We’ve just returned from four days fishing around Sitka, Alaska. From Tuesday, June 23 through Saturday, July 4, Alex will be fishing with his college chums Willie, Joe and Mike. Some 45+ years ago these guys were students at Cal Poly Colle…
Tag Archives | Selene
2015-06 Fishing Lituya Bay, Whale Bay and Sitka Sound with the Cowboys and the Judge
June 11 – 21: Fishing Lituya Bay, Whale Bay and Sitka SoundWild Blue anchored in Lituya BaySince June 11th Alex has been fishing with San Luis Obispo Caballeros Roger Larson and Bob Daniels and Judge Sid Findley. There’s lots of stories to tell a…
Hoonah to Sitka – The Fishing Begins
May 28 – Hoonah
We decided to spend an extra day in Hoonah and try halibut fishing from the Grady White. We had no luck! Jon Liljegren had arranged to have Seafood Chowder prepared at the Office Pub, so we all went there for chowder and beer.
May 29 – Hoonah to Tenakee Springs
Departing Hoonah at 0800 we followed Steel Tiger east in Icy Strait and the south down Chatham Strait. The skies were clear, but with a brisk NW wind. At 1410 we docked in Tenakee Springs just behind Steel Tiger. The crab pots were set in Kadashan Bay and some of us enjoyed the hot springs.
The store has been refurbished inside and is really nice. There is free wifi at the bakery!
May 30 – Tenakee Springs to Takatz
There were NO crab in our pots the next morning! Departing Tenakee Springs at 0910 we immediately ran into fog in Chatham Strait, which dissipated as we headed south. We dropped off prawn pots in Kasnyku Bay and then anchored in Takatz Bay. Most everyone boarded the tenders and we headed several miles further south to Warm Springs Bay where we hiked to the upper hot springs for a refreshing soak. The tubs at the docks are new since the last time we used them, and the water is hot! We carried the martinis up the boardwalk to the upper pools.
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| Part of the boardwalk at Warm Springs Bay |
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| Enjoying the hot springs and martinis alongside the river |
May 31 – Takatz to Rodman Bay
Timing our departure to pick up the prawn pots in Kasnyku Bay and still make high slack tide at a halibut fishing location on the way to Rodman Bay, we found only 9 prawns in the pots. The fishing was more productive, with Jon Liljegren hooking into a 77 pound halibut, followed by a 10 pounder and a large quillback rockfish. By 1815 we were anchored in a windy Rodman Bay (sustained winds of 25 knots) and were all invited to an impromptu dinner on Maximo. Crab pots were set.
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| Jon Liljegren’s 54 inch 77 pound halibut |
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| Jon and Suzanne enjoying the prawns from Kasnyku Bay |
June 1 – Rodman to Kalinin Bay
At 0835 we left Rodman Bay with 14 nice Dungeness crabs and continued west in Peril Strait through Sergius Narrows and on to Kalinin Bay. After anchoring, we took the Grady White fishing and came back with a king salmon caught in one of the usual places, (Yes, the places are local knowledge, you have to come learn for yourself).
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| Patrick getting ready to clean the first king salmon of the season |
June 2 – Kalinin Bay
We fished from the Grady White and captured 4 more King salmon and 1 Quillback. The rain continued all day.
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| Patrick & Jon with the next four king salmon |
June 3 – Kalinin to Sitka
Departing from Kalinin Bay at 0700 in the rain, we docked without incidence at Sitka at 1050. Our oldest son Cameron arrived on time from Helena, Montana on the 1310 flight. Dinner was a group affair at the Channel Club.
June 4 – Sitka – Maintenance Day
After more than 1500 miles, it was time for oil changes on both the main engine and the generator. Liljegren’s toured Sitka and Cameron helped with the oil changes.
June 5 – Fishing at Biorka Island
We let everyone sleep in, so the fishing began with a 0610 departure from Sitka, towing Teri’s Mink, the tender to Steel Tiger. Swells were running 8-10 feet and the winds was steady at 20-22 knots. The seas calmed in the lee of Biorka Island and both boats began fishing. We lost 2 fish and finally returned to the dock at 1415. The rain was heavy at times.
June 6 – Sitka
Patrick and Cameron fished in the Grady at Kalinin Bay without success, except for rockfish. The rain continued all day.
June 7 – Sitka
Liljegren’s left just before noon, taking the halibut and three king salmon with them. Patrick and Cameron then fished at Viskari Rocks, and then at Long Island. Cameron caught his first King salmon.
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| Cameron with his first king salmon |
June 8 – Sitka – Fishing with Big Blue Charters.
The seas offshore were too big for the Grady White, and Spirit would have rolled badly in the 5-10 foot seas, so Miriam, Patrick and Cameron went out on a charter boat from Big Blue Charters, bringing back 1 King and one small halibut, which became dinner. There was enough halibut fillets to make four more meals, so they were vacuum packed and placed in the freezer.
We have collected 7 king salmon and 3 halibut so far from the combined efforts of Liljegrens and Gills.
June 9 – Sitka
Cameron departed shortly before noon, returning to Helena, Montana, taking home two king salmon. The rest of the day was spent doing laundry, checking provisions and preparing to depart Sitka in the morning. We will fish and crab before the commercial crab season begins on June 15, and then return to Sitka on June 17. No new posts until then since we will be out of cell phone range.
Alaska 2015 – Glaciers and Whales – Petersburg to Hoonah
May 17, 2015 – Petersburg to Portage Bay
We know we have lost a day somewhere, but so what. This morning we finally departed Petersburg and fought a 5 knot flood tide against us for several miles as we headed out of Wrangell Narrows and up Frederick Sound. The seas were calm as we motored the short distance to Portage Bay where we anchored about one mile into the bay. Even one mile in, the peak current was over 2 knots, but he bottom was mud and held well, since Steel Tiger rafted alongside of us. Our Delta FastSet anchor had no problem at a 4:1 scope holding the combined weight of 135 tons as the current ebbed and flooded during the night. Crab pots were set, but with no success. We suspect we were not far enough into the bay.
