Announcing the 2023 Slowboat Flotilla to Alaska

Inside Passage, San Juan Islands to SE Alaska Prevost Harbor to Juneau | May 10 to June 23 | Maximum 5 boats Glaciers. Icebergs. Whales. Bears. Cruising to Alaska is all about the incomparable nature right in front of your eyes. It’s about not just seeing the world, but experiencing it. This year we are doing an extended six-week trip, exploring coastal British Columbia with an extended tour of the … Read more

Airship | Campbell River to the San Juan Islands

We left Campbell River late in the morning to so we wouldn’t have to slog through 7-8kts of current against us…we had a little until we were a ways past Cape Mudge, but it wasn’t much of an issue. The weather was glorious, and again with the calm calm conditions on the Strait of Georgia. We decided to stop for the night just behind Sandy Island, which is a little … Read more

Airship | Shearwater to Campbell River (with Cape Caution in between)

We left Shearwater late morning with perfectly clear skies and calm waters. Today we planned to stop just this side of Cape Caution and then go around in the morning to Skull Cove. Our destination today was originally Big Fry Pan Bay (since the BC Parks’ website says Fury Cove is still closed for anchoring due to Covid, which seems weird, but okay). However, after looking at chart a little … Read more

Airship | South from Prince Rupert: Whales, and More Fun Challenging Anchorages

We left Cow Bay Marina in Prince Rupert in thick fog, which cleared gradually as we made our way south. We cruised through Ogden Channel around to the west side of Pitt Island, and stopped at Newcombe Harbour for the night. The weather was quite rainy most of the time, so we didn’t do much besides music and dinner and a movie. The next day we were originally aiming for … Read more

Airship | Ketchikan to Prince Rupert

More sun as we left Ketchikan! We stopped at the fuel dock and filled up all of the things — diesel, dinghy gas, and propane — and then continued on our way. The night before we left Ketchikan, we grilled up the last of our king salmon and served it over rice with soy sauce, Japanese seaweed paste, green onions, and a side of sautéed zucchini. Yum! Normally when we … Read more

Day 15 | Flotilla to Alaska | Kelp Passage to Foggy Bay

We’re now in Alaska!! We went to Kelp Passage yesterday to set ourselves up for a possible Dixon Entrance crossing. Dixon Entrance is the final open-to-the-ocean section of the Inside Passage. It deserves respect, and can be dreadful in bad weather. For the last week or so we’ve been watching the forecast for Dixon. Generally, there has been exactly ONE good day in the forecast between weather systems, but that … Read more

Day 14 | Flotilla to Alaska | Baker Inlet to Kelp Passage

We’d made a plan to exit Watts Narrows again at high slack (or nearish, anyway) which was at noon, but this group seems not to want to wait around at all in the mornings, and so voted to go on the early low slack at 6:00a.m. instead (still a lot of depth mid-channel and no issues transiting about a half an hour after slack with a knot or more of … Read more

Day 13 | Flotilla to Alaska | Lowe Inlet to Baker Inlet

We left Lowe Inlet around 8:00a.m. this morning in order to arrive at Watts Narrows at high slack tide (around 11:00a.m.) Watts Narrows is a short but narrow passage from Grenville Channel that connects into scenic Baker Inlet. There’s a dogleg turn near the inner part of the entrance that makes it difficult to see any opposing traffic. It’s not imperative to go through Watts Narrows at high slack, but … Read more