Port Alexander

Friday. Rain and fog, mid 40s, light wind.

We’re tied to the State float in Port Alexander, having arrived yesterday afternoon. Gale warnings are posted for Chatham Strait. The heater is on, the cabin is cozy warm. Quicksilver Messenger Service is on the stereo. I just popped a bowl of Orville’s and opened a beer. Time to update the blog.

We left Sitka a little after 2 on Tuesday. A warm and partly cloudy day promised a pleasant trip. The winds were light but I was assured by a local that it would be blowing “out front.” As we cleared the breakwater and entered the Western Channel the wind died completely. All that remained were the long greasy swells rolling into the Sound from the west. The partly cloudy day turned to mostly cloudy then overcast. By the time we were in the lee of Biorka Island it was raining steadily. So much for promises and assurances.

Mercifully our anchorage at Goddard Hot Springs was only 16 miles from Sitka so we weren’t in it for very long. In fact the rain died as we entered the bight in front of the bathhouses. After the anchor was down I launched the skiff, loaded a towel and a change of clothes, and Jazz and I headed to the beach.

There are two identical bathhouses, each having a large oaken tub, filled by a hot water pipe and a cold water pipe. The water in the lower house was tepid with no flow out of the hot pipe. We hiked to the upper house. Wow, talk about hot! Try as I might I couldn’t get in. I couldn’t even leave my feet in for very long. Where’s the Goldilocks tub? I ended up draining about six inches out and turning off the hot water. After about 20 minutes I was finally able to enter it. Aah the miracle of hot water.

Well after I reached prune status I got out, got dressed and hiked back down the hill. On the way I spotted where one of the hoses had come apart at a joint. I pulled as much slack as I could and stuck them back together. By the time we got to the lower house water was flowing from the hot pipe.

The next morning Jazz and I checked the lower bathhouse. Yup, it too was now too hot to handle. Good deed done, we got back to the boat, loaded up the skiff and were on our way.

The forecast for the outside waters from Cape Decision to Cape Edgecumbe was for 10 knot westerlies, 8 foot seas, with a Small Craft Advisory posted due to seas. As promised, the wind was out of the west as we left Hot Springs Bay. In anticipation of a reach down the coast I set the main. But the joke was on me as with every turn through the rock pile to the south the wind was on the nose. There was a west swell but the seas could better be described as confused with a wind chop out of the south combined with the backwash off the rocks and islets.

The day however was warm and sunny. At one point we heaved-to to watch the humpbacks bubblefish. The motion was too rough though and the whales too far off for photography so we continued on.

My friend Carl on the F/V Last Dance had recommended Still Harbor just inside the southern point of Whale Bay as a good place to stay. We headed there. He was right, it lived up to its name after all the motion outside. But what an entrance. With the 8-foot west swell creating a washing machine like effect right at the mouth, followed by the serpentine course through the rocks, I could have made diamonds out of coal, if you know what I mean.

Thursday had the same forecast as Wednesday. We steeled ourselves for the motion to come. Yup same conditions: confused seas, wind on the nose, sunny and warm. As we angled for Cape Ommaney at Sealion Rocks the wind became favorable. I raised the main. We were still too close to the wind and it was too light to turn off Miss Mercedes, but the stabilizing effect was wonderful.

We shot the gap between Wooded Island and Cape Ommaney, made the five-mile downwind run and here we are at Port Alexander. I checked for cell phone coverage about 2 miles out and had it, but not in the inner bay. :-( I do have a wifi connection but not good enough to upload pictures. They will have to wait, probably for Petersburg.

The forecast for southern Chatham looks good for a morning departure. We are making for Baranof Warm Springs, hopefully to meet up again with Rory on the S/V Complice.

The pics are the full moon over the O'Connell Bridge in Sitka the night before leaving, the anchorage at Goddard Hot Springs, the lower bathhouse, sunset in Still Harbor, the next morning, Cape Ommaney (if you look carefully you can see sea lions hauled out just above the white water), part of the Port Alexander water front, Jazz beatin' feet for the beach.

ap

The captain lives up to his name and other adventures

Friday. Clear, 48, afternoon sea breeze to 15 knots.

We’re in Sitka. Got here Monday night. All the errands have been run, all the dockside tasks have been performed. All, that is, but updating this.