May 18, 2015 – Portage Bay to Tracy Arm
Both boats departed Portage Bay at 0635 to take advantage of the ebb tide out Frederick Sound and then the flood tide up Stephens Passage to Holkam Bay. At Cape Fanshawe we encountered a large pod of Orca, then Dall Porpoise near Fife Finger Islands Lighthouse. Off Windham Bay we encountered humpback whales, which were mostly feeding on the surface. One came to the surface right in front of Spirit and we had to go into reverse to avoid hitting it. We just stayed in idle for a few minutes until we were clear of the whale.
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| Part of the large pod of Orca |
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| We almost ran into this one |
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| Lots of tails, no breaching |
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| Just another humpback tail |
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| Foot shaped rock on Entrance island, Holkam Bay |
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| Brown bear on the beach, No Name Cove |
Crossing the bar at Holkam Bay, we entered No Name Cove (also known as Tracy Arm Cove). There was a solitary brown bear on the beach when we arrived. Spirit rafted to Steel Tiger. We took Steel Tiger’s tender from the anchorage up Tracy Arm to assess the ice conditions for the next day. We turned around at mile 15 since the ice was easily navigable.
May 19, 2015 – Tracy Arm
We broke up the raft at 0750 and headed up Tracy Arm. Stopping at Ice Falls for photos we shortened the tow lines on the tenders and continued up the arm, easily dodging the sparse ice. Passing Sawyer Island we reached to within ¼ mile of the South Sawyer glacier face about noon. Shutting off the engine, we just drifted for several hours and watched the calving and listened to the noise the glacier made. We returned to the cove and anchored separately at 1715.
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| Looking up the “S-Curvess” |
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| The icebergs are constantly changing |
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| Finally – South Sawyer Glacier |
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| Calving every few minutes |
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| This one set up a large wave from the face |
May 20, 2015 – Tracy Arm to Taku Harbor
Spirit departed Holkam Bay behind the cruise ship “Star Princess” at 0850, and after an uneventful trip, docked at the public dock in Taku Harbor at 1255. The crab pots were set and by evening we had 2 large Dungeness crab. The harbor was windy, so we were glad to be at a dock. There is also another public float, not connected to shore further south in the harbor. Several humpback whales entered the harbor and provided entertainment during the evening.
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| Departing Holkam Bay behind the Star Princess |
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| Abandoned building – Taku Harbor |
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| Public dock – Taku Harbor |
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| The last of the squat lobsters became cocktails |
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| Harry Johnson’s famous crab spaghetti |
May 21, 2015 – Taku Harbor to Auke Bay
After pulling the crab pots, with 6 more legal crabs, we headed for Auke Bay. Leaving Taku we were treated to a breaching humpback whale. We were able to get on the inside of the breakwater and shut off the engines at 1220. After picking up the rental van from Juneau Car Rentals, we picked up Steel Tiger’s guests at the airport. All eight of us headed for Mendenhall Glacier, Costco and then Alaskan Brewing, before returning to the boat. We grilled steaks to celebrate the last night with Bob & Dianne Tucker before taking them to their hotel in downtown Juneau. They will continue to travel to Anchorage and Homer before returning to Anacortes. Juneau was very warm, with most people in short sleeved shirts and many in shorts.
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| Taku whale show |
May 22, 2015 – Juneau
After a leisurely group breakfast of blueberry waffles and homemade German sausage we all piled back in the van and headed to downtown Juneau where we dropped of the Tucker’s at their hotel and then spent several hours mingling with the thousands of cruise ship passengers browsing the jewelry stores, souvenir shops and Alaskan Native art shops. By now it was lunchtime, so we headed for the Red Dog Saloon where we managed to get a booth with no waiting time. The sawdust on the floors, the server’s costumes, the piano player and the décor all attempting to recreate a Gold Rush era saloon atmosphere. The beer was good (Alaskan Amber) and the food passable for pub fare, so we had a good time. Leaving downtown, we headed back to the airport where we picked up our friends, Jon & Suzanne Liljegren. After a stop to pick up fishing licenses we repeated the tours of Mendenhall Glacier, Costco, Alaskan Brewing and then Safeway for some last minute provisions before returning to Auke Bay. We had a “welcome aboard” BBQ and enjoyed the warm, sunny evening.
May 23, 2015 – Auke Bay to Swanson Harbor
After returning the rental van we said goodbye to Auke Bay for 2015 and left the dock at 1030 for the 30 nautical mile run to Swanson Harbor. Heading around the north end of Admiralty Island past Point Retreat we encountered windy, choppy seas in the southern Lynn Canal. As we headed south the seas and wind gradually slackened and it was mostly calm as we entered Swanson Harbor and found space at one of the two public floats, docking at 1445. By evening the floats were full of people coming out from Juneau to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend. Crab pots were set in the usual locations, but were empty at the evening check.
May 24, 2014 – Swanson Harbor to Glacier Bay
Patrick picked up the crab pots, there were only 2 legal crab in the pots, and Spirit tossed off the lines at 0702 and we headed to Bartlett Cove, Glacier Bay. Just outside Swanson Harbor we observed a number of Sea Otters, which may explain the lack of crab in the harbor, since they can decimate the crab population quickly. We crossed the boundary at 1100 and after getting permission, docked in Bartlett Cove at 1224. We all visited the lodge, watched the movie, and then the skipper’s orientation at 1400, where we signed the logbook. Both Spirit and Steel Tiger departed Bartlett Cove at 1455 and by 1830 we were rafted alongside Steel Tiger in North Sandy Cove. Along the way we stopped at South Marble Island and viewed the massive colonies of Stellar Sea Lions and looked for Puffins, to no avail.
