Naknek in Alaska, 2004

[TyBoo]

Following is the tale of Naknek's Alaska adventure as chronicled through a series of emails from Casey:


Sunday (5/30/04), Wrangell, AK

Wrangell, AK is a homely little town that is on the economic "ropes." When I was through here four years ago the population was about 2300; now it's about 1900. Times are tough but the town is trying to keep the economy going. They've discovered cruise ship tourism - but more on that later.

The trip up from Ketchikan (89 miles...) was uneventful, and the weather actually seems to get getting better. (Maybe I'd better not talk about the weather or sure enough, it'll change!) We took two days coming up here, and found a nice little marina only about 15 road miles north of Ketchikan, called Knutson Cove Marina. It's very much a fishing place - they almost didn't let us stay overnight because we didn't have the requisite minimum of four fishing rods on the boat! We met a couple of Coast Guard doctors on a 24' Bayliner that was in the slip adjacent to ours. These folks were singing the blues as they've both received orders to a new USCG assignment in California. They seem to have really enjoyed their years in Southeast. Nice place.

Further north was the Very small community of Myers Chuck (pop. 13). We spent the day wandering around the Meyers Chuck/Thorne Bay area. Thorne Bay seems to mostly be logging and some lodges and floating hotels ("floatels"). I had a chance to top-off the fuel (at $2.66/gallon...) by hauling my five gallon container from the dock to the nearby gas station. Wouldn't want to make a practice of gassing five-gallons-at-a-time! Seven miles across the Straight to Meyers Chuck we tied-up to a very good dock and met a fellow singlehanding his 34' Pacific Seacraft/Crealock sailboat northward for the summer. Nice guy - spectacular sailboat! We also met a fellow who's lived at Meyers Chuck for 44 years! Interestingly enough, I met him during an overnight on my trip in 2000. He recalled the yellow canvas "dodger" on the Whaler during that trip. Interesting folks, living out their dreams in the location they like Best.

Cruise ships. When we arrived in Wrangell we noticed a cruise ship tied to the (newly enlarged) pier. The ship had disembarked upwards of 2400-2500 people and the small downtown area was awash with visitors. Didn't seem too bad, but is was a bit overwhelming for such a small town. Evidently the city has arranged for one line to bring the large ship to Wrangell on Friday's through the "season." Sounds pretty good until we learned some more about the industry. The old saying about "there is no free lunch" was never truer than with cruise ships. The local paper carried an interview with the ship captain, who recommended that they town give the ship several video's that can be shown on the ship's TV system - if the town pays the ship for showing the video's. Oh, by the way, the ship was also willing to announce "preferred" stores/shops in Wrangell, but requires a payment of 20% of the businesses gross for that day!

We had noticed the proliferation of high-end jewelry stores in Ketchikan (and other high cruise ship ports...). Seems that many (most?) of them are owned by the various cruise lines that service an area. The industry buys or leases a building for the year, renovates it, then staffs it with their folks who do seasonal rotations from similar winter operations in the Caribbean and other locations. We found all this very interesting and more than a little sobering.

Today will be an exciting day of laundry, and take a walk out to the Wrangel nine/eighteen hole golf course (seeded atop a large area of reclaimed muskeg). It's complete with Astroturf greens! I haven't seen their website, but you can check it out at: www.wrangellalaskagolf.com
You may be wondering what a nine/eighteen hold golf course is. If you take a nine hole course and put yellow flags on each green, then you displace another hole (with a red flag...) on the same green; Presto, you have an eighteen hole course! Aah, Alaskan ingenuity! They even have a local "Raven Rule." If a Raven steals your golf ball, you can replace it with another ball, and no penalty, if you have a witness!

We'll be here another couple of days before heading toward Petersburg, AK (about 48 miles northwest). All-in-all the trip is going very well. For those of you who knew about "Jakes Garden" (the small patch of grass sod) we'd hoped Jake (our Norwich Terrier, and seaman apprentice...) would adapt-to for pee-purposes; he never quite got it. Jakes Garden was given a burial-at-sea north of Ketchikan. Oh well, it seemed like a good idea!

Best to All,
Casey and Sandy
...aboard the tiny boat Naknek



Petersburg (6/4/04)

Greetings to All....

It's Friday (6/4) and I'm told I can upload an email from the library in Petersburg - so will give that a try when it opens at noon.

We came over from Wrangell on Wednesday in sunny, calm weather. I changed the prop in Wrangell in hopes of boosting the gas mileage a little, but my auxiliary prop (a 4-blade, 18P) doesn't seem to make much difference mileage-wise. Any way you cut-it, we're just heavily loaded and the 3.7-3.8mpg we enjoyed at Lake Powell just doesn't seem to be in the cards for this trip. Wouldn't be a big deal but the longest passage (without gas stops...) is between here and Juneau. Approximately 115 (statute) miles. We carry two forty-gallon tanks (that seem to hold about 22 gallons, useable) plus an extra six gallon container. Guess I'll buy another six gallon container this afternoon. (The bottom-line on extending the range on the C-Dory seems to be slow down. At hull speed (approx. 6.5 mph) the fuel gauge says we're using about 1.0 gph (6+mpg). To extend the range we'll likely do the first few hours each day in the "slow mode" to make the trip comfortably. [Again, autopilot makes the slow going much less tedious.]) Sorry for all the petty boating details but on a trip like this, those little details can become Big details if not attended-to!

