We left Cow Bay Marina in Prince Rupert in thick fog, which cleared gradually as we made our way south. We cruised through Ogden Channel around to the west side of Pitt Island, and stopped at Newcombe Harbour for the night. The weather was quite rainy most of the time, so we didn’t do much besides music and dinner and a movie. The next day we were originally aiming for … Read more
We were originally aiming for Appleton Cove (just to make some miles, since we’ve been through Peril Strait a few times this summer) but Peril Strait was nice and settled so we went further and anchored behind Dead Tree Island. This is a very nice anchorage and with more time we would have dropped the dinghy and headed up river, but we got in kinda late and wanted to start … Read more
We picked up Kevin’s brother Craig in Sitka and after changing our planned route probably five times prior to his arrival due to weather (we were hoping to get out on the outside of Chichagof or Baranof), we set out back through Peril Strait, buddy boating with our friend Ralph on Rubicon. The first day we left Sitka early and made the 47nm cruise to Appleton Cove. Airship and cruise … Read more
Recently, I was reading through John Muir’s notes on his trips to SE Alaska in 1879, 1880, and 1889, and came across the part of his 1880 visit where they went up what is now called Endicott Arm, and into what is now called Ford’s Terror. He didn’t have to call it by name….I knew exactly where they were. “After we had sailed about three miles up this side fiord, … Read more
After our trip up Lynn Canal and back, we met up with friends/flotilla folks Ralph and Jeanette (on Rubicon) and Scott (on Impulse) over in Swanson Harbor (where Lynn Canal, Chatham Strait, and Icy Strait all converge). We all got space on the dock and had a nice visit. In the morning, we cruised over to Flynn Cove for one night (Ralph and Jeanette caught a halibut!) and then split … Read more
Excitement ran high today in the flotilla – we are set to move to one of our favorite anchorages anywhere – Ford’s Terror. We have written about Ford’s Terror many times before. It’s an enormous hidden fjord, guarded by a narrow and treacherous entrance. We can enter only at high tide slack current, which seems to happen within an hour after high tide in Juneau. Any other time, there are … Read more
The flotilla left the Ruth Island anchorage in Thomas Bay fairly early this morning for our long cruise to Cannery Cove in Pybus Bay – on Admiralty Island. Cannery Cove is a stunning anchorage – set in a giant bowl of snowcapped peaks. We often see bears, eagles, seals, sea lions, and more – and frequently catch crab, shrimp, halibut, and rockfish in and around the bay. Admiralty Island is … Read more
Today was LeConte Glacier field trip day. Scott was kind enough to invite everyone to do the trip aboard Impulse – a beautiful 53 Selene. The water was smooth and we zipped out of Petersburg with a few knots of current boosting us along. After a couple of hours, we saw the first icebergs in the distance along the shore. We crossed the bar into LeConte Bay and enjoyed picking … Read more