We got away from the dock in Funter Bay a little after 9. Winds were light and a high, thin overcast diffused the sunlight. As we exited the Bay my cell phone beeped, indicating a voicemail message. The missed-call log showed that Rory on the S/V Complice had just tried to call. I was pleasantly surprised when my return call went through. He said he and another boat, the S/V Allegro were headed to Kalinin Bay on the south side of Salisbury Sound, tomorrow. They were intending to stay a couple of days. I told him I would see what I could do to join them.

My plan was to overnight in Tenakee Springs, spend the next night somewhere in Peril Strait, arriving in Sitka on Friday. I plotted the course to Kalinin Bay: 101 miles. The trick was to find a place to stay the night that would pretty much split the distance in half, making two long but reasonable travel days. After pouring over the Coast Pilot, Sitkoh Bay on the east end of Peril Strait looked like the best candidate. It was 55 miles away and it had a State-maintained floatplane float. It’s not a good idea to tie up to a floatplane float, but I figured since I would be there shortly before sundown and away around 8 the next morning, the chances of interfering with a plane needing to use the float would be minimal.

By late morning the overcast had burned away and the wind had died completely. We motored south down Chatham Strait making 5.5 knots across a mirror-smooth waterway.

Shortly before 8PM the docks at the “village” labeled Chatham on the chart hove into view. There was a dilapidated fuel dock, an even more dilapidated cannery dock and a float with a sign saying, “Private Dock, No Tresspassing.[sic]” No floatplane float. The advantage of a float is that Jazz can get to the beach without my having to launch the skiff. A dock with a fixed deck and a tall skinny ladder is no help. There was a good anchorage a quarter of a mile away but it would have been dark by the time I got the boat anchored and the skiff launched to say nothing of the retrieval time needed in the morning. I decided to tie up to the float, since I was leaving the first thing in the morning and the only tresses I was passing were firmly attached to my head. :-)

Above the float, attached to the ramp was a very well-maintained house, several outbuildings and a not-as–well-maintained house towards the cannery. As dark settled over the Bay no lights were seen anywhere. I figured since no one had come down to protest my action, I was good to go.

Wrong. Three sharp raps on the hull woke me up. Light was streaming through the portlights, the clock read 6:05. I slid the hatch back to face an irate man of indeterminate age. His first words were, “Can’t you read?” pointing at the sign. I’ve found in these situations the least said is best. I let the misspelling go unmentioned. He proceeded to tell me that there was a video camera, motioning over his shoulder with his thumb and that the owner would call the troopers if I wasn’t out of there immediately. I told him it hadn’t appeared that anybody was around and asked him if I could take Jazz to the beach. He rolled his eyes and said I needed to move the boat right now.

We were underway fifteen minutes later. It was a beautiful day, clear, no wind, and blue sky. As we gained the channel in the middle of the bay, a thick fog bank 2½ miles ahead in Peril Strait came into view. I went below, double-checked the waypoints on our route and flipped on the radar.

We emerged from the fog around 11, not having met any other vessels. We were making a little less than 4.5 knots bucking the ebbing tide. My plan had been to leave Sitkoh Bay around 8 which would allow favorable currents most of the way through Peril Strait and hit Sergius Narrows after the peak current. Our forced leave almost two hours early would put us in the narrows right at or slightly before peak current. Oh well. At least it would be assisting us rather than against us.

Whew, what an understatement. We turned out of Adams Channel at Rose Island into pronounced whirlpools and eddies stirred up by the tidal current and into a 20 knot wind blowing out of the west, right on the nose. I took over steering duties from Otto for the 4.5 mile run down to and through the Narrows. Wow, what a sleigh ride. We averaged 7 knots to the Narrows and 9.8 knots going through. It was surreal making that kind of speed with the opposing wind whipping up whitecaps.

I knew with that kind of wind in Peril it was liable to be howling in Salisbury Sound. To prevent a repeat of the monitor swan dive, I unhooked it and stowed it below while the seas were still flat before Kakul Narrows. Sure enough, 25-30 knots with 8 footers rolling in was awaiting us. When I glanced down at the laptop to check my course across the north end of Sinitsin Island the screen was blank! The only recovery was to cycle the power. When I tried to reload the nav program it said it had performed an illegal operation and would close. I loaded my back up program. It showed the rocks off Sinitsin but nothing for Kalinin Bay. About that time Rory called on the VHF to ask if that was me coming out of Peril. He and Teka were just exiting Neva Strait. Perfect timing. Complice led the way into the bay with Blue Note right behind and Allegro following.

