Frederick Sound cooperated nicely and we enjoyed a smooth, quick cruise from Cannery Cove to Chapin Bay. Chapin Bay is a great anchorage, well sheltered, huge-yet-intimate, and 40-60 feet deep with excellent holding.
Nearby Eliza Harbor and Herring Bay beg to be explored, so soon after anchoring we hopped in the dinghies and set off. We traced the perimeter of Eliza Harbor hoping to see bears, but eventually settled for seals and eagles.
On the way back to Chapin, we spotted an especially active humpback far in the distance. Too far to go in the dinghies, unfortunately, because this whale was tail slapping (we could hear it) and breaching excitedly. Even from many miles it was a good show.
We had happy hour on the raft, then dinner individually. After dinner, we got a call from one of the boats with a genset problem. We dinghied over and discovered no cooling water flow. Sure enough, after only 50 hours, the impeller vanes were gone. After tracking down the shed impeller bits and installing a new impeller, cooling water flow was restored and the genset ran well. We’ve noticed that genset impellers seem to last far less time than main engine impellers, so this was a good reminder to carry lots of spares.
