Wrangell to Craig

We’re in Craig on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island. Got here a week ago last Sunday. And as usual I’m well into planning a departure and am waay behind in making this current.

We spent almost five days in Wrangell. Although I didn’t see my friend Mark, I did see George and met his wife Stephanie. It was good to see him. From that high point I’m trying to decide which event ranks next. In the running are mediocre pizza at the Marine Bar, a visit to both grocery stores, and … I’m being uncharitable to Wrangell and it isn’t justified. The weather was great and I had a blast riding the bike all over even though it’s now down to one gear.

We left on Thursday at 6 in the morning in flat calm conditions and partly cloudy skies. The early departure was predicated on reaching the tidal midpoint of Wrangell Narrows at high tide. I greatly underestimated our SOG however and we got to Green Point an hour and a half before high tide. In spite of bucking into the flood for the last hour we arrived in Petersburg by 1:30.

Little Norway Days or Mayfest as it has apparently come to be known by is a celebration Petersburg undertakes around May 17th, Norwegian Independence Day. This year the 17th fell on a Monday so whoever decides these things for Petersburg, probably the Chamber of Comix or maybe the Rotorooters, decreed the festivities begin on Thursday the 13th and conclude on Sunday the 16th. I wonder if the Norwegians celebrate their independence day by dressing up as Vikings and wander around downtown serving ‘warrants’ and imprisoning residents in a rustic compound amidst a ‘beer garden’. It was a good time, though. There was a variety of food booths and it’s always fun to be able to walk around drinking beer. I ran into several old friends at the Sunday fish cook out at Sandy Beach. Saturday was rainy but otherwise the weather was good.

The rest of the stay was spent doing chores: filling water tanks, grocery and liquor runs, laundry, etc. We finally left Wednesday afternoon. It was a beautiful three hour motor down the Narrows to Beecher Pass where we anchored up behind Keene Island.

Thursday was overcast with little wind. As we approached Duncan Canal the wind began to build out of the north to the point that when we turned south out of Beecher Pass it was blowing 10-12 knots. I waited until we were in Sumner Strait before coming up into the wind to put up the main. Miss Mercedes rested. We reached west across Sumner Strait on starboard tack until abeam Clarence Strait where the wind shifted to a reach on port tack almost all the way to Point Baker. We were tied to the state float in Point Baker before 1PM.

Point Baker is different from the other villages in Southeast I’ve visited. Tenakee, Elfin Cove, Pelican, Port Alexander, Baranof, even Funter have public uplands or boardwalks you can walk on. Not so, Point Baker. The restaurant, bar, laundry, store, fuel, post office, and fire house are all on floats and tied to the inside of the state float. There’s a rather unwelcoming sign on the gate that blocks access at the top of the ramp. Having seen Point Baker I made plans to leave in the morning.

The next morning as the engine was warming for departure I met Herb who apparently owns most of Point Baker. He’s very charming and we had a very pleasant conversation. After, as I was untying from the dock, I realized Herb probably had something to do with the sign that had such a negative effect on my impression of Point Baker.

We motored out into Sumner Strait under cloudy skies and calm wind. The track I had plotted detoured into Port Protection which is right around the corner from Point Baker. I wanted to see the village. We made a slow circle in the bight where the state float is. It didn’t have a ramp to the beach and all the other floats that did were private. Point Baker redux. We continued south. The wind was very fluky all morning never above 5 knots but predominately out of the west. There were whale spouts but they were all pretty far off.

Our destination for the night was behind the islands in Shaken Bay. My first track had us transiting Shaken Strait all the way around and anchoring in Calder Bay. This is the usual route through Shaken Bay and is recommended by the Coast Pilot. Instead we took the route between Middle and Divide Islands and anchored behind Divide Island.

By this time the wind had built to 20 knots. I was very confident of the set of the anchor but I wanted to see if there might be an anchorage more sheltered from the wind so after Jazz’s beach patrol we went exploring in the skiff. There weren’t any including Calder and by the time we got back to the boat the wind was dying.

Dry Pass at the north end of El Capitan Passage is much like Rocky Pass, narrow and shallow but much shorter. Our departure a little after 7 in the morning allowed us to transit on a rising tide and a favorable current and we arrived at the Forest Service dock below El Capitan Cave by 9AM.

I’m not a caver and didn’t know about El Capitan Cave until an acquaintance in Sitka told me about it, but it had a dock and I’m always interested in a cheap and easy means to get ashore. Jazz and I hiked up to the information kiosk-closed, and the outhouses-open. I didn’t know how far the cave mouth was so we just continued on. The trail quickly became stairs and 200-300 feet in elevation later we were standing in front of the cave mouth. I was wearing Teva sandals and had the little pen flashlight I carry in my jacket so I only ventured far enough in to where my penlight was overwhelmed, not very far.

We were underway by 11. The clouds had pretty much left by the time we made the turn to the south at Aneskett Point. The winds were calm for the remainder of the Passage but abeam Tenass Pass they were 8-10 knots SSW. It came and went as we wove our way among the islands northeast of Sea Otter Sound. It was still sunny in Tuxecan Passage but the wind freshened to 20 knots on the nose and low clouds blanketed the south. We were under the clouds when we got to our anchorage in Kaguk Cove. We were only partially sheltered from the winds but the water was flat and the anchor was deep in the mud.

Sunday morning was drizzly and calm. It remained calm until we turned south behind Harmony Island where the wind picked up to 6-8 knots out of the south of course. By the time we were behind Culebra and Saint Phillip Islands breaks in the clouds began to appear and the run through San Christoval Channel and across San Alberto Bay was under the sun. We were tied to the dock in Craig by 3:30.

We’ve been here two weeks. It doesn’t seem possible it has been that long. I did reconnect with my friends Karl and Jeri. They had me out to their beautiful house for a delicious salmon and venison dinner. Karl introduced me to a couple of his harbor buddies and one of them took us out to Noyes Island one afternoon. I’ve met several sailboaters both local and transient. The days have flown by.

One of the reasons for the delay in leaving has been the weather. We’ve had gales on the outside (where I intend to go) kicking up 12-15 foot seas all last week. We got some of the wind and a little of the rain but for the most part the weather here at the dock has been pleasant.

Another of the reasons for the departure delay is that this area is very attractive physically. The geography is clumps of wooded islands, small and large, separated by open bays and sounds making for very interesting and scenic boating. One drawback is the extensive logging that has scalped a lot of the hills. Still, it’s a pretty spot and I’ve been having some difficulty deciding where to go.

So, where to? My plan is to go down the outside of Dall Island, hook around Cape Muzon, and head northeast through Cordova Bay, then down and around Cape Chacon, up the east side of Prince of Wales and over to Ketchikan. How long? Weather and whim will tell. One thing is certain and that’s that cell and wifi are sparse to non-existent so I’ll be out of touch for a while.

The pics: some residents of Wrangell, Mayfest 2010, sailing in Sumner, the sign in Pt Baker (I think this guy got the same dictionary as the fellow in Sitkoh Bay), a couple of Pt Baker, a deer swimming from Divide to Middle Island, Dry Pass, El Cap Cave, the stairs to the cave, ¼ mile long dock Craig north harbor, south harbor.

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