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| Stellar Sea Lions, South Marble Island |
May 25, 2014 – Marjerie Glacier
After a leisurely departure from North Sandy Cove at 0810, we headed north and stopped just short of Tidal Inlet to photograph Mountain Goats. We proceeded up Tarr Inlet, passing to the east of Russell Island and directly to Marjerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers. We had to share the glacier views with the “Star Princess” for a while, but then it departed and we had the glacier face to ourselves. Marjerie Glacier is very active, with some calving every few minutes. Patrick collected some glacial ice and then we headed to Blue Mouse Cove. We spent nearly two hours enjoying the sounds and sights at the glacier face.
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| Mountain Goats, Glacier Bay near Tidal Inlet |
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| Cormorants Hitching a ride |
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| Majerie Glacier comes into view |
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| The Star Princess is dwarfed by the glacier face |
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| Calving – Oftne |
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| The rivers of ice stretching into the Fairweather Range |
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| The Fairweather Range makes cruise shiips look tiny |
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| A final calving as we leave Marjerie Glacier |
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| Our haul of glacial ice from Glacier Bay |
Departing the glacier at 1600 we headed back down Tarr Inlet, passing west of Russell Island, passing the entrance to John Hopkins Inlet, past Lamplugh Glacier, Reid Glacier and finally anchoring in Blue Mouse Cove where Steel Tiger rafted alongside Spirit. As the sun set we were treated to great views of the Fairweather Range and portions of the Brady Icefields.
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| Skinny Moose on the beach, South Finger Bay |
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| Brady icefields from Blue Mouse Cove |
May 26, 2015 – Blue Mouse Cove to South Finger Bay
At 1000 we broke up the raft and by 1220 both boats were anchored in South Finger Cove. Jon and Suzanne took the tender out to the other side of the bay near Tidal Inlet to photograph more Mountain Goats. We put prawn pots down in Berg Bay and had to dodge Humpback whales both in Berg Bay and in the entrance to South Finger Bay. There were hundreds of sea otters floating at the mouth of the bay, many with babies on their chests. Our halibut fishing expedition was unsuccessful, but the Steel Tiger crew landed one nice halibut. Returning to the bay, we watched two skinny moose wander down the beach right behind the boat.
May 27, 2015 – Glacier Bay to Hoonah
Spirit pulled the anchor at 0750. Patrick and Jon took the Grady White down to Berg Bay to retrieve the prawn pots and Miriam and Suzanne drove Spirit behind them. We got about 2 dozen, a disappointing haul, but enough for an appetizer. Heading out of Glacier Bay, we checked out of the park with Bartlett Cove and headed to Hoonah. The wind peaked to 22 knots and the seas to 4 foot as we headed back east in Icy Strait. Heading up Gedney Channel we were treated to more Humpback whales and a rock covered with Bald Eagles. We docked at the transient float in Hoonah at 1440 and after checking in, refueled the Grady White and refreshed our produce at the Hoonah Trading Company. We have decided to stay an extra day in Hoonah so we can fish for halibut in the morning.
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| Sunny evening in Hoonah Harbor |
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| Eagle Rock |
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| Chickens Wander the streets in Hoonah |
Alaska 2015 – Ketchikan to Petersburg
May 9, 2014
The day was spent sightseeing around Ketchikan. A surprise from previous visits was the $5.00 per person charge to even walk the outside grounds at Saxman Village and still not be allowed inside the longhouse, which is reserved for cruise ship passenger shows. Completing provisioning and purchasing Alaska fishing licenses took part of the afternoon. That evening we met up with Mike and Susie Miner (Seeker), Tucker’s and Johnson’s for dinner at the Cape Fox Lodge.
May 10, 2015
Steel Tiger and Spirit left City Floats shortly after 0800 and headed to the fuel docks. Our preferred fuel dock was unavailable due to a fuel barge offloading fresh fuel, so we used Petromarine. Prices were surprisingly close to those we paid in Anacortes for similar quantities. Spirit took on 635 gallons of fuel. By 0900 we were all underway once again under clear skies. Heading north up Tongass Narrows, past Caamano Point, we followed the shoreline up Clarence Strait until turning in at Meyers Chuck. By this time the clear skies had turned into rain, the public dock was full and the anchor would not set. Since we suspected the art gallery would be closed this early in the season we agreed to continue on to Santa Anna Inlet. The Meyers Chuck dock has been transferred from the state to Wrangell Borough, which now must repair/replace the dock. Wrangell’s intentions are to start charging for moorage July 1 at the rate of 0.20$/ft/night, which is really nominal. The rain quit as Steel Tiger anchored first and Spirit rafted alongside. The prawn pots were set and we enjoyed the now sunny, but breezy weather.
May 11, 2015 – Santa Anna Inlet
The morning check of Spirit’s prawn pots yielded about 7 dozen large spot prawns and great quantities of squat lobsters, with Steel Tiger’s pots doing about the same. Even though there is not much meat on each squat lobster, only about the tip of your little finger, the meat is tender and sweet. We cooked everything up and had a feast on the back deck of Steel Tiger.
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| Some of our Squat Lobsters |
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| Enjoying prawns on the aft deck of Steel Tiger |
May 12, 2015 – Santa Anna Inlet to Wrangell
The morning check of Spirit’s prawn pots yielded 10 dozen large spot prawns. After processing them, both boats left Santa Anna Inlet at 0800. Our route was through Zimovia Strait. By 1325 the engine was off in Wrangell’s Heritage Basin where we reconnected with the Lennon’s on the Selene 53 “Tranquility”. The balance of the day was spent touring Wrangell and looking for a new trim tab pump for the Grady White, with no success. Larger cruise ships now come into Wrangell, like the “Seven Seas Navigator” with 450 passengers, so there were a lot of people walking around downtown.
