After a group breakfast on the raft, we departed Excursion Inlet for Hoonah. Kevin had a line in the water, and when he pulled it up prior to departing, discovered that a large octopus had decided to snack on some herring for breakfast had gotten itself hooked. We easily freed the octopus at the surface, and felt lucky to get such a close up view of this cool creature! Crossing … Read more
Sometimes the forecast doesn’t cooperate with the plan. Today we’d intended to go from Elfin Cove to Dundas Bay, a large, scenic bay in Glacier Bay National Park (but outside the permit-required area). The weather today wasn’t the problem, but tomorrow looked a bit worse. Not bad, just a bit rolly when we would be leaving Dundas Bay, where the westerly was predicted to be blowing around 20 knots. Instead … Read more
With only 19nm to travel today, we didn’t rush out of Pelican. We’d hoped to be able to get breakfast at the Lisianski Inlet Cafe, but they’re not open on Sundays until the fishing season really begins and more people arrive in Pelican. Oh well. The trip from Pelican to Elfin Cove is mostly protected, but a few miles in Cross Sound are exposed to ocean swell. Conditions were calm, … Read more
We had a relaxed morning in Stag Bay before departing for Pelican, less than two hours away. In the morning before we left, Sam came up with another fun experiment to try in the waffle iron: Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, and they turned out great! Even with the dreary weather, Lisianski Strait and Lisianski Inlet have beautiful, rugged mountain scenery. The transient dock was empty, so we tied up and wandered … Read more
We entered the ocean through Imperial Channel and immediately got a glimpse of the Fairweather Mountains to the north. The swell was running, but much gentler than a few days before. Maybe five feet instead of eight, less confused, and spread out a little further. The Chichagof Island shoreline is tall, steep, and beautiful. After an hour or so, we entered Lisianski Strait and put the ocean behind us. We’d … Read more
After a lazy morning, we left Klag Bay around 9:00 a.m. The aids to navigation on this section of coast could use some love but we found our way: Our first stop was Radioville. Several years ago we’d heard about this spot from Bill Pierre at the bar in Pelican. He explained that a guy named Joe used to live on an island offshore from Klag Bay. Joe was a … Read more
After five nights in Sitka, we were ready to move on and the forecast looked good. This leg of the flotilla is new this year, and we have just one boat traveling with us: Jester. Over the next 10 or 11 days, we’ll work our way up to Juneau. Most boats do this via the “inside” route, back through Peril Strait, up Chatham Strait, and around the top of Admiralty … Read more
Thirty-four days after we left the San Juan Islands for our journey up the Inside Passage, we are ready for this last leg of the flotilla into Sitka. It’s been a spectacular trip, and we’re excited and also a little sad to be reaching the end. We’ve had a remarkably smooth transit – with a combination of great luck and good timing on weather windows for the “gates” of the … Read more