Important stuff. I had been impressed with the number of hardworking, sober people up here. Then I stopped in the liquor store to buy a six pack of beer and check the price of a bottle of cheap Scotch. Yowee! We usually drink "Clan McGreggor" (but we put it in a nice crystal decanter...) which we usually buy for $13.99/half gallon. the same thing up here is $38.99!!! (No that's not a typo. $38.99!!) For anyone interested, a half-gallon of Glenlevit was $93.00.... That may explain the "sober" aspect of folks up here!

Casual observation: We didn't see any panhandler's in Canada, and certainly none in Alaska. On the contrary, we've been given fresh Dungeoness crab on two occasions, and last night the fellow in the boat slip adjacent to ours asked if we wanted a piece of King Salmon. He gave us about four/five pounds of fresh salmon ... so we "dined" aboard last night. Now if I can practice my "will work for Halibut" look, we'll be all set!

Yesterday we took a drive out to LeConte Bay and Sandy saw her first iceberg! Actually, she saw her first thousand-or-so icebergs. They ranged in size from about ice chest size to many that were the size of good sized apartment buildings. On the way back we observed two whales briefly. The whales were in pretty close to shore. Basically the only thing we noticed was the breath/spout as they rolled, then the tails as they dove deep. Never saw them again.

When we arrived back in Petersburg it was so sunny and warm I changed into my shorts and did some boat cleaning. Locals are commenting on the "abnormal" weather they're having this summer. Evidently it's been about three weeks of spectacular summer and local folks just aren't accustomed to it!

Petersburg is a very ethnic-Norweigan community. It seems to be a commercial fishing center with the support/service business that are necessary for a community of upwards of 5000. Certainly a lot busier here than in Wrangell, but they've learned to survive (...flourish) without heavy cruiseships. Due to the realities of the Petersburg harbor, they just can't handle the 2000+ passenger ships. The Alaska Marine Ferry services Petersburg, and some smaller cruiseships (ie. Cruise West's 100-passenger ships, etc.) Several people we've met have told us they're "third, fourth generation" in Petersburg. A happy town.

We quit counting Bald Eagles. Too many.

Seems like there were other items I intended to mention on the "next" email, but I've sort of retuned into a cruise-mode. It's great having Sandy and Jake (seaman apprentice terrier) along on the trip, and we're just having a good time wandering and looking.

More Later!
Casey



Juneau (6/9/04)

Hi All ....

Well, let's see, it's Wednesday (6/9) and we arrived in Juneau on Monday.

The trip up from Petersburg was approx 118 miles. I had been a little concerned about our fuel range, but it was a piece-of-cake. I had planned to cruise in displacement-mode for about three or four hours (to conserve fuel...) which seemed to be desirable/necessary due to sea conditions anyway. It worked well, and we arrived at the "float" in Hobart Bay in late morning. There were no other boats at the float so we just took a break, fixed a cup of coffee and enjoyed the Quiet. The weather was pretty good (not perfect, but good...) so we decided to continue on to "Taku Harbor" about nineteen miles south of Juneau. Excitement was at-hand, but we didn't know it at the time.

While cruising north just beyond the midway point to Juneau I started getting a low oil pressure warning light. Not good. We weren't in a place where we could stop and do an engine check, so opted to just throttle-back from planning to displacement cruise mode (2200 rpm) and hope I didn't burn up the engine before being able to check it. After a couple hours of slow cruising things were still running fine - just that the damn light was still "on." Since we hadn't already fried the engine I began to suspect a non-oil problem. The story ended happily when I found a loose wire. Properly snugged, and presto: no red oil light! Happy days!

Amid all this we had a chance to talk on the radio to a nice lad at Coast Guard Station, Juneau. We were certainly not in any danger (we still have a "kicker" [auxiliary engine] on the boat, but using it would really put us in the ultra slow mode) but it was comforting to be able to call the Coast Guard and let them know our situation and location in the event something serious developed. The Coast Guard fellow put us on a (radio) call schedule, and faithfully called us every half-hour just to check on our location and situation. (Probably owe him a beer before we leave Juneau!)

Shortly after the initial call to Coast Guard, a commercial fisherman called us just to let us know he was about 15 miles south of our position and would be coming up-our-way later in the day, in the event there was anything he could do, to help. He used to fish down near Naknek, AK and recognized our boat name "Naknek." The fellow from the Coast Guard made us chuckle when he called us on the radio: "C-Dory Nicknak, C-Dory Nicknak, C-Dory Nicknak - Coast Guard Radio, Juneau; Over." He was certainly close enough for government work; and we weren't about to correct him! We will probably hereafter be known at "C-Dory Nicknak!" All's well that end's well.

