We had spectacular weather today for our 30nm cruise into Sitka — not a cloud to be seen in the bright blue sky. We pulled anchor in Deep Bay around 6:00 a.m., arrived at Sergius Narrows within a few minutes of slack, and had no real current to speak of. Navigating the traffic through Neva Strait and Olga Strait and into Sitka proved more demanding than Sergius Narrows. State ferries, … Read more
After a relaxing, wildlife-rich several days on the east coast of Baranof Island, today we motored eight hours towards Sitka, from Takatz Bay to Deep Bay. Our route leads to progressively smaller bodies of water, from huge Chatham Strait to Peril Strait, and eventually to Sergius Narrows, the bottleneck just west of Deep Bay that can only be transited near slack. Other than a couple photos of the gorgeous light … Read more
Over the last few days the pace of the trip has relaxed. Today, we had our shortest day yet: just nine miles, followed by a day sitting at anchor in Takatz Bay. The truth is we could have spent several days at each of the anchorages we’ve visited this trip, but the distances are too great and the other destinations too tempting to linger. Occasionally, though, it’s nice to catch … Read more
After yesterday’s wildlife extravaganza, today’s trip up Chatham Strait was a little boring. We did see a few humpbacks as we left Red Bluff Bay, but after that we struck out. The water was reasonably calm, though, and the Baranof Island shoreline is so mountainous, rugged, and snow-capped that the lack of wildlife didn’t matter. We just focused our attention on the scenery. Usually we can squeeze in somewhere on … Read more
As we exited Explorer Basin this morning, we found Chatham Strait FAR less bumpy than the previous day. Additionally, we were greeted by several groups of humpbacks feeding on the herring that were everywhere!! The herring balls were too prevalent and moved too quickly to be steered around, yet every time we drove through one we worried that a whale might surface and strike the boat. If you’ve been whale … Read more
After the bumpy pre-breakfast ride up Chatham Strait we were hungry, so we used the rest of the fresh crab we’d caught and made a crab eggs benedict brunch on Airship. So delicious! Most of us just relaxed onboard instead of doing any big dinghy excursions since it was so windy out. We did an early easy happy hour on the raft, and everyone returned to their boats for whatever … Read more
Coronation Island is beautiful in an entirely different way than Pybus Bay or Thomas Bay. Those places have towering mountains, snowfields, and waterfalls. Coronation Island, situated out in the ocean, just south of Chatham Strait, has a rugged, swell-carved coastline dotted with sea caves, arches, and occasional sandy beaches. Getting to Coronation Island requires favorable weather. Even when the wind isn’t blowing, strong currents and ocean swells can make conditions … Read more
This morning we woke to bits of blue sky and nice calm waters. We departed Pybus Bay and headed for Bay of Pillars on Kuiu Island. We spotted several humpbacks spouting in the distance in Frederick Sound, but nothing very close. Soon after we turned into Chatham Strait, however, we were treated to a group of humpbacks lunge feeding on herring balls. After watching the whales for a bit, we … Read more