Laura Domela 
Day 21 began with the delivery of Cassie’s famous cinnamon rolls to the boats in Meyers Chuck. With pastries securely on board consumed, the flotilla cast off lines and headed for Wrangell. Clarence Strait was calm again. As we motored northwest in Ernest Sound the sun briefly appeared and winds remained light. By the time we got to Zimovia Strait the sun was gone, but we still had views of snowcapped … Read more
We left Ketchikan around 9:00 a.m. and had a beautiful, calm cruise up Clarence Strait: Clarence Strait can be a nasty body of water. It’s 100 nm long and four miles wide. Current runs to several knots. When the wind blows, it gets ugly. Any day of calm water is appreciated! Our destination was Meyers Chuck, a community of about 20 people on the northwest corner of Cleveland Peninsula. There’s … Read more
Today was a lay day in Ketchikan. We figured people could use a day of rest (or chores or exploring) since we’ve been moving swiftly since meeting at Roche Harbor a couple weeks ago. Now that we’re in Alaska we can reset the pace a bit. Yesterday we were lucky enough to see some sun, but today was mostly rainy and gray (because…Ketchikan). The morning started with a bit of excitement. A small boat … Read more
This morning in Foggy Bay was still and quiet. We worked on the flotilla plan early, and then took the dinghy out (quietly) to look for bears and explore the bay before meeting with each boat to go over the plan for the next two days. Kevin took the Mavic up for some aerials of the anchorage before we took off toward Ketchikan. The cruise from Foggy Bay to Ketchikan was … Read more
The forecast today was for strong southerly winds (30-40 knots), and we weren’t totally sure how they would affect our trip up Grenville Channel. We departed Lowe Inlet a little after 10:00 a.m. in calm conditions and took advantage of the end of the flood to give us an extra few knots of speed. As we continued north the wind built, but we never lost the current. By the time … Read more
We left Butedale early this morning — just before 6:30am — to beat the current in Grenville Channel. Grenville Channel floods from both sides, and currents run to several knots. Ideally you ride the flood in, and the ebb out. Theoretically, the current was supposed to turn against us about an hour before we reached Lowe Inlet. Instead, we had over a knot of current with us the entire trip. We’ll … Read more
When we woke up in Bottleneck it was totally calm—glassy, except for rain drops, and not a breath of wind. Just outside, though, it was unexpectedly rough. There wasn’t much wind, but the southerly swell worked its way up Finlayson Channel. We spent a few minutes rolling around as we left, but things quickly settled down and we had an easy run up to Butedale. Butedale is an awesome stop. It’s … Read more
Winter has returned. We’ve been spoiled by warm, sunny weather. Now temps are in the 40s and 50s and the rain has been pouring down. Oh well, it’s part of boating on this coast…but we are all grateful for heating systems and interior helm stations! Today’s route was lots of fun, even with the dreary weather. We headed west out Seaforth Channel, and just as we began feeling the ocean … Read more