The cruise up Frederick Sound from Portage Bay to Pybus Bay is about 33 nautical miles. The wind was mostly calm (10 knots or so) with just the slightest chop. The sun was even out for a bit! We were hoping for some humpbacks today. Frederick Sound, especially around the Brothers Islands, is usually rich with whales. Today did not disappoint. We saw about a dozen of them, spread out … Read more
“Can I call you right back? A couple orcas just surfaced right in front of the boat and I don’t want to hit them,” I frantically told the U.S. Customs officer as I eased the throttle back. “No problem, that’ll happen,” the officer responded. Welcome to Alaska. We were motoring north in Tongass Narrows, on our way into Ketchikan after a three-week transit through British Columbia. Anchored in Foggy Bay … Read more
(Updated June 2024). Ford’s Terror might just be the most beautiful place on the planet. Cliffs—absolutely enormous granite walls, really—rise from water’s edge to snowcapped bowls and peaks 5000 feet above. Countless waterfalls, some trickles, others torrents, plunge from these peaks. Bears forage ashore. Dolphins frolic around anchored boats. The scale of Ford’s Terror is difficult to comprehend and impossible to convey. It’s like Yosemite, but with water in the … Read more
Today was about crabs, humpbacks, black bears, dolphins, icebergs, and the 70 pound halibut that got away. [google_maps id=”1084″] Read more on the Riveted blog.
Kevin arrived back in Ketchikan after spending the week in Austin for work. He brought his mom back with him, and we’ll be showing her SE Alaska from Ketchikan to Petersburg this week. (I was really ready to get off the dock back out in nature again!) Our first stop after some sightseeing in Ketchikan (Creek Street, Saxman Totem Village, and dinner at the Bar Harbor Restaurant) was Walker Cove … Read more
This morning we woke up early, made some coffee, and sat out on the bow watching bears. We decided we’d take a dinghy ride further around to the end of Walker Cove before pulling the crab traps this morning. It was early and quiet and the water was glassy still. (So nice to have the electric Torqeedo for these kinds of quiet expeditions, instead of the loud gasoline outboard!) Read … Read more
On Thursday morning we left Ketchikan and headed for Misty Fjords. We didn’t get to Misty Fjords last year and since we were about a week early to Ketchikan…what better to do with that time? We thought we’d check out New Eddystone Rock first, and then decide where to anchor for the night. New Eddystone is pretty spectacular. It rises 230 feet high and looks like something out of a … Read more
Whoa! We made it to Prince Rupert! Two weeks after leaving the San Juan Islands. 🙂 We left Hartley Bay this morning at 6am. The cruise to Prince Rupert was almost 80 miles, so we had a long day ahead of us… …a long day in Grenville Channel, that is. (Also known as “the Ditch.”) This time in Grenville Channel was not nearly as exciting as our trip south was. (See here … Read more