Day 31 | 2023 Flotilla to Alaska | Deep Bay to Sitka

This morning’s alarm was set for 4am (!!!) and we all left Deep Bay in time to catch slack at Sergius Narrows (4:50am, about 30 minutes from Deep Bay). Conditions were calm, gray, and rainy today, so not many photos were taken along the route. Along the way, Two’s Out had a mechanical problem. A new sound had appeared – vaguely like a pump. But, the sound only happened when … Read more

Day 29 | 2023 Flotilla to Alaska | Red Bluff Bay to Takatz Bay

Another beautiful morning (before the “mostly cloudy” sets in)! We stopped to pick up our prawn traps on the way out of Red Bluff Bay and had 55 more spot prawns. Yum! Nice and calm in Chatham Strait today for our run up to Takatz Bay. There were no other boats anchored in Takatz Bay when we arrived, which is quite rare! We got out to do some dinghy exploring … Read more

Day 28 | 2023 Flotilla to Alaska | Explorer Basin to Red Bluff Bay

We awoke to a gorgeous morning in Explorer Basin! The group left the anchorage in shifts. First out was Seabear, who reported back they were again seeing humpbacks bubble-net feeding outside the entrance. Our route in and out of this place is definitely on the herring trail because the waters around here are just bubbling with ’em! Some swell and some chop (and some fog) out in Chatham, but not … Read more

Days 25 – 26 | 2023 Flotilla to Alaska | Thomas Bay to Pybus Bay

Day 25 – The group left the Thomas Bay anchorage early this morning and headed north in Frederick Sound toward Pybus Bay at the south end of Admiralty Island. As we neared the Brothers Islands, the wildlife sightings began! Over at West Brother Island — a colony of sea lions (over 100 as reported by Free Solo and Seabear) as well as some orcas. The orcas came to visit Airship … Read more

Day 24 | 2023 Flotilla to Alaska | Petersburg to Thomas Bay

Today was an epic day!! First of all, we woke in Petersburg to some sun, which was very welcome. As we left the dock and headed for Frederick Sound, conditions looked very promising. Frederick Sound was downright glassy, and you could even see the mountains! We got a peek in the evening yesterday, but today was even clearer! The cruise down to Thomas Bay was fantastic–calm and wonderfully scenic! Once … Read more

Day 19 | 2023 Flotilla to Alaska | Ketchikan to Thoms Place/Quiet Harbor

We awoke to a beautiful morning in Ketchikan. Much nicer than the rain and wind we’ve seen the last couple of days. It was time to untie the lines and get the party moving northward. Fate and boats had some interesting plans in store for us today, though. In Clarence Strait near Caamano Point we spotted a very large orca that at first we thought might be with a baby, … Read more

Airship’s New Power System

During the extended COVID quarantine this year, we took the opportunity to do a number of upgrades to Airship. We discussed a lot of them in this article, but we have gotten enough questions on the power system in particular that it merits its own discussion. This article will be closed-captioned for nerds, with a few extra-detail sections for those who want to dive into the kilowatts, amps, and volts. … Read more

Airship, Now With Solar (well, and a few other things)!

Kevin and I finally got to get aboard Airship again last week! Before we talk about our quick cruise, let’s do a little catch-up: With the Alaska and Vancouver Island flotillas cancelled this season, Airship has been having another major round of maintenance and upgrades. You can see the initial round of upgrades from 2018 (when we bought the boat) HERE. This year’s upgrades started back in October at the … Read more