Airship | Pavlof Harbor to Ell Cove

We enjoyed two full days of bears (the ones I posted in the last post), warm weather and sun, jellyfish, two keeper crabs, and one nice silver salmon while in Pavlof Harbor. (I believe these orange jellies are Lion’s Mane jellyfish.) The first night there were only three boats, but the second night–ten. It was quite crowded, and people anchored too close and had to move, and there was a … Read more

Airship | Bears at Pavlof Harbor

We spent a few days in Juneau seeing Kevin’s brother off and reprovisioning before heading out. First night (last night) we stopped in Funter Bay…anchored way back in Crab Cove. We didn’t get any crab, and still had a bit of a rolly night from whatever wind and waves were making their way in. We thought this might be more protected than Coot Cove, and maybe it was, but it … Read more

Airship | Ford’s Terror and Taku Harbor

Friday: We entered Ford’s Terror about 25 minutes after Juneau high tide with about 3kts of current still flooding, pushing us in a little faster through as we dodged small icebergs that had entered with the flood. We anchored near where we usually do and started on dinner. We skewered and grilled up the spot prawns we’d caught that morning at Windham Bay and served them with a side of … Read more

Airship | Cape Fanshaw Bubblenet Feeding, Windham Bay

Our cruise yesterday from Thomas Bay to Windham Bay was whale-filled, including another (or the same?) group bubblenet feeding right around Cape Fanshaw. I took photos of a few more flukes to identify…uploaded to happywhale.com and will add captions once I have names. (Thanks to Andrea for turning me onto this site…I wish I’d have been doing this every year up here!) This one was identified as humpback whale Launaana … Read more

Airship | Thomas Bay, Scenery Cove, Baird Glacier and the Glacial Lake

We left Cannery Cove on Tuesday morning after pulling the crab pots (2 keepers) and headed out into Frederick Sound. Very little wind and quite nice besides the rain. As we neared Cape Fanshaw we noticed another boat that had been hanging out over there for an hour or so, and since it’s a popular spot with the whales, we adjusted course to veer a little closer, just in case. … Read more

Airship | Red Bluff Bay and Pybus Bay

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 … Read more

Airship | From Sitka: Appleton Cove, Basket Bay, Takatz Bay

We hung out for a few days in Sitka while waiting for Kevin’s brother Craig to join us. We made pizza one night that turned out super good. Our usual pepperoni with fresh oregano, honey, and hot chili oil, and an experimental one with burnt ends, tomatoes, olives, and jalapeƱos. Both were great! Since we had a spot on the transient dock on the outside of the boat harbor, we … Read more

Airship | Three Entrance Bay

It rained all night, but by morning the rain had stopped and the sky was quiet. Clouds reflected in the smooth mirror of the bay, interrupted occasionally by schools of tiny fish breaking the surface. The light was soft and we were approaching a low tide, so Kevin went up for some aerial shots. After drone flying and breakfast, it still wasn’t raining so Kevin and I took the dinghy … Read more