Archive | M/V Alpenglow RSS feed for this section

Having been to Alaska eleven times, people will sometimes ask if we get tired going back to the same places.  First, we don’t always go back to the same places each year. It is about a thousand miles from our home port in Puget Sound and our furthest destination in Glacier Bay.  My logbook has 330 different anchorages/ports that we’ve visited, and even now each year we usually manage to add a few new sites to that list.  Additionally, even going to the same place is different each visit because the weather may be different, the time of year may be different and the local wildlife may be different.  So,”No”, we haven’t gotten tired of cruising to SE Alaska.

Below are two Google maps I’ve put together of where we’ve been.  The first map is our 2021 cruise log showing where we were on each day of the cruise.  The second map is compilation of all the places we’ve been in the eleven trips.  Clicking on a location shows the number of visits and in which year.

2021 Cruise Log

2010 – 2021 Anchorages/Ports

Our current practice is to have our bottom cleaned and recoated with anti-fouling paint every two years.  We tend to start a list of other things we want worked on or done at the next haulout as soon as we splash back into the water from the current haul out.

In the 2019 haulout we identified upgrading our house bank of batteries (the source of our electricity when we are not on shore power or running the generator) but upgraded the alternator charging our house bank instead.  We nursed our batteries through the 2020 and 2021 cruising seasons but couldn’t put off an upgrade any longer.  Fortunately, battery technology progressed during the intervening two years.  While still expensive, the cost of the lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries were getting to the point that on a per usable kilowatt-hour basis, the lithium batteries were cost competitive with traditional lead batteries.  The demonstrated reliability of lithium batteries was also becoming apparent, as well (thank you, first adopters).

One of our criteria was that it had to work with our existing charging system and not require a redesign of the electrical system.  It also had to fit in the space of our old battery bank, four 8D AGM batteries that weight 160 pounds each).  We ended up with ten smaller batteries that weighed 37 pounds each).  The listed amp-hour capacity of the new battery bank is 500 Ah at 24V which is not too dissimilar then the 540 Ah capacity of the old batteries. The real difference is that lithium batteries can be depleted almost completely without harming them while a lead battery ought not be depleted below half its capacity if you want it to last very long.  We expect we’ll be able to regularly use 80% of the lithium battery bank capacity, 400 Ah while our old battery bank had aged to the point that even getting to the 50% point would only give us 200 Ah.

The other advantage of lithium batteries are their ability to charge rapidly which we tested during our sea trials (below). At our normal cruising RPM, we are able to charge at about 150 amps until the batteries are nearly fully charged. While charging with our generator using the existing charger/inverter and the new standalone charger we are able to also charge at 150 amps until nearly fully charged.  While lead batteries can accept a high charge rate until the 80% level, past that at which the rate diminishes depressingly as you approach 100%. 

Out with the New, in with the Old

One thing we also changed while hauled out were our anodes (they protect the metal parts of the boat from galvanic corrosion by offering up a “sacrificial” metal anode). In 2019, we switched from zinc anodes to aluminum anodes.  Aluminum is less toxic to marine life than zinc.  Aluminum is also more reactive than zinc which, apparently, turned out to be a problem for us.

As we hung in the slings of the travel-lift after being pulled from the water, the amount of “hard growth” (barnacles and mussels) on our boat was impressive and far greater than normal. In particular the growth on the anodes themselves was an issue. The best explanation offered was the greater reactivity of the aluminum meant the individual anodes were “working” less to supply the necessary galvanic protection. A zinc anode while working will sluff material.  Barnacles prefer not to make their home on a surface that is disappearing under them.  The aluminum anodes were apparently not losing as much material and allowed the hard growth to build.

When protecting a boat from galvanic corrosion, a calculation is done (or ought to be done) to determine the approximate location and size of the anodes.  Since our boat had come with zinc anodes we decided that perhaps the switch to aluminum was a failed chemistry experiment. We decided to switch back.