May 13, 2015 – On to Petersburg
Slack water in Wrangell Narrows required a 0500 departure from the dock. Under sunny skies and calm seas we had an uneventful transit of Wrangell Narrows and were tied up in Petersburg at 1030 am. We were assigned a slip in North Harbor on the docks which were new last year. The town is preparing for The “Little Norway Festival” or Norwegian Independence Day celebrations, which begin today and run through Monday. Patrick searched for a replacement trim tab pump and actually found one, which was delivered to the harbormaster’s office early in the evening.
May 14, 2015 – Le Conte Glacier
After breakfast and installing the new trim tab pump, a group of 8 of us (Gill’s, Johnson’s, Tucker’s and Jim & Christie Caldwell) headed out on a 4 hour jetboat tour of Le Conte glacier, the southernmost tidewater glacier in the US. On the way we saw a humpback whale. The ice was thick at the upper end of the fjord, so we were only able to get within ¾ mile of the face, but it was still spectacular. There were a number of seals on the ice floes getting ready to calve, which should happen any day. Returning to Petersburg we had “dinner” at one of the celebration beer gardens while some of the contests were still going on. Most of the contests seemed to involve tossing herring into targets. We were still a little hungry, so we hurried to Papa Bear’s Pizza before they closed at 8PM and shared a “Carnivore” pizza.
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| Bald Eagle on a berg – Le Conbte |
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| Le Conte Glacier from 3/4 mile away |
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| The ice floes we pushed through on the jet boat |
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| Curious Seals |
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| Our tour group |
May 15, 2015 – Parade Day
The festival continued with several blocks of the main street blocked off. There were all kinds of food booths, arts and crafts and finally a parade followed by a “herring toss” competition, open to all. Beer gardens were set up in several locations, there was live entertainment in the evening and everyone seemed to be having a great time in the warm sunny weather.
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| School children in Festive Norwegian clothes |
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| The Viking longboat |
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| Herring flying through the air during the herring toss |
We will be in Petersburg until Sunday afternoon, then on to Juneau via Tracy or Endicott Arms, so no internet until May 21.
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| Farewell to Petersburg |
Alaska 2015 – On to Ketchikan
May 4, 2015
After pulling the pots (8 crab, 57 prawns) we headed into Lama Passage and stopped for one hour at Shearwater to fix a problem with one of the fishing licenses, take on water and some provisions.
Heading out Seaforth Channel we nosed out past Ivory Island and ran into a big westerly swell made worse by an ebb tide. Both boats called it quits and turned back to go up Reid Passage, Perceival Narrows and then Oscar Passage to Finlayson Channel. Our destination for the evening is Bottleneck Inlet, a bombproof anchorage with good mud for holding.
While underway the crew of Spirit cooked and cleaned the crab and prepared crab mac & cheese for a late dinner after a long day, with pouring rain most of the day. At 1930 we rafted alongside Steel Tiger and hoisted the cocktail flag and then dinner.
The rain continued all night long.
May 5, 2015
Since we have only 30 miles to go today, we broke up the raft at 0945 and headed out the inlet. At a +5 ft. low tide we only had 15 feet in the shallowest part of the entrance, so the charts are correct.
The trip through Heikish Narrows and Princess Royal Channel was uneventful from a weather standpoint, since the sun came out, but still occasional rain showers. We saw our first humpback whale of the season, and the first black bear on the beach as we entered Khutze Inlet. The anchorage in front of the falls was empty. The greenery was the most we have ever seen, so spring arrived early.
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| First Black Bear sighting of the season |
We made a short trip up the Khutze River until the water was too shallow to go further, but only saw seals and lots of moss on the trees.
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| Spirit and Steel Tiger in Khutze Inlet |
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| Trees with more moss than needles |
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| Some of the bountiful crab in Khutze Inlet |
After setting the crab pots we relaxed and prepared for our Cinco de Mayo celebration with Steel Tiger. About 1830 we pulled the pots and were pleasantly surprised at the number of legal crab. We kept the 12 largest and released 18 others. Steel Tiger did the same.
May 6, 2015
Departing Khutze Inlet at 0800 we immediately ran into dense fog in Princess Royal Channel which persisted to about 5 miles beyond Butedale. The sun came out with a light breeze as we exited Princess Royal Channel, crossed Wright Sound past Gribbel Island and entered Grenville Channel. With the current assisting us, we changed the destination from Lowe Inlet to Baker Inlet.
The favorable current ended as we approached Klewnuggit Inlet and the tide was more than 2 hours past high slack water as Spirit entered Watts Narrows, the entrance to Baker Inlet. The current was about 3 knots against us, and all the GPS receivers on board lost lock in the middle of the 1000 yard long by 200 foot wide channel. Pushing on through, followed by Steel Tiger, we both went to the head of the inlet and rafted together for the evening. Steel Tiger reported the bottom was sticky black mud as they anchored.
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| Fog begins to lift in Princess Royal Channel |
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| Cruising to the head of Baker Inlet |
May 7, 2015
Both boats departed Baker Inlet shortly before 0600. The high slack water occurred at 0400, so Watts Narrows was running at full ebb by the time we arrived at 0625. It was a wild ride out, sharing the narrow fairway with logs also heading out. Sometimes full rudder was required to keep Spirit in the middle of the channel as the strong eddies tried to move us all over. After a successful exit, both crews decided that doing that again at other than slack water would not be a good idea.
Proceeding up Grenville Channel, we contacted US Customs and got permission to anchor in Foggy Bay for the evening. Entering Chatham Sound, the wind remained light with nothing more than a 1-2 foot swell as we headed for the Green Island Lighthouse and then across Dixon Entrance to Foggy Bay. The wind and seas were as calm as we have ever seen, so by 1445 we had crossed back into US waters and at 1620 were anchored in Foggy Bay. Shortly after Steel Tiger rafted alongside and after an early dinner we all retired for the final push to Ketchikan.
