We left early this morning from Pavlof Harbor…5:30am-early. The NOAA forecast said 20kts and 4ft in Northern Chatham — (originally also had gusting to 35kts in the afternoon, but that was downgraded last night) — but the ECMWF model on Windy (well, and all the other models) did not show it getting over 15kts. The NOAA forecasts for Icy Strait and Southern Lynn Canal also didn’t show anything too dramatic, … Read more
We opted to stay in Pavlof Harbor for another day because…bears. It was so nice to sleep in and have a little down time this morning. We motored up to the waterfall and fish ladder to look for bears, but no bears, and just a couple of fish spotted up there. We’re still a little early here, but it should just be a matter of days before the fish are … Read more
A gorgeous morning in Appleton Cove! Kevin and Andrea pulled our crab pots and we had two nice big keepers. As we were pulling the anchor we spotted a deer walking along the spit on the north side of the cove. As we were heading out of Peril Strait we saw several humpbacks in the distance, and managed to see one close enough to get a decent photo. I pulled … Read more
We woke this morning in Sitka to….SUN!!! Sure, there are still some clouds, but one whole part of the sky was just BLUE. Andrea pulled up an urchin from a line hanging over the bull rail: Look at all that blue sky!!! We know, it won’t last, but we’ll take it while we get it! We saw several humpbacks today, some sea lions, another jumpy dolphin, and several brown bears. … Read more
We spent a few days in Sitka soaking up the sights, shopping, walking, going out to dinner, and doing boat chores. We didn’t take many photos here on Airship (sorry), but the days in port are always pretty busy for us. We had a group dinner one night at Mangiare, which was great, and we picked up our friend Andrea who will add some naturalist goodness to this next leg … Read more
We pulled out of Baby Bear Bay this morning around 8:30am so we’d arrive at Sergius Narrows near slack with some time to spare. We got a nice push on the way there, but first, right outside of our anchorage we were treated to this fantastic show by a lone Pacific white-sided dolphin. So much fun watching it leap and twist! We saw a few humpbacks along our route, and … Read more
This morning brought more fog and gray and drizzle, but especially fog. Always good on a day when seiners will be thick along our route, but by the time we left the bay the fog was mostly just a haze, and visibility wasn’t bad at all. There was one packer inside the bay on our way out, and a few seiners in various stages of operation just outside the bay. … Read more
More rain, more gray, still beautiful. The great conditions originally forecast for today changed to just okay, as a low pressure system is headed in. Looks like wind could be increasing to maybe 20-25kts by the afternoon, and this evening might even bring a few 35kt gusts. Airship and Turnagain de-rafted and Turnagain headed to the dock to try a quick hot spring soak before heading up to Takatz Bay. … Read more