After setting the hook, I hustled to get the skiff launched. Jazz was beginning to whine about holding it for so long. We cruised over to see if Teka wanted me to take her dog to the beach as well. No good deed goes unpunished. As soon as we set off, her dog peed in the bottom of the skiff and moments later Jazz let loose with a poop. Sigh.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was delightful. John on the S/V Sara arrived at some point. We had a large predominately Mexican pot luck dinner on the Allegro. Then the instruments came out and the jams were on.

The next day while the others hiked over to Sealion Cove I worked to get the nav computer back on line. I was finally successful. It required reloading the program. Unfortunately I lost all of the routes I had accumulated to this point. Oh well.

Cory and Tom, part of Allegro’s crew had asked if Jazz might want to go on the hike. I knew he did. When he got back to the boat he could barely walk. Poor old guy. It’s sad to be confronted with the fact that a moderate 5 mile hike was too much for this 12 year old dog.

Before noon the next day, both the Allegro and the Sara were underway to Sitka. Rory was headed north to Glacier Bay and the weather outside was not forecasted to be favorable. I was in no hurry to be anywhere so we both stayed put. That afternoon, feeling somewhat restless, I decided to hike over to Sealion Cove. On the way to the beach I stopped at the Complice to let Rory know where I would be. He decided to go along. The weather was perfect for the hike. Sealion Cove has a beautiful sandy beach and while we were there, two right/left beach breaks. With the 3-4 foot surf, I was tempted to get in the water. Discretion and 45 degree water stopped that. By the time we got back to the boats, it was raining lightly.

Sunday the wind came up and kept us both in the bay. We had a tasty minestrone soup for lunch on Complice and buffalo burger tacos on Blue Note for dinner. Jazz recovered from his ordeal and had no problem going to the beach.

The next morning after Jazz and I had gone to the beach in the skiff I decided to run out into Salisbury Sound to see what the conditions were like. Even though the forecast was not very good, the seas were less than 2 feet and the winds were less than 15 knots. We decided to go, Complice north to Lisianski Strait, Blue Note south to Sitka.

The trip back to Sitka was mostly uneventful. I had decided to bypass Olga Strait by going through Hayward Passage instead. In the East Channel I almost hit a rock. Fortunately my luck held and no water was inadvertently let into the boat. We arrived at Thomsen Harbor about 7:30.

So here we are in Sitka once again. I had hoped to spend no more than 2-3 days but there was simply too much to do: water, garbage, laundry, groceries, liquor, oil change, as well as several other errands. The weather is absolutely perfect and is predicted to be so through tomorrow. The problem is I want to spend a couple of days going down the outside of Baranof and storm warnings are posted for Sunday. I also need to update this and install the new VHF radio I just purchased. We will sit tight. Maybe Monday. We’ll see. I think I’ll mosey over to the fuel dock in case the weather guessers are wrong and we can leave earlier.

EDIT: It’s Monday and we are making plans to leave in the morning. We had 55 knot gusts yesterday afternoon and last night. I was thinking about going into the open mic last night, but the winds and horizontal rain preempted. I just paid my harbor bill and will hit the rain locker and market tonight. The next port will be Port Alexander, probably by the weekend.

Pics are our wake in Chatham Strait, passing tresses in Sitkoh Bay, tide rips in Peril Strait, buoy at Sergius Narrows, the fleet in Kalinin Bay, Captain Rory, yours truly at Sealion Cove, flamingoes in Alaska??

ap

The Lynn Canal Adventure

We are tied to the State float in Funter Bay. I’m listening to Steely Dan and feeling guilty for not having updated this sooner.

It’s been quite a week. We were in Skagway when I left off. Monday was clear, dry, but somewhat breezy. I decided I should break out the bike and go exploring. I had purchased a new seat for it while in Juneau and figured no time like the present to put it on. Of course the bolt holding the old one on had assumed it would never have to part with its nut. It took some persuading but I finally disabused it of its wrong-headed idea.

Skagway is the northernmost town in Southeast and it has a road connection. As such, it has become the turn around point for the large cruise ships that ply the inside passage. Consequently, the cruise ship owner companies dominate it. The main street is lined with quaint storefronts reminiscent of the look of a hundred years ago but with a Disneyesque flavor. Most, like 95% of them, are closed, not to open until May and close 3 1/2 months later.

