Airship | Vixen Harbor, Ketchikan, Kah Shakes Cove, Foggy Bay

After Bradfield Canal, we spent one night in Vixen Harbor on our way to Ketchikan. The entrance to Vixen Harbor is always a fun transit…we’ve written posts about it several times before (here’s one), but the charts are wrong, and the route that looks best on the charts has only about a foot of water, and the other route looks to be intertidal (which is likely why more people don’t … Read more

Days 16-17-18 | 2023 Flotilla to Alaska | Foggy Bay to Ketchikan

Day 16 (Friday) – The wind had picked up quite a bit overnight while we were anchored in Foggy Bay. We also had some RAIN for the first time this whole trip last night…that’s certainly a record. We’ve never gone this long with no rain at all. We left Foggy Bay and had some 1-3 ft chop immediately, along with westerly swells. A little rolly, but not too bad, especially … Read more

Day 11 | Flotilla to Alaska | Ketchikan to Santa Anna Inlet

One consequence of our quick trip from the San Juans to Ketchikan is that we didn’t have as many chores to take care of in Ketchikan as we usually would. Many of the boats don’t need fuel, laundry, or significant provisions. We haven’t been out for weeks—and we’ve been confined aboard—so the boats are still clean and don’t need any washing. And thankfully, nothing has broken. So after just a … Read more

Day 10 | Flotilla to Alaska | Ketchikan

Today was basically chore and explore day in Ketchikan: grocery shopping, laundry for those who needed it, picking up packages at Frontier Shipping, etc. Today was a little less rainy than yesterday, but still gray and moody. A good day to work on any boat projects or just see the town in the rain. (It has rained a LOT so far this trip.) The group met for dinner at Bar … Read more

Day 9 | Flotilla to Alaska | Foggy Bay to Ketchikan

We left Foggy Bay this morning around 7:00 a.m., headed for Ketchikan. We had some light swell at first, and a little more than light swell later in morning (and some fog) but overall it was a pretty smooth cruise. Arriving in Ketchikan was uneventful compared to past years when it takes all the concentration and focus you have to keep track of the incoming and outgoing boat traffic, float … Read more

Day 17 | Alaska Flotilla Leg 3 | Tolstoi Bay to Ketchikan

The 34nm route today from Tolstoi Bay to Ketchikan crosses Clarence Strait and transits south down Tongass Narrows. Traffic increases exponentially as we near the “big city”  — cruise ships, tour boats, float planes, ferries, fishing boats, pleasure boats, and so on. The rest of the group headed for the docks at Bar Harbor (closest to groceries and laundry), while Airship found a spot at city floats in town. Kevin’s … Read more

Days 19-20 | Flotilla to Alaska | Ketchikan

Our time in Ketchikan has been spent shopping, doing chores, reprovisioning, visiting the marine stores and museums, and eating out. Ketchikan centers up and down one main street (Tongass Avenue) so it’s relatively easy to get from here to there either on foot, or by using Uber or riding the city bus. We mainly choose to walk to and from everywhere, since we don’t get much walking while cruising. (On … Read more

Day 18 | Flotilla to Alaska | Foggy Bay to Ketchikan

We staggered our departure times this morning. The two lead boats headed out first at 6:00 a.m., and the rest followed, two boats at 6:30 a.m. and the last two at 7:00 a.m. This sequence would allow the lead boats to fuel up, get into their slips, and be available to catch lines for the others as they got their slip assignments. We had a beautiful, calm cruise up to … Read more