Airship and Free Solo left Quiet Harbor this morning after an early night (which may or may not have included a cocktail after yesterday’s alternator drama) and headed for Wrangell. Earlier in the morning there was a solo humpback hanging out at the entrance to the harbor, but we didn’t get any photos. Conditions were calm and gray along our route around the north end of Etolin Island, through Chichagof … Read more
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
Day 16 (Friday) – The wind had picked up quite a bit overnight while we were anchored in Foggy Bay. We also had some RAIN for the first time this whole trip last night…that’s certainly a record. We’ve never gone this long with no rain at all. We left Foggy Bay and had some 1-3 ft chop immediately, along with westerly swells. A little rolly, but not too bad, especially … Read more
We left Kelp Passage near first light for our Dixon Entrance crossing. The weather forecast looked excellent — wind NW 15 diminishing to light early, seas 1 meter. We popped up early to check the 4AM update to be sure nothing had changed for the sinister overnight. It looked even a little better, and a soft fog layer confirmed that the air wasn’t moving much. On big crossings, fog is … Read more
Inside Passage, San Juan Islands to SE Alaska Prevost Harbor to Juneau | May 10 to June 23 | Maximum 5 boats Glaciers. Icebergs. Whales. Bears. Cruising to Alaska is all about the incomparable nature right in front of your eyes. It’s about not just seeing the world, but experiencing it. This year we are doing an extended six-week trip, exploring coastal British Columbia with an extended tour of the … Read more
More sun as we left Ketchikan! We stopped at the fuel dock and filled up all of the things — diesel, dinghy gas, and propane — and then continued on our way. The night before we left Ketchikan, we grilled up the last of our king salmon and served it over rice with soy sauce, Japanese seaweed paste, green onions, and a side of sautéed zucchini. Yum! Normally when we … Read more
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