Airship | Icy Strait (and finally, moose!)

Last week we left Juneau to do some buddy boating with Dog Star for a week or so. (Our grandkid is along with us this week, and has requested lots of bumpy dinghy rides and fresh crab and maybe some fishing.) Our first stop was Swanson Bay/Couverden Islands. There was plenty of room on the public float with only one boat, but we opted to anchor out and raft together. … Read more

Day 10 | Alaska Flotilla Leg 2 | Swanson Harbor to Admiralty Cove

We’d planned for today to be short, just a 10nm hop across Chatham Strait to Funter Bay. But as we looked at the forecast for the following day (when we’d be making the ~50nm run to Juneau), we were slightly concerned. The weather didn’t look bad, but it didn’t look great either: 15-20 knots from the south/southeast, right on our nose from Point Retreat to the entrance to Gastineau Channel.  … Read more

Day 9 | Flotilla to Alaska Leg 2 | Neka Bay to Swanson Harbor

We left Port Frederick this morning for Swanson Harbor, in the Couverden Islands, at the confluence of Icy Strait and Chatham Strait. The trip over was ideal: light winds, sunshine, calm seas, beautiful scenery. The two public floats (not connected to shore, managed by the city of Haines) were empty when we arrived, so we tied up all three boats to one of the floats. There’s plenty of room to … Read more