Kevin Morris

Knowing and Trusting Your Sources

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When choosing navigation routes and anchorages, particularly in remote areas, there are numerous sources of information available to cruisers. There are paper and electronic charts, chartplotters, apps (such as Coastal Explorer, Navionics, and iNavX) for computers, smart phones, and tablets, as well as physical reference books. In SE Alaska, the books we typically use are (1) the Douglass’ guide “Exploring Southeast Alaska” and (2) “Charlie’s Charts North to Alaska.”  One … Read more

Airship | Anan Wildlife Observatory

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Yesterday morning we decided to check on a permit for Anan Wildlife Observatory since we’d be passing right by today. July 5 is the very first day of the high season and the first day each year that you need a permit to visit (read: there’s a good chance to see bears). Prior to July 5 and after August 25 you don’t need a permit. As I mentioned yesterday, we were … Read more

Airship | Hidden Falls Hatchery and Red Bluff Bay

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We left Takatz Bay this morning and headed back to Ell Cove so we could give the hatchery visit another shot. Conditions were gray with fog and light rain. We saw a couple of orcas just outside Takatz, which was nice. Here’s a really bad photo of one of them: We anchored in Ell Cove, dinghied over to Hidden Falls, and wandered around the hatchery grounds a little before we … Read more

Airship | Excursion Inlet and Couverden Island Cove

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We had just about perfect weather as we left Flynn Cove and cruised across Icy Strait into Excursion Inlet. The wind was about 10 knots out of the west, so we had a 1 foot chop or so on our beam, but nothing to complain about. We anchored in the west arm at Sawmill Bay, where we’ve anchored a few times previously. We definitely did not remember it being so … Read more

Day 33 | Flotilla to Alaska | Ford’s Terror to Taku Harbor

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We pulled anchor a little after 7:00 a.m. in order to arrive at the entrance (exit) to Ford’s Terror by about 8:00 a.m. We were a little early but knew from our experience coming in that the tidal swing was low and that meant a longer-than-usual window for transiting the rapids. Airship went through first and only noted about a knot and a half of opposing current, so the rest … Read more

Day 32 | Flotilla to Alaska | Ford’s Terror

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Ford’s Terror is probably our favorite anchorage ever. There’s something about the challenge of getting in, the fact that you can only transit the entrance/exit once every twelve hours (knowing that the current at the entrance can run to 12 knots with large overfalls during non-slack) that makes it an accomplishment. This challenge is rewarded heavily by the enormous unspoiled majestic landscape that surrounds you once inside. Everywhere you look, … Read more

Day 31 | Flotilla to Alaska | Tracy Arm Cove to Dawes Glacier and Ford’s Terror

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**Warning: this post has SO MANY PHOTOS** The Plan for Today: Leave Tracy Arm Cove by about 11:00 a.m. (so late!!), cruise up Endicott Arm to all the way to Dawes Glacier (or as far as we could get), spend some time playing in the ice, and then backtrack to Ford’s Terror so we’d reach the entrance about a half an hour or so before high slack in Juneau. As … Read more

Day 29 | Flotilla to Alaska | Portage Bay to Pybus Bay

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The weather today was absolutely gorgeous for our cruise from Portage Bay across to Pybus Bay on Admiralty Island. As we left Portage the fog burned off and the water was glassy smooth for much of our transit. Enroute we saw humpback whales, a large pod of Orcas, seals, and sea lions. But, the big wildlife encounter of the day was Dall’s porpoises! There were so many of them, and … Read more