Sea Trials in the San Juans

We splashed back in the water on Tuesday, 8/24, did some testing at the dock then did a quick sea trial in Port Townsend Bay to make sure there were no issues with the preventive maintenance done on the engine.  We stayed the night at the dock to clean things up and put things back after two weeks in the boatyard. The next morning, we left with the ebb out of Admiralty Inlet. Our goal for the next two weeks to was spend most of our time at anchor, using the boat normally, watching the battery deplete than periodically recharging them with the genset.

We spent the first three nights at Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island, the next three nights in Garrison Bay on San Juan Island, followed by three nights in Echo Bay on Sucia Island, two nights in Fisherman’s Bay on Lopez Island, and two nights in Griffin Bay on San Juan Island.  We had a great time as all of the anchorages offered shore access for us to stretch our legs.  Our last night in the San Juans was Mackaye Harbor on Lopez Island where we visited David and Rachel, owners of the Diesel Duck Shearwater.. From there we crossed back across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port Townsend to have a couple of items addressed for which the parts hadn’t be available before our departure two week earlier.

The next morning, Thursday, 9/9, we scooted through the Port Townsend Canal near Port Hadlock, then down Puget Sound back to the Queen City YC outstation dock in Eagle Harbor where we have winter moorage and finished off our 2021 cruising season.

Like so many boaters we followed the monthly announcements out of Ottawa as to whether the Canadians would reopen their borders to foreign visitors entering for non-essential reasons. or at least those who are fully vaccinated. The July 19 announcement, while allowing fully vaccinated US citizens with a current negative COVID test to enter for any reason, was a bit of a disappointment because it didn’t go into effect until August 9, the scheduled date for our haul out in Port Townsend.  Sadly it would be another quick transit through British Columbia.

After 3-nights in Ketchikan (we now regularly spend an extra day in port so that Drake can get “just one more shore experience” before being stuck on the boat) we departed on July 27.  So that we clear into Canada at Prince Rupert as early in the day as possible, we anchored one more night in Alaska just north of the border. 

The next morning started our transit through Canada in earnest and we arrived at the Customs Dock at Cow Bay Marina at 1028 PDT (losing an hour from AKDT).  The transit clearing process went smoothly and we departed the dock at 1118. The table below shows the transit travel days with anchorages between our last anchorage in Alaska and our first anchorage is Washington.

On our last night, rather than arriving in the late evening at a crowded San Juan Island anchorage, we chose to stop a little early at a quiet and uncrowded anchorage in BC.  The next morning we started leisurely, traveled a short distance, cleared back into the US along the way, and arrived at Prevost Harbor after many of the previous night’s boaters had left left .

The total distance travelled during the transit (last US anchorage to first US anchorage) was 546.3 nautical miles in 81.8 engine hours (that includes the time to drop and retrieve the anchor).  The clock time from our departure from the Alaska anchorage to our arrival at the Washington anchorage was 149.1 hours.

We relaxed a couple of nights in Prevost Harbor before positioning ourselves on the southeast corner of Lopez Island. On the morning of Saturday, August 7 we crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca and moored in Boat Haven at Port Townsend.  Arriving early gave us time to prepare the boat for the yard work that begins Monday, August 9.

After three nights (and three milk shake lunches from Hot Bite across parking lot from the harbor office), we left Auke Bay on June 29 and headed out towards Icy Strait.  We anchored in Couverden Island Cove, which is just east of Swanson Harbor.  We took Drake to a small island in the middle of the cove for a place session on the beach.  Later, our friends Billie & Mike Henry (M/V Peachy Keen), who were already anchored when we arrived, returned from fishing in their tender and we caught up on each others travels during the cruising season. 

Our original plan was to do some halibut fishing in Icy Strait but the strong westerlies persuaded us to head south down Chatham Strait. Before heading into Pavlof Harbor, Marcia dropped the hook trying for halibut but came up bare.  

