16.4 inches of rain during the 46 days we were in SEAK while Ketchikan had 17.9 inches). Nevertheless, we are glad we did it and grateful that the Canadian government loosened their non-essential travel regulations to permit the transits that we made.

We are hopeful for 2021 and that it will return more normalcy to our lives.

After three relaxing nights at Prevost Harbor it was off to Anacortes for two more nights at Cap Sante. The last day of our cruise, September 2, was a bouncy crossing of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and a windy run down Admiralty Inlet & Puget Sound to Eagle Harbor, where our cruise started on July 2.

Our cruise was 63 days long.  We anchored 42 nights, tied to mooring balls 4 nights, to a dock 14 nights, and traveled through the night twice (once northbound through BC and the other southbound).  We had the anchorage to ourselves 19 times. 

Over the cruise, we covered 2527.3 nautical miles (NM) and accumulated 399.7 engine hours.  For the purpose of calculating our average speed, I exclude hours in which the engine was idling for extended periods such as when trolling or drifting while sightseeing.  We had 11.5 hours of that time.  Using that method gives us an average speed of 6.51 knots (2527.3 NM / 388.2 Hr).

Below is a map of the places we visited on our 2020 cruise. If you click on a mark it will name the location and the distance and time needed to get there.

When you chat with anyone about 2020, words like “strange”, “unusual” or “weird” will be part of the conversation. All of those describe our cruise as well. The table below shows our ten trips to SE Alaska. Our 2020 cruise clearly stands out from all the rest.

Our transits through Canadian waters were the fastest we had ever done. The northbound journey was 581.3 NM (from last anchorage in WA to the first anchorage in AK) accomplished in 134.1 clock hours and 85.5 engine hours. The southbound trip was 531.6 NM in 126.3 clock hours and 78.6 engine hours.

The trip was short by historical standards, and hard when you look at the miles covered per day. The weather was crummy much of the time (Petersburg had 16.4 inches of rain during the 46 days we were in SEAK while Ketchikan had 17.9 inches). Nevertheless, we are glad we did it and grateful that the Canadian government loosened their non-essential travel regulations to permit the transits that we made.

We are hopeful for 2021 and that it will return more normalcy to our lives and cruising.