We made Taku Harbor as planned, just a few hours later than intended; but we're not on a schedule. There was a sailboat and trawler already there, but Lots of unused space on the 200' floating dock. On the trawler was a couple with a yellow lab. Soon Jake and the lab were having a great time playing on the long dock. During "happy hour" (some things don't change...) a large "Nordhaven" yacht arrived with some kayaker charters aboard. They were out of Seattle. Now, that's the way to take a kayak trip! Shortly thereafter that, an even larger boat (approximately 80-90') arrived in the harbor and anchored-out for the night. Taku harbor is the site of an old (abandoned) cannery, and was even the site of an even older Hudson Bay Company trading post. Beautiful setting after a very long day.

The trip (on) into Juneau on Monday was almost humdrum. (Sometimes humdrum can be nice!) The water was positively flat and glassy for the first half of the trip. It wasn't until an Alaska marine Ferry passed us, that we even had a wave. (Note to File: Alaska Marine Ferry's make an Alaska size wake! Happily we were a good distance away, so it was just a "swell.") We followed the "Oosterdam" (one of the "Costco" Cruise Line ships) into Juneau and were in a slip by about 11AM. As mentioned in a previous email, the slips up here seem pretty cheap by lower-48 standards. Our slip is about $6.50/day +$4 for electricity! Cool! The weather on Monday was so un-Juneau like, the local were commenting about it, and Casey was able to breakout his shorts for the first walk around downtown! Earlier, I had commented about Costco Cruisers as the wholesale mode for cruiseliners. I thought I was making a joke.... Yesterday (Tuesday) we rode the city bus out to Costco for supplies (...well, Scotch, actually), and sure enough Costco is selling cruiseline trips! (I though I was making some derisive comment about the mega-size ships!) Juneau seems to average four mega-ships per day at the downtown piers. As a result, walking downtown you're rubbing elbows (no pun intended) with 8-10 thousand other boaters!

We don't really know when we'll leave Juneau. I want to do an oil change on the boat, and we've been talking about (maybe) taking a commercial trip back down to the Tracy Arm (50 miles) to see the glaciers, et al. (We didn't have the range to go into Tracy Arm, besides, I was somewhat distracted when we passed - with the "oil pressure" light, etc.) The next stage of the trip will be up to Haines/Skagway, the northernmost point on the trip. Enroute is the "Lynn Canal," a pretty straight shot that is often quite windy and rough. Depending on the weather, we may just leave the boat in a slip and ride the ferry. Stay tuned. In any case, the next stage (after Skagway) will be over to the "Icy Straits" (gee, I wander why they call it that??), Gustavus/Bartlett Cove, Elfin Cove, Pelican then down toward Tenekee Springs, Sitka, etc.

The trip is going very well, and we're already discussing other adventures in the "C-Dory Nicknak ...er, Naknek!" One idea that's currently on-the-table is to trailer Naknek to Key West next winter (or, whenever I'm free again...) and spend 2-3 weeks in Key West before beginning an ICW trip northward for a month or so, then back to Key West for a few weeks. We have truly come to Love a boat that (although very small...) is both comfortable and trailerable!!!

That's all for this email. I'm at a coffeehouse with "WIFI", but I'll be damned if I can make the WIFI Work! I need to find one of the computer-youngsters around here to help me get online! (Note to Steve O. (or anyone else): do you know of a gizmo that can be bought that will beep/buzz when it picks-up a WIFI signal? There seem to be both commercial and "free" WIFI locations, but without a receiver it's difficult to know where they are. Any Ideas??)

Best to all - until next time,
Casey



Mendenhall Adventure

Hi All,

It's Monday morning (6/13) and we're still in Juneau - but moved to another harbor (Auke Bay), about 12 miles north of downtown. Much quieter, and the scenery is fantastic. Auke Bay harbor is run by the Juneau Port Dept. and there are no "assigned" moorage's, it's all "transient." There are a fair number of cruisers (like us...), as well as local folks that use the facility for a few days they go somewhere else. The Alaska Marine Ferry ( www.FerryAlaska.com ) also operated from Auke Bay a couple miles west of this harbor.

Auke Bay is an enjoyable place, and not as many diversions as the downtown harbor but newer and very well kept. In our immediate vicinity boats range from small commercial fishing vessels as well as a number of private boats. Most of the private-boat-cruisers are a tad larger than the mighty 22-foot "Naknek!" Adjacent to us is a 49' Grand Banks trawler (...Very Niiice) that's laid-up for minor repairs (their washer/dryer went on the fritz...). At the end of the dock is a 92' sailboat that looks like something out of a magazine. The crew of four is awaiting arrival of the owner and his guests when they fly-in from Australia in a few days. ...then on the breakwater (outside pier) is where the Big boats are. The good news is that it's easy, easy to find space for a 22-foot boat!! Life in the Grand Cruising Mode would be interesting (I'm sure...), but everything has it's advantages (we can put our boat on a trailer and drag it to it's next Adventure; the folks on the 92-footer must wait for their crew to take the boat down through the Panama Canal if they want to go to the Keys!) How's that for a rationalization?!?!?

