Somehow we’ve always missed Thorne Bay, but this year we were determined to visit. Cruising friends raved about the friendly locals. They were right! As soon as we tied up, Ron, a liveaboard on a neighboring boat, popped over and introduced himself. He gave us directions around town, welcomed us, and asked if we needed help with anything! Thorne Bay is a welcome stop. Some cruising guides warn about strong … Read more
We left Point Baker after breakfast and headed for Coffman Cove. Sumner Strait and Clarence Strait cooperated, and we enjoyed another calm, sunny day on the water, punctuated by a midday whale show at Bay Point. The transient dock at Coffman Cove was full of fish boats when we arrived. Several slips were open, but the harbormaster didn’t respond to our VHF radio calls so we anchored out instead. The … Read more
We left Hole in the Wall just after 11:00 a.m. Two small communities are within just a few miles: Port Protection and Point Baker. We decided to make a quick stop at Port Protection to see what was there, then continue on to Point Baker and perhaps spend the night. Port Protection has an Alaska state float (well, it’s barely floating), but it’s not connected to land. Most of the … Read more
Our first stop north of Klawock was Sarkar Cove. It’s a pretty spot with good holding and protection, but several houses and a high-end fishing lodge make it feel less remote than it otherwise would. The biggest attraction was Sarkar Lake, which flows into Sarkar Cove and looked like a great place to explore by dinghy. Aerial view of Sarkar Cove Unfortunately, we didn’t make it far. Soon after the … Read more
Klawock is about 7 miles by road north of Craig on Prince of Wales Island. Klawock’s early inhabitants were from Tuxekan (a Tlingit winter village to the north), who used Klawock as their summer fishing camp. In 1868, European Americans opened a trading post and a salmon saltery, and in 1878 Klawock was the site of the very first cannery in Alaska. Klawock also has the oldest hatchery in Alaska (sockeye, … Read more
From Hunter Bay we headed west to Nina Cove, on the east side of Long Island. The charts had been quite accurate in Hunter Bay and Kassa Inlet, but we found them seriously lacking in Nina Cove. Several rocks are accurately shown, but a big one isn’t. The picture below shows where the rocks are and the route we took. The safe channel between the rocks is narrow, probably about … Read more
From Hydaburg we headed south in protected inside waters. After the coldest and wettest summer we can remember in SE Alaska, today’s sunshine was welcome! It looks like the sunshine is going to stick around for the foreseeable future…an Alaskan heatwave! Our first stop was Kassa Inlet. Its long shoreline with several bays looked like great exploring. We arrived in the evening and saved the dinghying for the following day. … Read more
Airship and Safe Harbour left Coronation Island on Friday morning and cruised all the way to Craig (about 50 nautical miles). The forecast called for south winds to 10 knots and four foot seas—as good as it gets, basically. Even with the mild conditions, putting the swells on the beam made for a somewhat rolly ride. The Craig harbormaster found spots for us both on the dock for two nights, … Read more