Day 16 (Friday) – The wind had picked up quite a bit overnight while we were anchored in Foggy Bay. We also had some RAIN for the first time this whole trip last night…that’s certainly a record. We’ve never gone this long with no rain at all.
We left Foggy Bay and had some 1-3 ft chop immediately, along with westerly swells. A little rolly, but not too bad, especially once in the lee of islands further north.
Arriving in Ketchikan after about two weeks mainly at anchor and without much in the way of traffic is always a bit of a shock to the system. Cruise ships, float planes, fishing boats, tour boats….all coming and going at once.
We all opted for the Bar Harbor marina in favor of proximity to groceries, etc., and we even have some blue skies and sun today! We may get rain tomorrow and the next day, so we’ll enjoy the weather while we can!
Day 17 (Saturday) – And just like that, on Saturday morning Ketchikan returned to normal.
We all got chores and provisioning done, did some sightseeing, shopping, hiking, exploring, etc., and will meet for a group dinner tonight. The original plan was to leave in the morning and head for Meyers Chuck, but Clarence Strait doesn’t seem to be cooperating, so we will stay one more night in town and then head out early Monday morning.
Day 18 (Sunday) – Well it’s definitely blowing out there, so we made a good call! At the Ship Island buoy (between Ketchikan and Meyers Chuck, in Clarence Strait) we’ve seen gusts up to 33kts this morning (no thanks!).
We all met for dinner last night at Oceanview Restaurant — a family-owned spot that we’ve been to before, not too far from Bar Harbor Marina. Oceanview Restaurant has a charming menu (laminated! with pictures! 28 pages!!) that includes Mexican food (tacos, carnitas, camarones a la diabla), Italian food (pizza, pasta, etc.) and American food (burgers!)…which definitely causes a bit of skepticism as to the quality of any of those, but the food is solidly good, and the service has always been wonderful. We tried to make a reservation at one of our usual spots, Bar Harbor Grill/Ale House first, but they’ve stopped taking any reservations (even for a party of 10!) so we bailed on that one, which turned out to be a good choice.
It’s still a bit drizzly today. We’ll definitely be heading out in the morning. Plan A to Meyers Chuck, but if conditions forecast for Tuesday are a little snotty for Clarence Strait (and Ernest Sound) we may continue on to Thoms Place and hit Meyers Chuck on our way south. We’ll make the call tomorrow morning underway.