Skagway Plans. After listening to weather forecast countless times over the past four days I finally made a decision to take the Alaska Ferry to Skagway versus taking Naknek up the Lynn Canal. The ferry system just put a new "fast" ferry into service on June 4th. The M/V Fairweather cruises at 38 knots and makes the trip in about 2.5 hours (versus 4 hours on the previous ship). Should be an interesting trip! We'll get a motel room for a couple of nights, wander around town, and have a change-of-pace for a couple days. Let's see: how many showers can two people take, in a motel in two days?

As you may recall, Temsco Helicopter Co. in Skagway had hired both Sandy and me for the summer of 2002. Military things intervened and we ultimately had to decline the summer jobs. We've kept in contact with the helicopter manager, and we'll finally have an opportunity to meet her. During the summer Skagway is a hussle-bussle little town that was made famous during the Klondike Gold Rush. Several years ago the National Park Service came into the town and virtually bought/restored the small downtown historic district to safeguard the historic aspects it represented. Millions of (federal) dollars have been spent over the decades in well done, historically correct, building rehabilitation program. (For those of you who don't know the difference between building rehab, and historic rehab, just think of the ratio of $1: $100 and you'll have a pretty good idea.) As a result of this infusion, virtually the entire town is a tourist dynamo during the summer, with lots of local history, colorful characters, and things to see. Oh yea, did I mention cruise ships? Skagway gets 3-4 mega ships per day (read: 8-10K people...), into a town who's winter population is about 850, so things are a little busy. Alaska's economic cycle seems to go from boom-to-bust, and Skagway is definitely in the Tourist Boom!

Naknek's Mendenhall Adventure...well, actually this is the Mendenhall Bar Adventure. (To the uninitiated, a "bar" is not only a place where you sit on a stool and drink - it's also a shallow area over which boats must pass, to arrive at their destination. So much for the boating lesson.) Between downtown Juneau and Auke Bay is a very shallow area known as the Mendenhall Bar. The bar is well marked with navaids, but it's still damn shallow and only passable at high tide in boats with a sufficiently shallow draft.

On Thursday we decided to relocated Naknek to Auke Bay on Saturday. Since the morning high tide was a 10:28AM it would be convenient, and we would make the short 12-miles to Auke Bay easily. (The alternative to this route was taking the 30+ route around Douglas Island to Auke Bay.) At 10:00AM we were loaded and ready to begin the route, timed so we'd be at "highpoint" (the shallowest part of the route) just a few minutes before high tide. We took off....

It was a Beautiful ride. Glassy calm, and no other boat traffic (clue...). As we motored along, both Sandy and I remarked at the nice houses on the west shore, and the view those folks enjoyed. As we proceeded the depth sounder read 16', then 14', etc. No problem - we're in a shallow draft C-Dory!! Several miles into the route we were down to 7'. No problem - our boat only draws about 3'. ...but we were still about .75 miles from "highpoint" and we were down to about 4.5 or 5 feet! Then was a bad time for the depth sounder to quite sending us information...but quit it did. We were flying "blind" so to speak, but staying in that portion of the narrow channel where the water seemed deepest.

Background comment: Down in the shallows of the Florida Keys it is not uncommon to boat over very shallow areas, and in fact the last thing you often want to do is come-off-plane (the boat drafts less on-plane than off-plane....). So we proceeded.... Oh by the way, did I mention that in the Keys you can see the bottom? Here, we couldn't see anything on the bottom!

Just about that time the prop stuck the bottom. Now, in the Keys, one might make a quick decision to tilt the motor up slightly, go-for-it, and run on-plane across the shallow area. Another option is to do a tight 180 degree turn and return to deeper water. Here, the shallow point was still a half mile away and the channel was too narrow to execute a sharp turn. The only option was to reduce power, settling critical inches deeper into the murky water. Damn. By now we're just at slack high tide. Thank God. Oops ... I wonder how long slack-Hi lasts?

We executed a quick "U" turn and began (slowly) to return the way we came. No problem.

Now Casey, think about this: We're proceeding at 4mph with the engine comfortably tilted, proceeded back toward deeper water, about 2-3 miles away but the tide is now ebbing (that nautical talk for the water is getting shallower). In the next hour or so, this area will loose several feet of water. Put another way - we've got to get on-plane and get the hell out of here, or we're going to be hard aground (another nautical term, but I'm sure you get the point...) for upwards of twelve hours (until the next high tide).

At this point I'm sure we were the entertainment for no less a dozen spotting scopes in the houses that border the Mendenhal Bar. Folks in those houses are surely laughing their butts off (while enjoying a leisurely breakfast...) while watching that pretty little C-Dory that was about to spend the next several hours sitting on dry ground. People were probably phoning their neighbors to make sure they didn't miss the spectacle. ("Herb: ...quick, go check out the C-Dory just passing Marker 13....")

