Day 19 | 2024 Flotilla to Alaska | Foggy Bay to Ketchikan

After a very hard rain early this morning, we woke to this: Just as we were pulling our anchor we noticed a black bear at the head of the bay, beyond Ithaka… …and then realized there were two! And on our way out through the narrow exit, one more on shore there munching on some grass, watching us as we puttered past. Those three, plus the two seen yesterday on … Read more

Day 12 | 2024 Flotilla to Alaska | Bottleneck Inlet to Khutze Inlet

We pulled up anchor in Bottleneck Inlet this morning at 7am and headed out into Finlayson Channel for a four-hour cruise up to Khutze Inlet — one of our favorite anchorages on the northern BC coast. We wanted to arrive at Khutze early enough to leave us with plenty of time to explore. We had favorable current the whole way, and dropped anchor around 11am. It was a beautiful, sunny … Read more

Airship | And Just Like That, We’re Home!

We got an email from the current owners of the Nordic Tug 24 Snowdrop (previously known as Airship), telling us (1) that they saw (current) Airship in Long Harbour on their evening walk, then (2) that they looked at the blog and learned that we’d already found Snowdrop! They invited us to come by in the morning to see our previous boat and meet in person, so we accepted! We’d … Read more

Airship | Fury Cove and Secure Anchorage (not Cape Caution, yet)

We left our anchorage at Kisameet Bay late in the morning on Sunday (after watching the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix) and headed south for Fury Cove. We saw so many whales along the way, but weirdly, most of them were just floating at the surface, as they do when they’re sleeping. But it was after noon…and they were spread out over the whole route (not all together, not that … Read more

Airship | Kent Inlet, Alexander Inlet, Mary Cove

Yesterday’s destination was Kent Inlet. Kent Inlet is part of the Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy on Princess Royal Island, which sounded pretty great. Potential for a spirit bear sighting, plus the added bonus of tidal rapids to navigate (or at least time for slack, which we did). The highest concentration of Kermode bears are found in the Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy. From Wikipedia: “The Kermode bear, sometimes called the spirit … Read more

Airship | Juneau to Ketchikan

Guest swap time in Juneau! Kevin’s brother Craig flew home after two weeks with us on Airship, and a few days later we flew Kevin’s mom Shirley in for 10 days or so as we cruised from Juneau to Ketchikan. First stop on our way south was Tracy Arm Cove, where we promptly spotted a bear on shore with a salmon in its mouth. Not long after this first shot, … Read more