The next day we headed into Tenakee Inlet.  On the way in, we passed fellow Queen City Yacht Club members, Barbara and Tom Wilson (M/V Toba), who had just departed from the Tenakee Springs dock.  They encouraged us to take advantage of the relatively protected spot on the Tenakee Springs transient dock they had just vacated.  Having never been to Tenakee Spings or ithe nlet.we decided to grab the opportunity. Tenakee Springs is noted for its laid back life style and the community hot springs bathing house. A small lane, suitable only for ATV’s, bicycles or pedestrians runs about 1-1/2 miles along the inlet through town..

After our one night in Tenakee Springs, we continued up the inlet, dropping prawn pots in an area that was recommended by David Cohn (MV Shearwater, a “classic” Diesel Duck).  The depths were on the deeper side of the range we normally drop and, it turns out, I put them too close together.  After spending a night anchored in Long Bay, we pulled the pots and while getting a respectable haul on one pot managed to lose the other one when it got hung up on the bottom and came off the line when we tried to yank it free.

The next day, July 6, we continued down Chatham spending one night in Ell Cove before going on to Gut Bay the day after.  We had been trying to connect with Jim & Rosy from Sea Venture who had recently returned from Prince William Sound.  We had communicated our plan to go to Gut Bay to them and shortly before 8 pm, they motored into Gut Bay.  They tied to us for the night and we chatted until 11 pm before breaking for the night.  The next morning they headed out to continue their southbound journey to Puget Sound while we headed out to try to catch a salmon, preferably chinook or coho.  After fishing (but not catching) we returned to Gut Bay for another night.

We decided a change of scenery would be good so we crossed Chatham Strait to anchor in the Bay of Pillars on Kuiu Island.  It had been eight years since our previous visit and we anchored in a location on the north shore that we had noticed another boat using on that visit.  We planned to fish near Point Ellis the next day so Bay of Pillars was a good base from which to operate.

On July 8, with a forecast for a weak front and rain coming through, we headed deep inside Tebenkof Bay to Shelter Cove for two nights. Tebenkof Bay is quite large and has numerous islands and protected anchorages.  It is also slightly off the beaten track being part way down Chatham Strait about 20+ miles away from the busy Chatham Strait-Frederick Sound junction.  You have a good chance of finding solitude down here. As we worked our way into the bay, we encountered a humpback whale with her baby.  The “baby” (probably 10-12 feet long) was very active with frequent breaching and slapping its pectoral fin on the water

While anchored, I paddled the kayak to a small nearby island (potential “dog park”), was shadowed by sea otters and watched a black bear relaxing on the shore of a back bay. After our two nights in Shelter Cove, we headed out and fished outside the Tebenkof Bay entrance without any luck.  From there we traveled the short distance back to Bay of Pillars for the night.

The next day, Sunday, July 11, we started back towards Frederick Sound, trying to fish off of Cornwallis Point near Halleck Bay before dropping the anchor behind the island a mile NW of Honey Dew Cove. The next day the SE winds began to pick up and we had to deal with 15-20 knot winds as we docked in Kake, a small community on Kurpeanof Island.  We were approaching 200 engine hours since our last oil change and I prefer to do the oil changes in towns where I can dispose of our waste oil (also, I hate to “break” the boat where I don’t have resources nearby to bail me out if necessary).

After two nights in Kake and lots of walks for Drake, we returned to Frederick Sound and some of our favorite anchorages. There is one very nice beach on an island west of the West Brother at which Drake gets to chase his favorite ball around until exhaustion. We also did some halibut fishing and after some effort, found success.

During this time we communicated (with difficulty via satcom equipment) with our friends Don & Natala, who were flying their float plane into SE Alaska lakes having USFS cabins. We arranged to meet in Petersburg on July 21.  En route, we stopped at Sanborn Canal in Port Houghton and Read Island in Farrugut Bay.

After arriving in Petersburg, some cloudy weather moved in and kept Don & Natala earthbound an extra day at Swan Lake cabin (15 miles NE of Petersburg).so we didn’t meet up until July 22.  After a long evening of story telling, we departed the next day to continue our souththely journey.  We had two stops, Roosevelt Harbor and Meyers Chuck, enroute and tied up at Bar Harbor in Ketchikan on Sunday, July 25.

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.

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 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.