Airship | Smuggler Cove to Irish Bay BC, and on to LaConner, WA

Saturday – We opted to leave our nice calm spot in Smuggler Cove this morning and go south down the Strait of Georgia rather than waiting for tomorrow, even though we knew there was a chance it would be bumpy. The forecasted wind (15-20kts except near Vancouver Island 25kts) would be from the NW, which means mainly behind us, but still with a long fetch where the waves could build. … Read more

Airship | Kent Inlet to Rescue Bay, BC

We left Kent Inlet on Thursday morning as the fog was clearing…another beautiful day so far! We cruised a slightly longer day (39nm) to Rescue Bay, where we put a couple crab traps down. A little later, we saw a green-hulled Selene approaching from Jackson Narrows…could it be Scott on Impulse? Yes it could! Awesome! So we chatted with him and his friend Tracy and made a plan to cruise … Read more

Airship | Pavlof Harbor to Ell Cove

We enjoyed two full days of bears (the ones I posted in the last post), warm weather and sun, jellyfish, two keeper crabs, and one nice silver salmon while in Pavlof Harbor. (I believe these orange jellies are Lion’s Mane jellyfish.) The first night there were only three boats, but the second night–ten. It was quite crowded, and people anchored too close and had to move, and there was a … Read more

Airship | Ketchikan to Kah Shakes Cove

We left Ketchikan on Thursday morning after topping off all of the fuels (diesel, propane, dinghy gas) and headed for…well, we weren’t quite sure where yet! We’ve got a good window for crossing Dixon Entrance on Friday or Saturday, so we considered Foggy Bay, Judd Bay (on Duke Island), or somewhere we had not been before, and the new place won: Kah Shakes Cove, just north of Foggy Bay. The … Read more

Airship | Redfish Bay to Puffin Bay

We woke in Redfish Bay this morning to a thick marine layer of gray, but no big deal because it had already started burning off by the time we left around 8am. It was even calmer outside than it was yesterday…very minor swells and just a tiny bit of wind chop. Today’s trip was under 10nm, so a short hop to check out a new spot. This place is gorgeous!! … Read more

Airship | Redoubt Bay to Scow Bay

We pulled anchor and left Redoubt Bay this morning around 8am. Conditions on the outside were quite calm, with a gentle swell, and I should have taken more photos of the rugged coastline, but I didn’t. Tomorrow. Here’s today’s route from Redoubt Bay to Scow Bay: And here’s a close up so you can see how skinny the entrance is to Scow Bay: And an overall so you get a … Read more

Airship | South from Sitka to Redoubt Bay

Finally, a good weather window lined up with our plans to get on the outside of Baranof Island for a few days! We got up at 5am in Baby Bear to transit Sergius Narrows near the 5:30am slack, which meant (a) we got into Sitka before 9am, and (b) we were tired, so immediately after getting settled in our slip, we took a nap. 🙂 We’d been in touch with … Read more

Airship | Juneau, Funter Bay, Pavlof Harbor

We spent a week or so in Juneau after the flotilla ended…visiting with friends and family (Laura’s brother Jason flew down from Anchorage with a friend for a visit), and made good use of the rental car we reserved (used the Turo app for the first time…will definitely do that again!) We took a couple trips to Western Auto & Marine, Jerry’s Meats & Seafood (smoked salmon, double smoked bacon, … Read more