We have now covered 655 nautical miles since leaving Anacortes on April 22.
May 8, 2015 – Final Leg to Ketchikan
Pulling the anchor from Foggy Bay at 0700 we headed out in glassy calm seas north up Revillagigido Channel and after an uneventful trip docked at City Floats at Ketchikan at 1210. Bob and Dianne Tucker met us shortly after docking. They will be with us until Juneau. The skies were sunny, the temperature warm enough for shorts and after rinsing the salt off the boat we headed out sightseeing in a rental car, stopping at Totem Bight and Settler’s Cove before returning for cocktails on the dock in the sun.
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| Another beautiful evening in Foggy Bay |
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| Totem peeking out of the trees in Totem Bight |
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| The details are incredible! |
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| Eagle and Raven |
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| Totem in Totem Bight |
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| The Johnson’s and Tucker’s at Settler’s Cove |
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| This time of year the skunk cabbage is prolific |
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| “Docktails” at City Floats, Ketchikan |
We covered 691 nautical miles reaching Ketchikan. We will depart Sunday for points north.
2015-05 Prince Rupert, Ketchikan and Sitka at Last
Tuesday, May 5th, 2015Today we arrived in Sitka, Alaska under beautiful clear skies and generous bursts of sunshine. Just a few hours before town, a school of porpoises welcomed us back.Now the task is locating moorage for the lengthy time we plan to b…
2015-04 A Kite in Need of a Tail
Tuesday, April 28: A Kite in Need of a Tail
A little after 3AM this morning the BIG winds slammed the boat, pushing her into a sideways list, and waking the slumbering crew. Suddenly 3 knots had become 30+ knots with gusts over 40. Both Pat and Alex manned the pilot house expecting anchor drag. Instead the Wild Blue swooped and swung from side to side in the strong winds, stretching all 230 feet of anchor rode in 34 feet of water, just like a “kite in need of a tail”.
After three days of Environment Canada’s high wind warnings, 40 to 50 knot SE winds finally materialized. Yesterday, even hurricane force winds of 50 to 65 knots were forecast over certain portions of Northern British Columbia coast. All boats were looking for protected refuge and we sought a secure anchorage in Farrant Island Lagoon inside Union Passage. It took navigating a narrow and shallow entrance at slack current to get inside, but the Douglas Guidebook called the Lagoon “the perfectly bombproof anchor site”. Even so, 40+ knots of wind doesn’t exactly feel bombproof!
Our anchorage is just off the Grenville Channel, a well-traveled Inside Passage route. Prince Rupert traffic on VHF Channel 11 controls and reports all traffic. While monitoring the traffic channel, a passing tug named Ocean Titan, reported gusts to 85 knots off Prince Rupert. OK…. I guess 40 knots or so doesn’t sound so bad after all.
As forecast, this 978 millibar low, of which we saw just 988 mb, was fast moving and by 7AM our winds had dropped to 25 knots or less. At 10AM we saw the American Tug “Moxie” on AIS and hailed her on the VHF. Moxie is traveling with two other American Tugs to Alaska. She reported a rough night at Bishop Bay Hot Springs, and their group left early to seek better shelter.
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| The area at the bottom of Douglass Channel with Hartley Bay at top center. The line represents our course after exiting McKay Reach to cross Douglass Channel to enter Union Passage via Peter Narrows.. |
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| Union Passage has Farrant Island Lagoon, “A bombproof anchorage” says the Douglass Guide. Hawkins Narrows was our exit onto the Grenville Channel. |
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| Here’s what bombproof looks like! |
At today’s 4:45PM slack current, Wild Blue exited Union Passage via skinny Hawkins Narrows and glided up Grenville Channel to Klewnuggit Inlet, to a very calm anchorage. We plan on Prince Rupert or further tomorrow.
Here’s how the Wild Blue got here……
April 9-10 San Luis Obispo to Anacortes via Porsche Carrera S
As we all know, friends are important. And when Alex’s good friend Dick Squire, an Offshore 54 owner and regular Wild Blue crew, called “Road Trip to Anacortes”, we were hoping he was not referring to his Fiat electric vehicle!. Lucky for Alex, Dick drove to SLO Town on Thursday, April 9th in his Porsche Carrera S for the drive north. Now that Porsche is a dream drive. Once in Washington state, the car drew all kinds of attention. Those onlookers must have been trying to ID the two older movie stars in the Porsche….. We arrived in Anacortes on Friday at noon, enjoying a great lunch at the Village Pizza in downtown.
April 11-14 Prep Boat
Once aboard Wild Blue, it was time to prep for Alaska. This meant: assembling the canvas top, firing up the deep freezer, changing engine oil and filters, and completing the various boat improvement projects. Of course we were wined and dined by Jay and Micky Field, in their brand new home on the water in Skyline Marina. The home looks fabulous and Jay, with his new upscale kitchen, produced some exquisite epicurean delights!
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| Crab, grilled veggies, salad, dried, seaweed and wine…. perfect for a vegetarian who eats fish. |
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| Smoked Salmon fritata, salad and home bread. |
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| Micky and Jay. Here Jay is dressed like the politician he is destined to be! Today he is officiating a wedding at Roche Harbour. |
April 15 Pick up Crew at SeaTac
Dick left Tuesday for the drive back to Malibu. Crew Roger and Maureen, our friends from San Luis Obispo, and Pat flew into Seattle. With the help of Micky’s Subaru, Alex picked up the crew and soon thereafter we all were provisioning at Trader Joes.
April 16 – 18 Selene Northwest Rendezvous at Roche Harbor
With provisions loaded, we headed for Roche harbor and the Selene Northwest Rendezvous. Each year the Rendezvous is held for Selene owners and prospective owners. Pat and Alex attended the 2004 event, and in 2005 our new Selene was delivered.
