Vixen Inlet this morning was perfect. Super calm, clear skies, bright sun. We woke early but no one was in any hurry to leave this beautiful spot. Brian from Evenstar (Fleming) took his drone up and got some great shots of us all at anchor. On our way up to Thoms Place, some up ahead of us saw humpbacks tail-slapping near shore, and then a little later, Dog Star (behind … Read more
The group left Ketchikan this morning around 7am and headed north in Tongass Narrows, avoiding tugs and barges, float planes, fishing boats, and a couple of cruise ships. We opted to pass Meyers Chuck, as cute and as charming as it is, due to limited dock space and our 7 on-the-larger-side boats, but at least one boat poked in to take a look and plans to visit on their way … Read more
Our stops in Ketchikan can be quite busy! Sometimes our stops are brief and frantic, but we stayed three nights this visit. Having some down time to explore and chill and do boat chores (and go out to dinner multiple times!) after several long days in a row was rejuvenating, and the sunny weather helped a ton! People visited downtown, dodged cruise ship visitors on colorful Creek Street, took in … Read more
We left Foggy Bay this morning for a smooth cruise into Ketchikan. Brian from Evenstar/Fleming took these gorgeous drone shots as people were getting ready to head on to Ketchikan this morning: Seas were calm, the weather was sunny, and a few whales were here and there, settling into their Alaska routine. Ketchikan is quite a shock when we’ve spent over two weeks in mostly wilderness anchorages with very few … Read more
We were up early this morning to navigate Venn Passage, possibly attempt a Dixon Entrance crossing, and make our way to Foggy Bay, Alaska. The weather was a little iffy. While conditions were good, we had one forecast for five foot swells on our beam at some point, so we made a multi-prong contingency plan. We would travel the first four hours or so out through Venn Passage, across to … Read more
Today we made our way from Lowe Inlet up the remainder of Grenville Channel to Prince Rupert, our last stop in BC before we attempt to cross Dixon Entrance into Alaska. It was smooth sailing, and a couple of boats had a guest raven aboard for part of the journey. We arrived at Prince Rupert and tied up at the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club. The crew at PRRYC … Read more
We were up early and reluctantly left Khutze Inlet. It’s one of our favorite stops on the Inside Passage – stunning beauty, abundant wildlife, vast dinghy exploration opportunities, (and somewhat tricky anchoring). It was a long run up to Lowe Inlet – the site of a salmon cannery operation from 1890 to the 1930s. Lowe features a cool waterfall fed from Lowe Lake, (which we have previously tried to hike … Read more
It poured all evening in Bottleneck, so we didn’t get to do as much as we would have liked there, but the weather broke as we headed out early for a long-ish run up to the stunning Khutze Inlet. Khutze has an estuary surrounded by breathtaking mountains, glaciers, and waterfalls. Numerous bears hang out in the estuary throughout the summer. It’s a challenging anchorage (the first time on this trip … Read more