Today was a good day for wildlife! As we rounded the tip of Chichagof Island at Morris Reef, there were a couple of humpbacks hanging out near the point. And on Buoy 35, almost as many sea lions as would fit. I’m sure there’s room for a few more. A little ways up Chatham Strait (which was just about flat the entire cruise), we had some Dall’s porpoises surfing Airship’s … Read more
Another morning waking up to bright sun! We departed Sitka with with blue skies, flat water, and a nice view of Mt. Edgecumbe. As we headed north in Neva Strait, we spotted a bear on the west shore. At first we thought she had cubs with her, but then we thought nope, those are rocks…too low and not moving. But then, they moved!! Turns out they were tiny cubs…three of … Read more
Chatham Strait this morning was a little rolly but not bad at all — some swells from the south opposing a little current from the north caused a bit of surfing, but it was gentle and manageable. We saw a couple of chill humpbacks and managed to snap a few pics before they dove and disappeared. As we entered Peril Strait, conditions were downright glassy, and our long … Read more
We left Warm Springs Bay this morning around 8am…partially sunny (mostly cloudy) but not raining. We’ll take it! An easy 9nm cruise up to Takatz Bay, another favorite stop. We saw some humpbacks north in the distance, but a little too far to go visit…maybe they’ll be there in the morning! There was one boat here when we arrived, Chichagof Dream, a larger passenger cruise boat, but they usually anchor … Read more
Departing Cannery Cove and Pybus Bay we weren’t sure what conditions we’d see out in Frederick Sound…likely some wind waves on the beam, but more importantly, how long would it take for the sporty conditions in Southern Chatham Strait take to flatten out? We had a little bit of roll as we headed west in Frederick Sound, but pretty lazy and not too dramatic, and best of all it wasn’t … Read more
Tuesday morning brought sunshine and blue skies, and this amazing view of the mountain bowl. It never looks as big or as grand in photos as it does in real life though. Looking at the conditions, we definitely could have moved to a new spot Tuesday morning to wait for the storm to pass through on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, but then we wouldn’t be somewhere as beautiful as this … Read more
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
Today was an early one and a long one. We departed Khutze Inlet at 6am for the 55nm cruise up to Lowe Inlet. It was gray and rainy the entire time, but the wind and waves were on our stern all day (as was the current!) so we had a very calm cruise and arrived about an hour before we thought we would! Most of our day looked about like … Read more