Another long day underway today, so we all left the anchorage before 6am. Once out in Frederick Sound we had some low clouds and a little chop, but eventually the chop evened out and the sky started to clear. There were quite a few other vessels showing up on AIS that we couldn’t see visually…a tug towing a barge, a couple cruise ships, fishing boats, a pleasure boat or two….lots … Read more
As we exited Explorer Basin this morning, we found Chatham Strait FAR less bumpy than the previous day. Additionally, we were greeted by several groups of humpbacks feeding on the herring that were everywhere!! The herring balls were too prevalent and moved too quickly to be steered around, yet every time we drove through one we worried that a whale might surface and strike the boat. If you’ve been whale … Read more
After the bumpy pre-breakfast ride up Chatham Strait we were hungry, so we used the rest of the fresh crab we’d caught and made a crab eggs benedict brunch on Airship. So delicious! Most of us just relaxed onboard instead of doing any big dinghy excursions since it was so windy out. We did an early easy happy hour on the raft, and everyone returned to their boats for whatever … Read more
After weeks of sun, we finally awoke to overcast. With a short run and a good forecast, we weren’t in any rush to leave, and eventually pulled the anchors around 9:00 a.m. Not long after leaving Bay of Pillars, an active humpback surprised Airship as it breached several times about 100 yards from the boat! Explorer Basin is a large bay at the entrance to even-larger Tebenkof Bay. We … Read more
Kake to Halleck Harbor We left Kake mid-day, since Halleck Harbor (in Saginaw Bay) was just 15 miles or so around the corner and we had to wait for the fuel dock…or, the fuel truck. Kake used to have a small fuel dock, but last winter the dock blew away during a storm that brought 80-knot winds for several days, then 70-knot winds from the opposite direction. For now, they’re … Read more