Well, we made the call early Saturday morning to stay in Prince Rupert instead of crossing Dixon. Conditions weren’t bad, but the threat of the weather coming in later that afternoon sounded like it could make for a not-so-great experience. The Dixon Entrance East forecast was seas 2 meters becoming 1-2 meters. SE wind 5-15 but increasing SE 15-20 near noon, then SE 25 early evening. Maybe okay with the wind, and maybe if 1 meter, it would be fine.
But the NOAA forecast for Clarence Strait (when we enter AK, we’re in Clarence Strait, south end) was NW wind 10 kt becoming S in the morning, then becoming SE 25 kt in the afternoon. Seas building to 5 ft. Rain. Hmmm.
Green Island lighthouse was reporting 2ft chop, and Grey Island also wasn’t bad (W 11kts) but also, it’s been building since 1am. And on Sunday and Monday, conditions looked even worse more to the north, so we could end up stuck in Foggy Bay for a day or two…really tough call, but we opted to stay in Prince Rupert for a few days. More expensive for moorage than an anchorage, but lots to do…restaurants, shops, museums, etc.
Cow Bay Marina has been wonderful and accommodating, as usual, and we’ve been enjoying the down time.
Bill on Ithaka took this photo to share with us:
We’ll meet for a group dinner tonight up at the Breakers Pub, and are planning for Dixon tomorrow morning (Tuesday). The forecast looks good, and conditions forecast for the tomorrow and Tuesday are improving instead of deteriorating, so that’s a much better direction. Unfortunately, there are several other boats here with us who will also be crossing tomorrow, so Foggy Bay could end up a bit overcrowded. If conditions are pleasant enough, we could always opt to go all the way into Ketchikan (80nm) and just get it out the way, which we might!