It has been awhile since I posted....this is our first internet connection in over a week...and our first real dock in a week.
We got out of Pt McNeill at 0545 for a Cape Caution crossing. The winds were light and thewater flat. Conditions at Sea Otter were 6mph and 1 meter seas!!! Away we go.
Rounded Cape Caution at 1130 witth no wind and only moderate swells. Since the water was so fine we continued on past Milbrook Cove and into Fury at 1430.
As we made our approach I was sure that since we had seen no other boats on the water and the season is still so early that we would have the place to ourselves....not so...found one US boat already there and another followed us in later.
We dropped the prawn pots before we headed in and found our cove empty. Finally a place to ourselves. The wind howled and it poured rain but we remained secure. Gary is a real stickler about setting an anchor well every time and it pays off; He pulled in a couple of crabs in the morning and we got enough prawns when we left to have 5 meals. Love livin' off the sea.
On the 5th we pulled anchor at 0630....do you see a pattern?....and headed back to Shearwater to mail a card and then headed to Higgins Passage to anchor.
We have been through this tricky little pass before but always on a twin engine boat. This was a new adventure but we timed the tides perfectly and cruised through the shallowest pàrt with a full 6 feet under our keel!!
5/6 0550 anchor up and chain clean. Off we go through Laredo Sound and up the outside of Campania Island through Estavan Sound. We like the outside if the weather is calm. It is more open and wilder without cruise ships. We have taken the inside passage a couple of times but to be really honest it is boring! And Laredo Sound is actually inside of Aristazabal Island and Estavan Sound is inside Trutch Island so there are just a couple areas where you get the swells of the Pacific. Keep in mind....we do this when the weather is predicted to be
Calm. We dropped the hook in Gung Ho Bay at 1500 and tossed out a crab pot. Once again, we awakened to another fishing vessel whick came in after we were asleep.
Sunrise while leaving Gung Ho Bay
On 5//7 we pulled anchor at 0545 and pulled up 4 crab. We spent a lovely day on flat water of Principe Channel and pulled into Hunt Inlet on Porcher Island at 1600. Denny and Eunice were there on the dock when we arrived....see Channel Dancer Adventures for more about Eunice' quilting expertise. I took a gold cart ride...no roads on Porcher...to a greenhouse that Eunice is attending for a friend. Their tulips and daffs are just now in bloom...about 6 weeks behind us.
May 8 Away from dock at 0530 bound for Dundas Island. Seas flat and winds calm at all reporting stations. AT 0900....oh My how things change in a hurry. Winds reported a Green Island at 12 knots and seas rippled. Suddenly we were in 6-7 foot seas and 20-25 kt winds out of the NW. ! Where the hell did that come from?? The only thing we figured was that it was an outdraft from the Portland Canal. We hid behind Dundas Island, pulled into Hudson Bay Pass Cove
and dropped the hook to regroup. Winds there were maybe 10 from the SE so we had lunch and decided to try for the west side of Dundas with the idea that if it was ugly we would head to Edith Harbor and give it a rest. Surprise, surprise. The water on the west side of Dundas AND the north side was FLAT! Just a quirky little patch of nasty water that we were so fortunate to find!!!
We did find a big rock covered with bellowing sea lions. A huge herd.
By the time we made it to AK waters it was 1700 and we had been hard at it for almost 12 hours. We called US Customs and told them our plight and they agreed to let us just drop a hook wherever we chose and call them when we hit Ketchikan....and we were grateful.
We did get welcomed to Alaska by the sound of a humpback plopping its tail on the water and then kindly breaching for us!! Welcome to Alaska!!
We spent the night at Morse Cove on Duke Island. It is almost like a lagoon with a narrow entrance with a mid channel rock. By favoring the north shore, mindful of some shoreside shallowrocks as well, you can get through the entrance. The least amount of water we had under us was 9 feet on a 12.4 tide.
5/9 Anchor up at 0500. Winds calm and away we go into Ketchikan. A lovely humpback surfaced alongside our boat as I was making breakfast....about 100 feet off the galley.
Managed a trip to Safeway and then to Bar Harbor Restaurant for a lovely prime rib dinner.
Home to bed early for a sound night sleep. Hangin in Ktch today for a bit of housekeeping and internet catch up.
Have been having a few issues with loading photos onto this site. Maybe I can get that fixed today too.
love following your adventures thanks for posting
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