As I pedaled up Broadway I was struck by the overwhelming preponderance of jewelry stores. It was hard to tell just what kind of jewelry they were hawking with the empty display windows but I could guess. One of them had very discreet yet pretentious signage advertising it was truly international with stores in Paris Milan Skagway. I wonder if the other two stores are open just for the summer and if they sell gaudy Alaska nugget jewelry.

One of the 4 or 5 businesses open was the Sweet Tooth Saloon. With the feel of well-maintained ghost town fresh in my mind I was mildly surprised to find the place full. The waitress was friendly and the food was good. I should have asked her the derivation of the name since it was neither a bar nor an ice cream candy shop.

Leaving the restaurant I decided to find out how many jewelry stores there actually were so I rode up Broadway to 7^th Street, the top of the business district. By the time I got back down to 1^st Street I had counted 27 of them. The tourons off the cruise ships must think the citizens of Skagway the most ostentatious 800 people they have ever come across.

The harbormaster had mentioned a place that had pizza and beer, an irresistible lure so Tuesday evening off I went. The Red Onion Saloon is on the corner of Broadway and 2^nd. I had been past it several times but it was closed every time so I figured it was just another summer tourist trap. Nope. It’s a beautiful old 2-story building that had been a whorehouse during the gold rush. The walls are decorated with pictures and portraits of some of the ladies of that era. The Alaska Amber was on tap, the pizza was good, AND they had Herradura Añejo, one of my favorite tequilas. I was most definitely BWI (Biking While Intoxicated) on my way back to the boat.

My plan was to stay in Skagway for three days then wait for favorable weather to head back to Haines. The forecasts Monday and Tuesday were for south winds through Wednesday, switching north Thursday. I was prepared to wait until Thursday but Wednesday morning the winds were calm. I decided to go have breakfast and if it were still calm when I got back to the boat we would go.

It was still calm so we prepared to go. Of course as we cleared the breakwater the winds picked back up. Right on the nose with the occasional whitecap and against the flooding current I debated turning around. But I had seen what there was of Skagway to see in early April, the birds were wheeling around a ball of baitfish, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I pulled the throttle back to economy cruise, set Otto on a course, and had a leisurely afternoon motor down Taiya Inlet to Portage Cove.

As we entered the harbor the harbormaster hailed us from one of the floats and directed us to the same spot we had before. He recommended a couple of restaurants on the old Fort Seward grounds, an Italian place and a Mexican place. I walked back down to the boat got the bike and rode off in search of dinner.

True to form I had forgotten the names of the restaurants as soon as I left the office but figured there couldn’t be that many where I was going. I found a place that had restaurant and bar in its name. In I went. I didn’t see any tables set up but I could hear laughter and conversation and I followed it up to a small bar with a very cute bartender and 6 or 7 people drinking. I sat down, ordered a beer, and asked when the kitchen opened. To my surprise she said tomorrow. She recommended a place down the alley that had pizza called the Fireweed. Aha! As I was finishing my beer, one of the guys rang the bell. The bartender handed me a drink token but when I saw the others lining up shots of Patron I gave it back and joined them. Turns out the business was SEABA, Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures and the clients were heli-skiers. I should have recognized them with their anoraks, and reverse-raccoon tans.

The Fireweed Restaurant was the Italian place the harbormaster had recommended. They feature the five Haines Brewing Company beers on tap. I started off with the IPA and a menu. The beer was good and all but pizza on the menu kind of called for wine so I had pizza once again. It was very good as was the porter and the ale I had with it.

The next day the winds were blowing south so I decided to stay over. Besides, there was the Mexican food restaurant and the other two HBC beers to try. It was a good call as Mosey’s Cantina had both chili rellenos and HBC beer. It also was very good.

Friday was partly cloudy with winds out of the north to 10 knots. Time to go. The trip down Lynn Canal was delightful, riding the ebb tide and being pushed along with the following winds. As we came out from behind Sullivan Island the winds died completely. The porpoises frolicking in the bow wave counterbalanced the disappointment of having to fire up the motor.

We arrived at the entrance to Boat Harbor just before low water. I wanted the ebbing current to be able to maintain steerage at low speed since the entrance is rather shoal and narrow. At a couple of spots we had less than 3 feet below the shoe. No problems encountered and we were anchored 15 minutes later.

The next morning was clear and breezy out of the north. High slack water wasn’t until 11:30 so Jazz and I took the skiff over to the entrance to check the conditions. The water was boiling through the channel with definite whirlpools and eddies. I didn’t want to chance getting crosswise in such a narrow waterway. We had several hours to kill.