This year the event was primarily organized by the owners of SaltHeart, a Selene 62. 24 Selene owners with their boats attended. Many activities were planned including a San Juan Vineyards tasting tour, seminar for refit options for lighting, communications and electronics, owner’s round-table for summer cruising plans, owner’s seminar for MOB recovery methods, digital scrap-booking seminar, Jet Tern and Selene update with President Howard Chen, Northern Lights diesel and genset care seminar, banquet featuring Comedian Brian Crowe, raffle, photo contest, Coast Guard Auxiliary safety inspections, and finally the famous Trawler Crawl. As always, it was great fun seeing old friends ans making new ones.
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| Jean Marie flanks Wild Blue into Roche Harbor |
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| Those pretty Roche harbor homes with $1 Million views to go with there price tags! |
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| The 2015 Selene Rendezvous Fleet |
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| Twenty-Four Selenes showed for the 2015 Northwest Rendezvous |
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| Horizon easily wins the prize for the best boat name display. It also wins the “best party boat” award for its martinis. |
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| The Seleners enjoyed the San Juan Island Vineyards and their church taste room |
April 19-20 Vancouver
Early Sunday morning we departed for Vancouver. Roger is a regular crew with man-overboard experience, but this was Maureen’s first Wild Blue outing. We wanted this to be a good experience for her, however Sunday’s Salish Sea had a different idea. After we pushed against 5 knots of current in Gorgeon Passage and entered the Strait of georgia, the wind was moderate but the seas became current driven slop. On approaching Vancouver, the Fraser River outflow was dramatic, and we cruised through muddy and choppy waters into False Creek. Maureen did fine exclaiming she enjoyed it!
After clearing customs we spent two nights in Quayside Marina, meeting up for dinner with the crew from Voyager, a 75-foot custom cruiser. Bryon and Lynn Nelson, whom we know through California Yacht Club, have cruised Voyager from the east coast, through the canal and are headed for Alaska this summer.
We spent time in our favorite upscale market, Urban fare, topping off provisions. Found the good French bread in Camby, along with supplies form Canadian Tire. We road the Sky Train and Seabus around the City to West Vancouver. We also took the crew for a ride on the AquaBus to Granville Island, a great tourista experience. While there, we ran in to Kelly Fenessey, Cal YC’s Fleet Captain and future Commodore, who is cruising on Dash to the Broughtons this summer.
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| Sunrise On Sunday |
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| Sunrise on Sunday revisited |
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| Goat at Gorgeon Passage |
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| The Canadian Coast Guard speeds towards Vancouver |
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| Pats Starwberry Rhubarb pie, a Wild Blue favorite |
April 21 Secret Cove, Pender Harbor or Squirrel Cove?
The weather has been fantastic over the last 7 days: sunny with light winds make one wonder if it really does rain in the Northwest. Today we left early for points north hoping for Squirrel Cove in Desolation Sound under a forecast for rain and wind. Even though we had destinations options of Secret Cove and Pender Harbour, the weather cooperated and after 12 hours we set the anchor at Squirrel.
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| Leaving Vancouver at Sunrise |
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| One of our favorite homesites overlooking Welcome Passage |
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| The View from Squirrel Cove |
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| Squirrel Cove Goose |
April 22 Yuculta, Dent, Green Point and Whirlpool Rapids to Lagoon Cove
We arose at 4:30AM for a 5AM departure to make slack current at Yuculta Rapids with a slight push through Dent Rapids. Our calculations worked, as we arrived at 7:33AM slack. There were no other boats around as we continued to Green Point Rapids. There the current was flowing at almost 7 knots in our favor as Wild Blue hit 14.8 knots of ground speed! Finally we decided to go with the flow through Whirlpool rapids,but only had 3 knots of push from the Rapids.
We pulled into Lagoon Cove about 3PM to meet the new caretaker Lyle. Bob and Pat have moved and are the new caretakers at for a private estate on Alder Island. They now get the summers off to cruise Tonga.
We all miss Bill, and will now miss Pat and Bob too, but Jeanie will be there this summer and Lyle is making many improvements. We hope the success of Lagoon Cove continues.
Lyle said the first boat of the season at LC was Uno. Prime Time with John Little arrived about 15 minutes before us to be second, and Wild Blue gets the third place trophy. We see John each summer in Sitka as he spends his time helping and attending the Sitka Music Festival. He was leaving in the morning to round Cape Caution in his 36 Monk.
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| Grady White speeds past Nordstrom resort in Yuculta Rapids |
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| Boat names on Dent Island in Dent Rapids. Signs have to be placed at slack or else a 6-hour picnic happens. |
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| Spring is here as boat moves dock north |
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| Signs of Winter persist as does the cold temps, but sunshine prevails. |
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| Our Hull Island boat continues to deteriorate. See earlier blogs for the same photo from prior years. |
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| Lagoon Coves Lyle keeps his sailboat above water |
April 23 Cracroft Inlet
When asked where Bill from Lagoon Cove harvested so many prawns, while standing on the dock, Lyle pointed to the cliffs along Southeast end of Turnour Island and said: “I hauled up two 5-gallon buckets of prawns there last week”. So that is Wild Blue’s destination today. Before leaving the dock we rigged two prawn traps, set those where Lyle pointed and anchored just around the corner in Cracroft Inlet, unfortunately just out of range for LC’s new wifi system. We noticed a commercial crabber hauling in many Cracroft crabs and set out two traps. Now this is cruising and Maureen is really enjoying the lifestyle. Maybe Roger and Maureen will buy a boat?
