Airship | Leesoffskaia Bay, Redoubt Bay

We had a bit of drama yesterday morning in Leesoffskaia Bay! Well, WE didn’t, but this heron sure did. We heard a big racket outside and went to take a look. One eagle was going after a heron — big mid-air maneuvering and uncomfortable sounds from the heron — the eagle forced the heron to land in the water and then it landed in a nearby tree. Another eagle soon … Read more

Airship | Kalinin Bay, Sitka, Leesoffskaia Bay

Thursday July 4: We cruised about 25nm down the outside of Chichagof Island to Kalinin Bay for what we thought would be two nights, but we changed our minds after some very slow fishing out in Salisbury Sound. The sun came out though, and it was a gorgeous day. On Friday we went into Sitka for one night to get groceries (produce!), go out to dinner (white king at the … Read more

Airship | From Pelican to Pinta Bay, Kimshan Cove, and Klag Bay

Monday: We opted to leave Pelican on the earlier side (not waiting for the cafe or the store to open)…dropped our lines around 7am and headed for the outside of Chichagof (Pinta Cove, 29nm from Pelican). Once outside Lisianski Strait we had a bit of swell from the southwest mixed with some wind wave and current — just a little rolly but not bad. We entered Imperial Passage and continued … Read more

Airship | Mosquito Pass to Pelican

After dinner last night (and after I posted yesterday’s post), Kevin went up for some aerial shots of the anchorage at Mosquito Cove. So these are technically from yesterday, but no one cares, right? Surprisingly, when we pulled (all three) of our boats’ anchors this morning, none of us had anything like the giant kelp ball we had on ours a few years back. Here’s a photo of it, for … Read more

Airship | Flynn Cove to Mosquito Pass

We left Flynn Cove this morning and headed west in Icy Strait. We were hoping to see some humpbacks as we neared Point Adolphus. That turned out to be a big YES. This one below is called a male humpback called Lillian, SEAK-2042, first spotted in Hawaii in March of 2005: Not only that, they were bubble-net feeding. One came pretty close to Melissa Lynn while they were drifting. About … Read more

Airship | Swanson Harbor, Hoonah, Flynn Cove

We left Juneau on Tuesday morning and are headed out to spend some time in Icy Strait, and hopefully south down the outside of Chichagoff Island if weather permits. We’ll be buddy boating for a bit with friends Missie and Russ on their Selene 53, Melissa Lynn. (Always nice to have another boat nearby when you’re boating in the boonies!) 🙂 Things got a bit busy as we transited Saginaw … Read more

Day 43 | 2024 Flotilla to Alaska | Wood Spit to Juneau

Our overnight at Wood Spit was super calm and beautiful, and there were more humpbacks nearby as we pulled anchors and headed north to Juneau today. Arriving in Juneau can be a bit of a shock to the system. There are five cruise ships scheduled in town today. After seeing a few nearby friends on the dock and doing getting rid of some trash and cleaning Airship up a bit, … Read more

Day 42 | 2024 Flotilla to Alaska | Ford’s Terror, Dawes Glacier, Wood Spit

A lazy morning at anchor in one of the most gorgeous places we know of. After breakfast, Kevin took the drone up for some aerials: We pulled anchors around 2 and motored to the exit of Ford’s Terror, and then some of us (opting for a long day that will end later this evening by anchoring at Wood Spit), turned left and headed further into Endicott Arm to see if … Read more