Vixen Inlet this morning was perfect. Super calm, clear skies, bright sun. We woke early but no one was in any hurry to leave this beautiful spot. Brian from Evenstar (Fleming) took his drone up and got some great shots of us all at anchor. On our way up to Thoms Place, some up ahead of us saw humpbacks tail-slapping near shore, and then a little later, Dog Star (behind … Read more
The group left Ketchikan this morning around 7am and headed north in Tongass Narrows, avoiding tugs and barges, float planes, fishing boats, and a couple of cruise ships. We opted to pass Meyers Chuck, as cute and as charming as it is, due to limited dock space and our 7 on-the-larger-side boats, but at least one boat poked in to take a look and plans to visit on their way … Read more
Our stops in Ketchikan can be quite busy! Sometimes our stops are brief and frantic, but we stayed three nights this visit. Having some down time to explore and chill and do boat chores (and go out to dinner multiple times!) after several long days in a row was rejuvenating, and the sunny weather helped a ton! People visited downtown, dodged cruise ship visitors on colorful Creek Street, took in … Read more
We left Foggy Bay this morning for a smooth cruise into Ketchikan. Brian from Evenstar/Fleming took these gorgeous drone shots as people were getting ready to head on to Ketchikan this morning: Seas were calm, the weather was sunny, and a few whales were here and there, settling into their Alaska routine. Ketchikan is quite a shock when we’ve spent over two weeks in mostly wilderness anchorages with very few … Read more
We were up early this morning to navigate Venn Passage, possibly attempt a Dixon Entrance crossing, and make our way to Foggy Bay, Alaska. The weather was a little iffy. While conditions were good, we had one forecast for five foot swells on our beam at some point, so we made a multi-prong contingency plan. We would travel the first four hours or so out through Venn Passage, across to … Read more
As many of you know, my debut novel Untamed Coast is being published this year by Ballantine/Penguin Random House. Untamed Coast is a cross-genre novel—book club fiction, mystery, thriller, and wilderness adventure—that spans three timelines, and maybe most importantly to Slowboat readers, it takes place largely on boats in SE Alaska! I’m incredibly grateful for the years of support the Slowboat community has given this project. As we gear up for … Read more
Many of you Slowboat readers have been part of this journey—chatting with me about the project, beta-reading early drafts, and cheering me on. I’m deeply grateful, and want to officially announce here on Slowboat, that my novel, titled Untamed Coast, will be published by Ballantine/Penguin Random House in about a year. How did we get here? Let’s rewind a bit. Back in 2016, while exploring the outside of Chichagof Island … Read more
We left Ketchikan yesterday morning after deciding we’d rather wait out this upcoming low pressure system (35kt winds and rain) at anchor in a pretty place with a view of trees and water, rather than at the dock in Ketchikan with a view of a very poorly maintained wooden boat (containing several dogs barking for most of the day) and a half sunk dinghy. We shopped and got enough produce … Read more