Happily, we were finally able to get on-plane and make the run to deeper water. (Note to File: If you're ever in a similar situation and really need to get on-plane in shallow water, tell all your passengers that on the "Count of "3" everyone [including the dog] is to jump up in the air, thereby reducing the weight in the boat, albeit momentarily; to help get on step.)* I'm sure the folks ashore were having laughing spasms.

After finally returning to deep water all we had to do was drive the thirty miles abound Douglas Island to Auke Bay! Piece of cake!

Final Note. Throughout Southeast Alaska folks use bear proof trash containers to deep local wildlife from feeding on trash and thus becoming a problem. These containers are solid metal outside and fitted with an easily opened catch on the lid to gain access to a trash bag inside.

On a recent walk through downtown Juneau Sandy and I observed a fairly attractive blond lady spend upwards of 2 minutes trying to figure-out how to open the bear proof container. She wanted to dispose of her coffee cup. We watched as she tried virtually every possible option, all to no avail. After almost two minutes of trying to open the container a passerby politely opened the latch to assist her. The look on the Samaritans face as he walked away was priceless. And now we known that these container are effective both bears and blonds!All for now - back to Adventuring...
Capitan Casey, Queen Sandy, Seaman (apprentice) Jake.
* untrue, but this was my failsafe technique!
** True and unadorned.



Juneau, Skagway, Whitehorse (Yukon!)

Hi All,

We're "back" in Juneau after a sidetrip to Skagway and Whitehorse, Yukon. ...it's been a fun (and expensive) few days!

After listening to the marine weather for several days, I finally made the decision that Sandy and I would ride the new Alaska State Ferry (M/V Fairweather) up to Skagway. The Lynn Canal is about 80 miles of straight wind tunnel right out of them-thar-mountains. For a few days immediately preceding our departure the forecasts ranged from Excellent to No-Way-'Jose! I've come to have a limited respect for weather forecasting up here. Example: Friday evening it was calling for winds West at <10 and seas 2' or less on Monday. It was So good I listened to the forecast again just to make sure I hadn't misinterpreted. Four hours later the same forecast was for winds South at 25 and seas 5' ! Over the weekend the forecast jumped around so much I figured the weatherman was subtly telling 'Casey: "Take the Ferry!" So we did! (Besides, the thought of a motel and showers all-night had a certain appeal.)

Now this isn't just any "ferry." The M/V Fairweather was put in service earlier this month and it is the first catamaran, high-speed ferry in the Alaska fleet. At 235', it cruises at 32K with a top speed of 39K (that's damn near 50mph to the unnautical). Spiffy boat (...er, Ship.) Interestingly enough, it's propelled by four water jets that appear to be about 12-14" each. Although they don't really look like boats in the traditional sense; I suspect that catamaran's are the coming-thing in nautical cool. They are fuel efficient, fast, and handle rough waters with surprising ease; they just don't look like "boats" to a lot of folks. Oh well - that's the price of progress.

Skagway. We arrived on the Ferry amid a very large group of other cruising friends. Well, to be more exact my estimate of the group was around 8400 visitors! There were four mega-cruiseliners + one paddlewheel ship and a mini (Cruise West...) ship. The streets (er, street...) of Skagway was literally elbow-to-elbow with folks. After finding a cheap motel ("...Sandy, $90/night is cheap in Skagway!"), we enjoyed dinner and walking around town after most of the cruiseship people have returned to their twelve-course dinners! The following morning was perfectly clear and calm, so we even went and took a helicopter flight up over the Chilkoot Glacier. We even landed in a couple places on the glacier. Cool! The pilot (Chuck, from Jackson, WY) was quite knowledgeable about all the naturalist kind of stuff, and very informative. He seems to be a pretty good pilot, too! As I mentioned earlier the weather was absolutely Perfect, so spectacular doesn't even come close to describing the flight. Sandy was sitting by the door, and it should be noted that within only a couple of hours after the flight her right hand was no longer cramping due to her death-grip on the doorhandle!

By noon the cruiseship hoards were again back on the Street so we retreated to a car rental office and rented a car (anyone ever heard of Rent-A-Wreck?) and drove 112 miles to Whitehorse, Yukon. On the way we had occasion to meet a really assertive young lass at the Canadian Border crossing. She was quite animated in telling us all the reasons she could deny us entry; then passed us through. Go figure. The drive to Whitehorse really is a beautiful trip. We were truly amazed at he number of RV's on the road North. Lordy! Whitehorse, like many of the towns in the North seems like a nice place to Live, but a so-so place to visit. That may sound like a put-down and I really don't mean it to be. We have come to feel that in many of these town (large, small, whatever...) Life is being enjoyed to the utmost, and those of us who merely pass through never really get an opportunity to savor what they have to offer. Traveling as we are, we get a "taste" of the locale then move on. Regrettably, folks on the cruise ships may only get a "whiff" if they're lucky. Most seem distracted by the jewelry shops and visiting the cruiseship "approved" shops, and may never even walk on a side street. Sad. Interesting. Sobering. ...enough of that Casey.

