Saturday: We left Takatz Bay with the idea we might stop in at Warm Springs, but it was just completely socked in with fog and we opted to keep going to Red Bluff and spend two nights there instead.
We texted with friends Tom and Tish on Alaska Quest who were headed to Warm Springs (and hoping for more of my homemade hot sauce), and after comparing schedules (they had a charter aboard) figured we might be able to meet in Juneau in 10 days or so. But when I finally saw where they were on AIS, coming across Chatham and maybe a mile or so from us, I called on the radio and asked if they wanted to do another boat-to-boat hot sauce handoff like we did last year outside of Pavlof. They made a slight diversion and we pulled back to throttle to float and wait. We could hear Alaska Quest’s engine long before we could see it in this crazy fog.
I put four bottles of hot sauce in a bag with a handle and got the boat hook ready. (Hot sauces were Green Machine, 68 El Camino, and Hot Stalker…was out of East Side Afterparty and will need to make more at home…that’s the fermented one.) Anyway, here we are making the swap, captured by Kevin’s brother Craig.
They handed over a bag with a bottle of wine and some chocolate (via fishing net). Super fun!
We arrived in Red Bluff Bay and the fog had begun to lift, somewhat. Only one other boat in the inner bay, Serengeti, a super yacht once owned by Johnny Carson. I think we’ve seen it up here most summers since 2015.
We grilled the beautiful coho that Kevin and Craig caught yesterday and had a delicious dinner (served with bang bang sauce, rice, sautéed spinach, and asparagus).
Sunday: We slept in (the awesome bonus of staying in one spot for a couple days) and then Kevin and Craig checked the shrimp pots to find 41 nice shrimp. Woohoo! Then, a little Formula 1 (the Hungarian Grand Prix) and breakfast before we dinghied up river to look for bears.
No bears, just beautiful scenery.
Russ and Missie invited us over to their boat for taco dinner tonight. We’ll save our prawns for tomorrow night’s dinner (after a couple more pulls before we head to Cannery Cove in Pybus Bay tomorrow).
Monday: We left Red Bluff Bay early…6am…Kevin and Craig headed out in the dinghy to check the shrimp pots and I followed them in Airship. Another 25 or so this morning…we’ll have a great shrimp dinner tonight!
Chatham Strait was perfect today. Very little wind, no swell, no chop, just beautiful silvery reflections of the clouds.
The sun was even out for a bit and the temps now are in the high 60s. We’re anchored in Pybus Bay, and here’s the obligatory photo of the incredible scenery that’s never as dramatic as it is in person.
We put down some crab pots, and Kevin and Craig went out in seach of a halibut. They were probably fishing for 10 minutes when I got a text saying they had a pretty big fish and were going to slowly tow it back to Airship. (!!!)
Missie took this incredible photo of Airship with the fiery sky. Love it!
