We left Klag Bay day before yesterday (Saturday) expecting 3ft swells at about 6-7 seconds, but conditions outside were a bit sportier than advertised. Not terrible, but more like 4-5ft at about 5-6 seconds, with the occasional set of steeper, closer together 5-6 footers. So just this one photo because the rest of the time I was busy hand steering so I could keep us on our southerly route while steering directly into the larger swells coming more from the southwest.
We arrived at Kalinin Bay (which I think I’ve been pronouncing wrong for years…it’s Kuh-LEE-nin, I believe, not KA-luh-nin) in the afternoon and after anchoring and some brunch (I used leftover crab risotto for risotto cakes topped with over easy eggs and spinach), Kevin went out to fish for coho with the gazillion other boats in Salisbury Sound. While he fished, I took some time to finish up some small paintings I’ve been working on since the flotilla ended. (Here are the paintings…they’re 20×20 inches, acrylic and graphite on paper):
Around 6pm Kevin motored back in with with four nice big coho! After all the filetting and vacuum-sealing, we grilled some fresh for dinner, served it alongside a small salad and fresh buttered corn on the cob. Delicious!
We spotted one bear on shore at Kalinin, a young brown bear with frosty tipped ears!
We were out of Kalinin (“kuh-LEE-nin, kuh-LEE-nin” I keep saying every time I type it now) early yesterday morning (6am) to arrive at Sergius Narrows near slack, though we really should have stayed another day at Kalinin for more fish and more bears.
Our cruise east in Peril Strait was calm and we saw quite a few humpbacks in the distance…this one breached a few times and I managed a couple of mostly in-focus shots of it. (A not-so-clear shot of its fluke identified it as Haukai, SEAK 1631, who was first sighted outside William Henry Bay in Lynn Canal in July 2004…so 21 years ago!)
We anchored behind Dead Tree Island in Hanus Bay yesterday just before noon. The weather alternated between sun and clouds and rain, with one very heavy downpour that passed by quickly before the sun came out again.
Later in the afternoon, we saw one brown bear on one side of the river, and one on the other. Two bears! Left shore bear:
Right shore bear:
Last night’s evening sky from Airship, anchored in Hanus Bay:
We put two crab traps down yesterday — one with the 360 camera inside. When Kevin went to retrieve the camera and check the traps, the trap with the camera had a keeper male Dungeness, but the big chunk of salmon we used for bait was gone. Hungry little Dungie, right? Well! The camera footage told a different story. Within 15 seconds of the trap hitting the bottom, in came over a dozen shrimp…both coonstripes and spot prawns! At 30 feet! The crab came in later on they all shared (sort of) the meal together. (The shrimp of course escaped when the trap was pulled.) We learned from the crab trap footage that the leaded line that sank near the trap really hindered the crab’s entrance…lots of good data we’re getting from the crab-trap-cam! Here’s a video of the whole ordeal:
This morning we pulled the crab traps (Airship and Turnagain each got a nice big male Dungeness) and Kevin swapped a shrimp trap for one of the crab traps, since we now have evidence there are hungry shrimp down there.
Turnagain unrafted and headed out while we waited for the shrimp trap to soak a little longer. When we pulled the trap, for sure some shrimp, but mostly pretty small ones.
The weather today is mostly cloudy but with some sun and blue patches…we’ll take it! We’re off to Takatz Bay!