The return trip to Juneau was uneventful - just the routine sightings of whales, Dall porpoise, sea lions. Ho Hum. Again, the weather was distinctly spectacular (thank you Mr. Weatherman!) Juneau broke a high temperature reading that was set in 1959. Folks were complaining about the "heat" (my Lord, it must have been in the hi-70's!!!!!) and today (Friday) was even warmer! (Sandy's sitting in the boat wearing a sleeveless tanktop, we have three fans going, and Life is Good!) Today has been consumed with getting ready to head for Gustavu/Bartlett Cove tomorrow.

The forecast is supposed to be good through Monday or Tuesday so we want to make the jump across Chatham Stait in all this calm weather! Next ports-of-call will be Bartlett Cove (Glacier Bay National Park) then Elfin Cove, Pelican, then down to Tenekee Springs and Sitka. May not have very good computer hookups until we get to Sitka, so there may be a break in emails. (See ... there is a God, and you've been spared!)

All For Now!
Capitan Casey, Queen Sandy, and Seaman Jake
aboard the C-Dory Naknek



Elfin Cove, AK

Hi All,

Gosh, it has been nearly a week (tomorrow) since my last email. Don't pay the ransom - we're Fine, just chilled out in the UNmetropolitan community of "Elfin Cove, AK." We have been smitten by this very small, very scenic place. It's Thursday evening (6/24), and I really have no idea when I will be able to get this email "out" but will begin writing and see what comes-out.

We departed Juneau for Gustavus and Bartlett Cove last Saturday. the trip was easy, and we'd been fortunate to get the required permit for Glacier Bay National Park. We wanted to visit good friends at Bartlett Cove, and were welcomed with the proverbial open-arms.

On the trip over from Juneau we saw more eagles (...they're everywhere; they're Everywhere!!), a couple of whales and several sea otters. A couple miles east of Gustavus we observed a "raft" of about 35-40 sea otters at pretty close range, the otters were sunning themselves in the midst of a large kelp bed. Otters lay on their back on the surface, with only their heads and feet exposed. It makes them look like they're laying on an air mattress about an inch below the surface. Really cool animals, and fluid-grace in the water.

Oh, did I mention the horse-flies? Seems southeast Alaska is enjoying a period of unheardof warm weather and the local population of horseflies is nothing short of Spectacular. At Bartlett Cove they were present in droves; but happily they're pretty stupid bugs and slow. Good bug hunting. I'm told that with a little pepper and lemon-butter they fry-up to be pretty tasty, but we haven't been at sea THAT long!

On Sunday we finally arrived in Elfin Cove after a somewhat delayed departure from Bartlett Cove. On the 30-mile trip we observed 8-10 whales going through all manner of gyrations about one-quarter mile away off the port side. (Love that nautical talk.) Naturally we slowed down, got out the binoculars and enjoy a great show for several minutes. While we our attention was trained on the distant whales we failed to notice two other whales until they surfaced to starboard, less than fifty yards away! Impressive.

Let me put it in slightly different terms. I nearly soiled my last pair of clean levi's. A couple of whales that weight upwards of 40 ton's each that come up an roll then dive are just plain awesome. When they surface and blow-out air the resulting spray plume is visible for several miles and briefly looks like a fire hydrant that's been knocked over. I would guess the spray goes up around 15+ feet. The other thing that is fairly unique is their breath! Whales eat fishy stuff their whole lives, and never brush their teeth or gargle. Use your imagination. Now, compound that image by a factor of 10X and you begin to get the idea. Happily we were not directly downwind, but we were able to get the idea without enjoying the full effect. Aside from seeing one of these leviathans come up under us (...would make for a very bad day), I didn't relish the thought of having the boat covered in smelly whale spit, etc. Yuck.

As the whales dove, I could swear I heard a faint "...hee, hee, hee." as if they knew they'd just scarred the bejesus out of us.

We arrived in Elfin Cove, and promptly feel in love with this little place. The summer population is probably 150-200 people in about eight fishing lodges situated on both the outer and inner portions of the natural harbor. The cove is surrounded by fairly high, tree-covered mountains, and the waters seem to be loaded with halibut, salmon, and a number of other fish. Elfin has a small post office, general store and a bar/cafe. There are no roads - just boardwalks that link everything together. There is also a school, but a couple years ago the enrollment fell below the state requirement of ten students so the school is not currently in operation. We're told there are generally about 10-12 people who "winter-over" at Elfin Cove. A fellow I met earlier today has lived here for 41 years. We've traveled to a lot of places; and cannot imagine that God ever created a nicer spot.

Twice a month two small cruise ships visit Elfin Cove. Today was the day. This morning one ship "lightered"* seventy visitors ashore and this afternoon the other ship brought 130. Each group was here for about two hours - then they left. I heard comments ranging from "...I could live here" to: "...god, how could anyone live here, they're are no people!" Several folks mentioned things like "...this is what we came to Alaska to see." We agree.

A couple days ago we went 20 miles over to Pelican, AK and spent the night. It didn't show us much, so we returned to Elfin Cove early next day (in pretty heavy fog). We've been talking about leaving and going on toward "Hoonah," but frankly we're having a difficult time tearing ourselves away from "the Cove." But travel we must; maybe tomorrow. Maybe.