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| Roger heaves a prawn trap float completing his set, just like a pro. |
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| Wild Blue in Cracroft Inlet |
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| Harvesting the prawns |
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| Roger prepares to land a trap full of prawns |
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| Less than a dozen — OK for a practice set |
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| Crew Maureen and Roger enjoy fresh caught crab |
April 24 Port McNeill
Today we pulled our crab traps keeping two big male crabs for brunch. Lyle’s special prawn spot, yielded just a dozen in one of two traps. I think we need to go back to prawning school! After cleaning just a few prawns and two crabs, we pulled the hook and headed for Port McNeill. Our crew is flying home tomorrow and we hope they enjoyed their time at sea.
By 3PM we pulled into North Island Marina at Port McNeill. We reserved the Marina van for tomorrow’s drive to the airport. Then we enjoyed a fine anniversary dinner at Northern lights restaurant just up the hill.
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| On the way to Port McNeill |
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| The Larsons celebrate the Benson’s Anniversary |
April 25 Port McNeill to Sullivan Bay, Blunden, Miles Inlet or Allison, …. or continuing around Cape Caution to Frypan, Namu, Codville or Shearwater
Last night the BC weather forecast issued a warning for winds from 40 to 50 knots due to a 980 mb low off the coast. This piece of info kept Alex from sleeping too soundly as the plan is to round Cape Caution today.
At 6AM, Pat, Alex and the crew drove to Port Hardy airport. We said goodbye to the Larsons whom are headed back to SLO Town. It was great fun living with them for a week and enjoying their combined cooking and gaming talents.
By 8AM we cast off the lines, headed toward Cape Caution. The route takes us across Queen Charlotte Strait then Queen Charlotte Sound, exposed to the North Pacific swells. The forecast is still ugly for today, so our bail outs are: Sullivan Bay, Blunden Harbour, Allison or Miles Inlet, then around the Cape. After that it’s Frypan, Namu, Codville or Shearwater depending upon how long we can keep “comfortably” motoring.
Expecting the wind and seas to build, we’re hoping to just get across QC Strait to Sullivan Bay. After 50 minutes we round the top of Malcolm Island to get our first look: surprisingly flat seas and calm winds fill our vision. Allison looks possible and once there some three hours later, we can see Cape Caution and celebrate our good fortune with a fresh cup of weak coffee.
By 2:30PM we’re happy cruisers trying to decide on Codville Lagoon, Namu or even Shearwater to ride out tonight’s 50 knot forecast. We can make Shearwater by nightfall so we go for the gold. At 9PM we find space among the many cruising and fishing boats who seek shelter from the storm. All boats are securely tied to the floats with extra lines and buttoned down for the expected weather.
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| In California we fret over gravel production. In BC they build a conveyor belt down the mountain to load gravel ships to haul gravel to California, some 1500 miles away.. |
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| Mean rock in Queen Charlotte Strait |
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| The sea and sky off Cape Caution look remarkably calm. |
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| South bound in Fitz Hugh Sound |
April 26 Wallace Bight Lagoon
We slept in, expecting wind noise to wake us. But the barometer was still at 1014 mb and it has started to rain. The BC forecasters still stuck to there guns, calling for 50 knot winds in our neighborhood later today. We decided we would have several hours to find shelter once our barometer started to fall, so we continued up the Inside Passage.
We stayed on an inside Inside Passage route using Reid Passage, crossing the big swells at the entrance to Mathieson Channel, then through Percival Narrows, up the calmer waters inside Mathieson Channel to Jackson Passage. We stopped to use the Jackson Pass WiFi hosted by the fish farming business. The WiFi was up but not connected to the internet. Must be too early in the season.
We had been following two boats we saw moored in Shearwater: Got Defever and Uno. They seemed to be headed towards Bottleneck Inlet, and excellent anchorage for a storm. When we arrived we saw a gaggle of American Tugs, including Moxie on AIS, anchored inside. With the two more boats, that seemed a bit crowded so we continued up a mile to Wallace Bight Lagoon. It was empty and even though its entrance had 1-foot of depth at zero tide, we were at +8 feet so we glided inside to an empty anchorage in the SE corner.
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| Dryad Point Light House near Bella Bella |
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| Servicing the fish pens in Jackson Passage |
April 27 Union Passage Farrant Island Lagoon
No big winds last night! Barometer dropped just 1 mb. Wooo! Let’s keep going so we did. There was an extra foot of water on our exit from the Lagoon. We turned right headed for Princess Royal Reach and points north, with a keen eye on the barometer. We pulled out just ahead of Got Defever and Uno at about 8AM.
This morning’s BC Marine Forecast now called for hurricane force winds about 100 miles south of us, and of course 50 knot winds for our area. On AIS we’ve noticed four Canadian Coast guard cutters patrolling the area over the last couple days. These weather guys must mean business.
Our weather was holding fine with 15-knot SE winds behind us. Then about noon, the barometer began its crash! From 1012 mb to 1006 mb in 3 hours. We knew the low was at 978 mb so we had several hours. That’s when we decided Hartley Bay was too full of boats so we set out destination on Union Passage.
To get inside Union, we needed to be at the Peter Narrows entrance at 4:45 PM slack current. The guidebook says slack water only lasts 5 minutes, so we added some RPMs to insure our timely arrival. We made it with a few minutes to spare entering at low tide slack water. 15 minutes later we entered our new favorite anchorage Farrant Island Lagoon.
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| Exiting Wallace Bight Lagoon |
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| Princess Royal Channel water falls |
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| Princess Royal Channel water falls |
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| Nathan E Stewart pushes a big load down the Channel |
2015-03 Our 7th Season Cruising Southeast Alaska
OUR 7TH CRUISE TO SOUTHEAST
Once again we’re readying for another Alaska Cruise. This year we plan to depart Anacortes a bit earlier on April 19, arriving in Sitka by the first week of May. It’s pretty much the same itinerary and crew with the addition of at least a couple side trips up to Lituya Bay. Here’s the plan:
2015 WILD BLUE ALASKA CRUISE ITINERARY
Revision 3, April 3, 2015
Leg #1 SUN-APR 19 ROCHE HARBOR, WA TO THU-MAY 7 SITKA, AK.
