Our group left early for the six hour cruise from Appleton to Pavlof Harbor, one of our favorite stops in this part of SE Alaska. We left Appleton and cruised the short distance out Peril Strait, turning into an uncharacteristically calm Chatham Strait for the long run up to Pavlof. Alicia and Gregg aboard Evenstar spotted a sow and an older cub strolling along the beach in Chatham Strait. Pavlof … Read more
Normally we would not stop at the same place on the way back through Peril Strait, but the timing of Sergius Narrows on the way in caused us to change our plan and we’ll be visiting Appleton twice. (Maybe that will convert to more crab! ) We arrived at Sergius Narrows an hour early and had about 4kts of current helping us through. The commercial crab season opened two days … Read more
It’s been a rainy couple of days in Sitka, but that hasn’t stopped this group from getting out and about and seeing town! Everyone is making the most of it…people went to the Raptor Center, Fortress of the Bear, the Sitka National Historic Park, walked all around town, and ate a lot of meals out! On Monday we walked into town for some dumplings at Sitka Pel’meni. There were over … Read more
Wind and rain buffeted our boats overnight in Appleton Cove, but this morning the wind had died down somewhat, and the rain had mainly stopped as we pulled anchors and headed for Sitka. We spotted another bear on shore this morning from Airship…it wandered out for a few minutes to eat some grass and then back into the trees it went. Layers of silver and gray looking west in Peril … Read more
What a difference a day makes! Today was rainy and gray…which is to say, much more what we’re accustomed to for weather in SE Alaska! No bear sighting at Takatz Bay this time, but we enjoyed our time dinghying around regardless. As we entered Chatham Strait and headed north for Peril Strait, Dog Star put up a sail!! We’re all anchored now in Appleton Cove. A few crab pots have … Read more
Red Bluff Bay was stunning to wake up to this morning. No more bears, just blue skies and warm sun. Kevin and David took the dinghies out to pull the shrimp pots (dropped near the entrance) while Julie and I cruised Dog Star and Airship slowly out to pick them up. David: zero shrimp. Kevin: one shrimp (to add to the three he brought in last night). A ridiculously bad … Read more
Everyone was anchors up by 6am today for the long run up to Red Bluff Bay (60nm). Julie from Dog Star snapped this beautiful pic of the sunrise this morning. Airship was the last one out! The water in the bay was flat, but turned to lazy swells as we got out into the open. A little beamy and rolly, but not too bad. We transited closer to Kuiu Island … Read more
Yesterday underway to Explorer Basin while reviewing the weather for the week, we noticed that conditions looked potentially favorable for a run down to Egg Harbor on Coronation Island. We’ve taken our group down here a couple times, and we’ve had it on the itinerary for a few years…but since getting to the island is very dependent on weather, we’ve had to scrap those plans several years in a row. … Read more