Day 41 | Flotilla to Alaska | Tracy Arm Glacier Cruise

This morning we left Tracy Arm Cove around 7am for our cruise up Tracy Arm and back. We were hopeful we’d get to see at least North Sawyer glacier, but you just never know what the ice will be like as you transit further and further up the arm. More seals and pups on icebergs: It got more and more packed with ice, so we eventually just stopped and floated … Read more

Day 40 | Flotilla to Alaska | Taku Harbor to Tracy Arm Cove

This morning at Taku Harbor we had another leisurely morning and didn’t get underway until 10am, after some homemade coffee cake (two kinds! courtesy of Alicia on Evenstar 42) and and espresso drinks courtesy of True Grit. Our cruise down Stephens Passage to Holkham Bay was easy, and it’s always fun as people start spotting the first icebergs. As soon as everyone was in and anchored, we headed out in … Read more

Day 39 | Flotilla to Alaska | Couverden Island Cove to Taku Harbor

Anchors were up this morning by 6am (a few even earlier!) as we started the 52nm cruise around Point Retreat, past Auke Bay/Juneau and Douglas Island and down to Taku Harbor. This might be our last sunny day for a few days so we’ll make sure to soak it up! Dog Star got their sail up for a while in Lynn Canal. Here’s True Grit before rounding Point Retreat: We … Read more

Day 38 | Flotilla to Alaska | Hoonah to Couverden Island Cove

The group departed Hoonah at the leisurely hour of 9am, after a very nice breakfast at Fisherman’s Daughter. Breakfast burritos, breakfast sandwiches, waffles, and coffee…a wonderful way to start another sunny day! Weather buoys in Icy Strait were reporting winds around 15kts gusting to 26kts, which was hard to believe when it was this calm here inside the breakwater. As we rounded Icy Strait Point we saw there were two … Read more

Day 37 | Flotilla to Alaska | Pavlof Harbor to Hoonah

Some of the group departed Pavlof Harbor around 6am, and the rest trickled out and were underway by 7am. This morning the clouds had disappeared and the sky was bright blue! No bears (still) but that’s okay. We’ll be back when the fish are running and there will be bears. Right as we were rounding North Passage Point from Freshwater Bay into Chatham Strait, we spotted a humpback near shore, … Read more

Day 36 | Flotilla to Alaska | Appleton Cove to Pavlof Harbor

Our group left early for the six hour cruise from Appleton to Pavlof Harbor, one of our favorite stops in this part of SE Alaska. We left Appleton and cruised the short distance out Peril Strait, turning into an uncharacteristically calm Chatham Strait for the long run up to Pavlof. Alicia and Gregg aboard Evenstar spotted a sow and an older cub strolling along the beach in Chatham Strait. Pavlof … Read more

Day 35 | Flotilla to Alaska | Sitka to Appleton Cove

Normally we would not stop at the same place on the way back through Peril Strait, but the timing of Sergius Narrows on the way in caused us to change our plan and we’ll be visiting Appleton twice. (Maybe that will convert to more crab! ) We arrived at Sergius Narrows an hour early and had about 4kts of current helping us through. The commercial crab season opened two days … Read more

Days 33-34 | Flotilla to Alaska | Sitka

It’s been a rainy couple of days in Sitka, but that hasn’t stopped this group from getting out and about and seeing town! Everyone is making the most of it…people went to the Raptor Center, Fortress of the Bear, the Sitka National Historic Park, walked all around town, and ate a lot of meals out! On Monday we walked into town for some dumplings at Sitka Pel’meni. There were over … Read more