Southeast Alaska

Day 23 | Flotilla to Alaska | Kasaan to Meyers Chuck

by and

The forecast for Clarence Strait wasn’t great. Southeast 20-25 knots, according to NOAA. Clarence Strait is a big body of water, stretching about 100nm from Dixon Entrance at the south to Zarembo Island at the north. We’ve been beaten up there before, and weren’t eager to repeat those experiences today. Other forecast models—Windy and Windfinder—looked substantially better than NOAA. Still breezy, but more like 10-15 knots. As a bonus, the … Read more

Day 22 | Flotilla to Alaska | Ketchikan to Kasaan

by

Today’s forecast for Clarence Strait: SE wind 20kts diminishing to 15kts in the afternoon. Seas 4 ft. Rain. We saw nothing over 10kts, about a 1ft chop, and only a tiny bit of drizzle for our cruise across Clarence. (We left Ketchikan around 7:30 a.m.) But once we entered Kasaan Bay the wind picked up to 16kts or so and finding a non-bumpy spot on the dock was a bit of … Read more

Days 20 and 21 | Flotilla to Alaska | Hanging Out in Ketchikan

by and

The weather in Ketchikan for the past two days has been typical Ketchikan — gray and windy and raining sideways. This is a town that averages more than 150 inches of rain per year. Seattle’s 37.5 inch total is paltry in comparison. We only intended to stay in Ketchikan for two nights, but the weather on the day we planned to depart was truly bad. At the dock, we recorded … Read more

Day 19 | Flotilla to Alaska | Foggy Bay to Ketchikan

by

We had a beautiful cruise this morning from Foggy Bay into Ketchikan. It’s always a bit of a shock arriving into Ketchikan after being in such quiet, remote areas for several weeks. Today was no exception. Ketchikan was host to FIVE cruise ships when we arrived — four at the cruise ship berths and one anchored out in the channel. When we called the Ketchikan customs office yesterday and got … Read more

Day 18 | Flotilla to Alaska | Kelp Passage to Foggy Bay

by , and

The forecast for crossing Dixon Entrance was about as good as it gets. Wind light, building to northwest 5-15 knots in the afternoon and 10-20 knots in the evening. Environment Canada, NOAA, Windy, and Windfinder all basically agreed, too. We’d have a lazy, three foot swell and basically calm winds. This is the longest day of our trip at 64 nautical miles. Given the long day and the possibility of … Read more

Slowboat at TrawlerFest 2018

by

Did you miss our seminars at the Seattle Boat Show earlier this year? Well we’re giving you another chance to catch up with us…we’ll be at TrawlerFest 2018 in Bremerton, Washington, just days before we take off with our 2018 Flotilla to Alaska! Trawlerfest runs from May 1 through May 5th, and we’ll be giving three 2-hour seminars on May 1st and 2nd. Seminars will be held at the Kitsap Conference … Read more

Crossing Dixon Entrance

by

Getting out of Ketchikan was an exercise in patience. Storm after storm, packing lots of southerly wind and buckets of rain, pummeled the area. Even in a town that receives more than 160 inches of rainfall annually, this was exceptional. Streets flooded and locals complained about the worst summer ever. Fishing guides canceled charters. Twice we recorded more than four inches of rain in a single day. Fishermen commiserated via … Read more

Behm Canal and Misty Fjords

by and

We left Thorne Bay and headed for Ketchikan to catch up on laundry, groceries, etc. and to pick up Kevin and Laura’s 9-year-old granddaughter, Mijonet, for a trip around Behm Canal. The Ketchikan airport is across Tongass Narrows from town. Remember the infamous Bridge to Nowhere? Yep, that was here, and since it was never built, air travellers arriving or departing Ketchikan must take a boat a few hundred yards … Read more