Laura Domela 
We had originally planned to head south at the end of last week (Thursday/Friday after Labor Day) but we had a few more work things we wanted to get done while we were in town with solid internet, and one more package to pick up that was yet to arrive, so after checking the weather to learn that we would probably have another good window for getting south of Dixon … Read more
We really enjoy finding spots we haven’t visited before that we could show to future guests or flotillas, so we make it a point to seek them out. For this trip over to Prince of Wales Island we planned to focus on Cholmondeley Sound. From the chart, it looked like our choices were Kitkun Bay, Dora Bay, East Arm, and West Arm. All looked intriguing, but we opted to start … Read more
After two days in Wrangell (picking up the grandkid, reprovisioning, etc.), we decided to check out a place we hadn’t been before — Anita Bay. We recently got a tip from a local fisherman that Anita Bay was great for halibut, so off we went! Anita Bay is south from Wrangell down Zimovia Strait, and the head of Anita Bay is just over 5 miles from the entrance! There were … Read more
After leaving Red Bluff Bay we cruised over toward the north end of Rocky Pass and anchored in a spot called Stedman Bay. It’s shallow and quiet and we saw no other boats. We dinghied around a bit and saw deer, a large group of harbor seals hauled out on a nearby spit, and some otters. We had a nice dinner of fresh spot prawns dipped in garlic butter, a … Read more
We were originally aiming for Appleton Cove (just to make some miles, since we’ve been through Peril Strait a few times this summer) but Peril Strait was nice and settled so we went further and anchored behind Dead Tree Island. This is a very nice anchorage and with more time we would have dropped the dinghy and headed up river, but we got in kinda late and wanted to start … Read more
We picked up Kevin’s brother Craig in Sitka and after changing our planned route probably five times prior to his arrival due to weather (we were hoping to get out on the outside of Chichagof or Baranof), we set out back through Peril Strait, buddy boating with our friend Ralph on Rubicon. The first day we left Sitka early and made the 47nm cruise to Appleton Cove. Airship and cruise … Read more
Recently, I was reading through John Muir’s notes on his trips to SE Alaska in 1879, 1880, and 1889, and came across the part of his 1880 visit where they went up what is now called Endicott Arm, and into what is now called Ford’s Terror. He didn’t have to call it by name….I knew exactly where they were. “After we had sailed about three miles up this side fiord, … Read more
After our trip up Lynn Canal and back, we met up with friends/flotilla folks Ralph and Jeanette (on Rubicon) and Scott (on Impulse) over in Swanson Harbor (where Lynn Canal, Chatham Strait, and Icy Strait all converge). We all got space on the dock and had a nice visit. In the morning, we cruised over to Flynn Cove for one night (Ralph and Jeanette caught a halibut!) and then split … Read more