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 7th Street, the top of the business district. By the time I got back down to 1st 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 2nd. 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.
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