Northbound BC cruising including Vancouver, Gorge Harbor, Broughton Islands, Port McNeil, Namu, Shearwater, Boat Bluff/Alexander Inlet, Hartley Bay, Prince Rupert, Dundas Island, Ketchikan, Prince of Wales Island, Rocky Pass, Peril Strait, Kalinin Bay, Sitka – 19 days: To Boat fly www.AlaskaAir.com to Seattle. From boat fly www.AlaskaAir.com from Sitka to home. Crew: Roger and Maureen Larsen
Leg #2 THU-JUN 11 SITKA, AK TO MON-JUN 22 SITKA, AK.
Local Sitka cruising with King Salmon fishing and crabbing, anchoring at night. 5-day round-trip cruise to Lituya Bay for halibut fishing. Sitka to Sitka – 11 days: Fly www.AlaskaAir.com to Sitka. Fly www.AlaskaAir.com from Sitka to home. Crew with Alex only: Roger Larsen, Sid Findley, Gerard Ages.
Leg #3 TUE-JUN 23 SITKA, AK TO SAT-JUL 4 SITKA, AK.
Local Sitka cruising with King Salmon fishing and crabbing, anchoring at night. 5-day round-trip cruise to Lituya Bay for halibut fishing. Sitka to Sitka – 11 days: Fly www.AlaskaAir.com to Sitka. Fly www.AlaskaAir.com from Sitka to home. Crew with Alex only: Willie Benedetti, Joe Cebe, Mike Celentano
Leg #4 SUN-JUL 5 SITKA, AK TO WED-JUL 15 SITKA, AK.
Local Sitka cruising with King Salmon fishing and crabbing, anchoring at night. 5-day round-trip cruise to Lituya Bay for halibut fishing. Sitka to Sitka – 11 days: Fly www.AlaskaAir.com to Sitka. Fly www.AlaskaAir.com from Sitka to home. Crew with Alex only: Vince Fonte, Marvin Dee, Bob Silva
Leg #5 FRI-JUL 24 SITKA, AK TO MON-AUG 3 JUNEAU, AK.
Cruising Baranof, Admiralty and Chichagof Islands anchoring at night, fishing, to Auke Bay or Juneau – 11 days: Fly www.AlaskaAir.com to Sitka. Fly www.AlaskaAir.com from Juneau to home. Crew: Vince and Marianne Fonte; Chuck and Carolyn French.
Leg #6 WED-AUG 5 JUNEAU, AK TO FRI-AUG 14 KETCHIKAN, AK.
Southbound cruising with visits to Stephens Passage, Tracy Arm, Pack Creek bears, Petersburg, Wrangell, Anan Bay bears, and Ketchikan. – 10 days: Fly www.AlaskaAir.com to Juneau. Fly www.AlaskaAir.com from Ketchikan to home. Crew: Bill and Karen Almas
Leg #7 SUN-AUG 16 KETCHIKAN, AK TO THU-AUG 27 PORT MCNEILL, BC.
Southbound cruising through BC with visits to Prince Rupert, Lowe Inlet, Shearwater, Goose Island, Broughton Islands and Port McNeill. – 12 days: Fly www.AlaskaAir.com to Ketchikan. Fly www.Pacific-Coastal.com from Port McNeill to Vancouver, and then fly www.AirCanada.com from Vancouver to home. Crew with Alex Only: Denny and Lori Haythorn, Dick Squire.
Leg #8 FRI- AUG 28 PORT MCNEILL, BC TO WED-SEP 9, ANACORTES, WA.
Southbound cruising through BC with visits to Port McNeill, Broughton Islands, Desolation Sound, Comox, Naniamo or Vancouver, Victoria and Anacortes. – 13 days: Fly www.AirCanada to Vancouver then www.Pacific-Coastal.com to Port McNeill. Fly www.AlaskaAir.com from Seattle to home. Crew: Jan, Jerry and Justin Watkins
BOAT IMPROVEMENTS
The boat has been running great. No outstanding mechanical issues. We took fuel at $1.92 a gallon which turned out to be good low price around the Seattle area. As we do each year, a few improvements were completed, or almost completed:
- Replaced our noisy, power hog 17″ LCD displays, with two new 19″ LED Tote displays. These have 1000 NITS of brightness for day work, and dim well for night running.
- Relocated our Icom IC7000 Single Side Band transceiver base unit from the fly-bridge down to the shielded engine room. Hopefully this will reduce the amount of radiated RF Interference that when transmitting on certain frequencies, activates the bow and stern thrusters!
- Replaced the 16 foot SSB antenna with a 23 foot antenna to better match the transmitter to antenna below the 7 Mhz frequencies, especially on the 75-meter ham radio Alaska and Baja nets.
- Installed toroids on control, power and coaxial cables that connect to the SSB transceiver in hopes of reducing the receiver RFI and other electrical noise.
- Installed higher capacity blowers to keep the engine room cooler, especially if we cruise Baja.
- Disassembled and replaced the worn parts inside the Maxwell 350 windless.
- Replaced the two fly-bridge overhead lights with a sealed tube of LED rope lights which we hope will better survive the winters when the canvass top is off.
We’re looking for another fun summer of cruising and blogging about it. And we should be actively blogging again pretty soon.
2015-02 What Comes Down, Must Go Up, from Baja That Is!
Cabo San Lucas to Los AngelesMonday, March 30After playing on Seagate in the Sea of Cortez in January and February, it was time to return the boat to her home port of Marina del Rey, CA. Alex volunteered to accompany owner Dick Squire along with …
