Day 15 | Alaska Flotilla Leg 4 | Skull Cove to Alert Bay

We departed Skull Cove (in fog, again) and headed for Alert Bay via Ripple Passage. We soon spotted a small pod of orcas in the distance, and slowed to take a few photos. While we were focused on the distant pod, a few more surfaced much closer to our boat (almost too close to capture them with the long lens we were using!) Queen Charlotte Strait was shrouded in fog … Read more

Day 9 | Alaska Flotilla Leg 4 | Patterson Inlet to Penn Harbour

The forecast called for improving weather today, at least in terms of precipitation. No rain was in the forecast, and it looked liked it might even get sunny, but the fog would need to burn off first. We had more than 50nm to travel, so we got an early start and spent much of the day navigating by instruments. Navigating by instruments is actually pretty easy, especially in the lightly … Read more

Airship | Victoria to Anacortes | Dragonboats and Orcas

The day we left Victoria also happened to be the day of the 2018 Victoria Dragon Boat Festival in Victoria Harbour. The dragon boats began racing at 8:00 a.m. and would continue all day until about 4:30 p.m., so getting out of Causeway Floats between a race (every 11 minutes) took a little bit of planning with harbour security. We got instructions and an escort for part of the way … Read more

Safe Harbour | St. John Harbor, Shrubby Island, McHenry Anchorage

From Petersburg I had two goals: see as many new anchorages as possible, and make it to Ketchikan (only about 110 nautical miles) before a flight out of town in a week. Easy! After a morning of chores in Petersburg, I rode the flood south, to arrive at Papke’s Landing (roughly the mid-point, where the flood current from each side meets) at high water. The timing worked out nicely, but … Read more