We'll wander up to the cafe in the morning and discuss that departure idea over a couple cups of coffee. Yep, that's what we'll do - we'll discuss leaving. Maybe. Tomorrow - or the next day.

Back to reality Casey.

From here the "planned" route will take us to Hoonah then Tenekee Springs, and finally Sitka. Beyond that we'll begin retracing some of the previous route and sort of start working our way back toward Wrangell and Prince Rupert, then "poof" we'll be back on the road headed toward Arizona.

This trip has been spectacular, and the weather (to date...) has just been unbelievable. For the moment we can't imagine a nicer place than Elfin Cove, but there is still the pull of "what's around the next bend."

Sometime's being "driven" is silly; I think Sandy and I could both just stop right here, but we won't. Silly us.

There are no computer connections here so Lord knows when I'll be able to get it on the wire, but atleast it's a start!

Best to All,
Capitan Casey, Queen Sandy and Jake (seaman apprentice)

* lightering = carrying passengers ashore from a ship in small boats.
PS: the above passengers must have atleast one camera each, atleast one videocam for every two passengers, and Everyone must have atleast one article of clothing from LLBean, preferrably GoreTex!

UPDATE: Saturday (6/26/04)
Were in Hoonah, AK after a delightful 40 mile passage from Elfin. Hoonah isn't exactly the tourist center of "Southeast" but atleast they let me use a phoneline to send my msg! Yesterday's weather was so hot I was in shorts - of course the horse flies were enjoying the weathr too!
In an hour or two we'll be off for Tenakee Springs....

More later,
Casey



Tenakee Springs (6/27/04)

Hi All,

We left Hoonah (pop. about 1900) yesterday, and as I recall, only had an opportunity to make a very brief observation in the last email. Here are a few more thoughts....

Hoonah is billed as the "largest Native community in Southeast Alaska." I'm not too sure that will really do anything for the local economy. As you approach Hoonah the magnificent mountains are stunning, more so here than in may other places due to the fact you can see the mountains themselves so much more clearly. The general story seems to be that the native corporation "sold all their timber to Japan..." several years ago, so they've effectively used up that resource - on to the next one! Now tourism seems to be the next target. From what we saw there isn't much to draw tourists. They do have one cruise ship coming to town each week, though we haven't figured-out why. On a positive note, "Mary's Cafe" does serve one of the best club sandwiches I've eaten, anywhere!

Interestingly enough, in spite of having paved streets the community has managed to maintain the patina of very fine gray dust over all the buildings, and vehicles. I'm not sure quite how that's done, with the rain up here. Maybe they have someone import dust when the town runs low.

The town itself is a mixture of contradictions. Example: as we were walking back from breakfast (a Very good breakfast, I might add...) we passed a Really old guy (long white hair and beard) riding a three-wheeled bicycle. He was clearly old enough to remember the mountains when they had Trees, and had probably lived his many (80?) years right there. We greeted him as he slowly pedaled past, but he couldn't hear us due to his MP3 player and earphones. It seemed a novel picture.

Oh well, at least the weather in Hoonah was nice!

As we motored the 52 miles to Tenakee Springs I was struck by the ease by which modern boaters can navigate. As you already know, NAKNEK is only twenty-two feet but I've gone somewhat overboard (bad word when you're sitting on a boat...) on the electronics. Naturally we have GPS, and it's generally accurate down to about 9-10'. Then there is a color "chartplotter" that shows the nautical charts and your exact position as you motor along. It also creates a "track" (sort of like electronic breadcrumbs) in the event you want to execute a 180 turn and retrace your exact route. When the fog rolls-in we turn on the radar and play like we're flying "instruments" (but at about 6-15knots, which makes it more fun [and a damn sight slower] than flying airplanes on instruments). Then turn-on the autopilot and just play like we're a big boat! If we want to get spiffy with the radar I can "overlay" the radar on the digital chartplotter and get all the info off one screen. If there are boats in our vicinity we can even give them an electronic tracking identifier to chart their position, course, and speed. I'm tempted to put my ballcap on backward and play submarine Captain. "Sandy: Stand by to copy a shooting solution for the target 800 meters, bearing 015 degrees; prepare to Fire!!!" Lordy, lordy;suspected Boys and their Toys.

Pat Lee: Interesting observation. Yesterday while on the dock I noticed a fellow who seems to know what he was doing as he prepared to clean a Halibut. A passerby (not me) asked its approximate weight. The guy stretched-out his hand and proceeded to measure the hand lengths of the Halibut (5), and responded that it would be approximately 50 pounds. Is that a fishtale(?) or is there some rule of thumb like that, for Halibut?

Tenakee Springs. It's Sunday morning and we are anxiously awaiting the opening of the gas dock so we can refuel and (hopefully) depart for Sitka. Tenakee was one of the spots on our trip that we had really been eager to see. Interestingly enough we hope to be gone before completing 24-hours here. We were surprised.