On the way back we stopped off and chatted with Chris, the caretaker of the 5 net pens full of chum salmon fry in one of the bights. He said they grow them from the beginning of March to the end of May and release them when they are about 3 grams. Cool job in a beautiful setting.

Part of the procedure for retrieving the skiff calls for climbing over the side, attaching the lifting bridle and tackle, then clamoring back over the rail. Climbing back onto the boat, my left foot slipped off the rail and my shin slammed into its sharp edge with most of my weight behind it. After the incredible pain had subsided enough for me to gather my wits I realized I had a bleeding wound to deal with.

We were underway after use of water, soap, alcohol, gauze, and tape. The forecast for southern Lynn Canal was for 15-20 knot northerlies, four foot seas, not bad. Instead we got 25-30 knots N, 6 foot sea with the occasional 8 footer, exciting. We were committed. Boat Harbor’s entrance to Lynn Canal has enough northerly exposure to allow for quite a swell for a ways into the channel. The situation was that reentering Boat Harbor had a high likelihood of bending metal.

Our destination was Auke Bay a distance of 25 miles. The first 12 miles diagonaling across to the northern point of Shelter Island would be the roughest. Upon leaving the entrance I deployed the jib as we beat into the weather. The vandals visited when we turned down wind. I watched the big flat screen come loose from the cabintop and pitch into the cabin. I couldn’t leave the helm to put the main up so we did it with the engine running barely above an idle and still averaging 7 knots.

With all the sailing going on I had completely forgotten my leg. At one point, probably an hour into it I started to scramble for something or another and was reminded. I glanced down and it looked like a grapefruit half under my stretch pants. I pulled up the pant leg. The purple lump was ugly but I was happy to see the bleeding had stopped.

Gaining Favorite Channel the moderating seas allowed Otto to take over steering duty. Up went the main and Miss Mercedes took a break. 7.5 to 8 knots wing and wing. I looked down into the cabin to see the flat screen lying on its back on the sole continuing to display a chart of our position even after its seven foot swan dive!

Tied to the dock, I went up to the rain locker for the miracle of hot water. After over a week of a damp wash cloth I was due. My plan was to get cleaned up, try a burger at the Hot Bite, take care of Jazz, then ride the bus into town to see my friends from Sitka play at the Juneau Folk Festival. After the shower I realized I really wasn’t going anywhere but back to the boat. Since the Hot Bite was right across the parking lot I was able to get dinner but it was a struggle to get Jazz up to do his business. I spent the evening with the leg elevated and an ice pack on the knot.

The next day the leg was better. I took the bus to Freddies and stocked up on groceries in addition to picking up a couple of cold/hot packs. When I got back to the boat and got the food stowed I checked the weather. Good conditions for leaving in the morning. We made preparations.

Monday was beautiful, 10 knots out of the north and few clouds in the sky. We got away from the fuel dock a little after 11. The USCG cutter Liberty was lying-to off the ferry dock as we crossed Auke Bay. Two hours later we were in the Saginaw Channel when I heard the Coast Guard come on VHF channel 16 with a “Pan-Pan” call concerning the report of a parasail white in color going into the water near Shelter Island and asking for any sightings. I hadn’t seen anything so I didn’t report in.

The calls continued as we rounded Point Retreat with increasing information as to description and location. By the time we were to False Point Retreat it was a parasail or an ultralight , white, black and purple going into the water between Point Symonds and Barlow Point towards Mansfield Peninsula from Shelter Island. I was thinking how those colors reminded me of my left shin when I thought I heard the Coast Guard calling for a sailboat that had transited that area. I wasn’t sure though and it wasn’t repeated. Sure enough, five minutes later I hear, “This United States Coast Guard Sector Juneau calling the sailing vessel Blue Note.’ I reported I hadn’t seen anything except the humpbacks off Point Barlow. An hour later we were tied to the dock here in Funter Bay.

Today is a weather day. It’s 25 knots out of the south up Chatham Strait. Since Tenakee is 25 miles down Chatham before the turn into the inlet and variable to 15 knots is the guess for Wednesday, we will wait. Now that this is up to date it’s time for Jazz and I to further explore Funter.

The pics are the Haines Boat Harbor, the Fireweed Restaurant, my guides down the Canal, the net pens, the go/no-go decision point (notice the entrance to the Canal is out of sight to the left), a humpback whale in Saginaw Channel, a couple of Canadian tourists, where we are as I write.

ap