Tenakee is reportedly a "bush" community of about 100 people. (I suspect about 200 in the immediate area, but that's really unimportant....) The community gets it's name from the hotspring that surfaces in the middle of town, and had been used as a community bathing location for many years. Now for the "naturists" out there, don't get your hopes-up. Many years ago the community built a cement-block building (somewhat like a bomb shelter) to enclose the 106+ degree hot spring. "Bathing" hours are strictly controlled (and separate) for both men and women. (Rumor has it the kids have been known to use the hot spring after 1AM or 2AM, but I'm sure they too segrate themselves and control their behavior. Yea, sure. ...I didn't stay up to verify that.)

Tenakee makes an immediate impression on the newly landed. The dock easily had three or four times the amount of dogshit on it we've noticed in other places. (Now there is something you won't find in the Michelin Guide to Alaska!) In addition, the beach on both sides of the dock is littered for a couple hundred yards with a vast collection of old tires, oil barrels, outboard motors, derelict three-wheelers, the remains of an old tug boat, and just about anything else you can imagine. A largish tin shed on shore is filled with backup junk and looks like something out of Applachia. Immediately to the left of the gangway is a 4' x 4' professionally made sign announcing: "Minimum fine for littering: $1000." Clearly, someone in Tenakee has a sense of humor.

As you proceed to walk the half-mile dirt trail into the community, you're passed by an assortment of three and four wheel ATV's. They seem to be the rage in Tenekee. We observed several bicycles, but only saw one person riding a bike versus 15+ ATV's in our limited time ashore. We had heard that Tenakee, as a community, had a bit of an attitude (specifically, Tenakee didn't like tourists and only tolerated tourists off private boats). While we did not find them unfriendly, there were a number that seemed on the verge.... Very out-of-the-norm; hell, up here even native folk are quite friendly. Within the first hour we sort of suspected this was going to be a brief visit.

The Tenakee Incident. We walked into town to check on fuel availability. By the time we arrived at the fuel dock we learned that we had less than twenty minutes until closing (at 2PM)! Now remember, we're a half mile from the boat and figure we probably want to get the hell out of here before the fuel dock opens at 10AM on Sunday; so I'm motivated to get back to the boat. I opt to jog back to the boat, leaving Sandy at the fuel dock. When I arrive at the boat, I throw off the lines and proceed out of the harbor. On the radio I hear someone say: "...I think I see two people sitting on an overturned boat out by the reef...." Someone else comes on the radio and asks "what reef?" and is told "...the Tenakee Reef..." which is about a mile offshore. It's blowing about 15-18K, and Naknek appears to be the only boat around. Through the binoculars I can confirm an overturned boat with two people clinging to the hull. Guess it's time to hussle out there and assist. Upon arriving, the two men seem quite willing to be rescued, even though I'm only a tourist. Even without lifejackets (no PFD on either guy...) these guys go about 250# and 300# each! The situation was stabilized, and both guys were ok, just cold and wet. In a little while a larger landingcraft-type boat arrived and took the two guys aboard. They wanted to recover their boat before it sunk. The whole incident ended successfully, but Naknek got some pretty good "dings" on both sides of the hull from banging against their overturned boat. Repair time, but at least there's a story to explain the damage.

So what happened, you ask?

The two fellows had floated a 600 gallon (cast iron) fuel tank from the derelict tug out to sink it on the Tenakee Reef. When they got out to the reef they began blasting the tank with a rifle, thus causing the tank to sink. Seems they forgot to untie the line from their port cleat, and as the tank sunk it dragged their gunnel down with it. They didn't have a knife to cut the line, so over-they-went! Oh well - all's well that ends well; and one of the guys actually said "Thank You."

We refueled the next morning (Sunday) and headed for Sitka. After a fairly long day of rough water we opted to stay in "Appleton Cove" (about half way to Sitka from Tenakee). It was a delightful night at-anchor, after a rather tedious time at Tenakee. We beached Naknek and I took Seaman Apprentice Jake ashore for a brief "port call." I'd put on my shorts to wade-in, and mistakenly took Jakes's leash off. He was delighted to be free, free, free! As he charged up and down the beach he clearly enjoyed this new game of keep-away-from-Casey. Sandy finally tossed me a piece of carrot (Jake's favorite...) and he decided he wanted a carrot more than his Freedom. It's chilly. Picture if-you-will, a middle age guy chasing a small brown dog up and down a remote Alaskan beach, in his shorts, wearing a chamois shirt and barefoot. Once again, I'm sure we provided the other boat anchored in Appleton with their evenings entertainment.

It's now Tuesday, and we're in Sitka. So far, nothing reportable has happened - but stay tuned!

Best to All,
Capitan Casey, Queen Sandy, and Seaman (Apprentice) Jake



Sitka, AK

Hi All,

Gee's, I'm sitting here trying to think of things to write in this cruising email, and have the nautical equivalent of writers-block. We've been in Sitka for a few days (will likely remain here until about July 6th when we head for Angoon and Kake...), but honestly there hasn't been too much going-on.

We've been walking our butts-off seeing the town, looking at museum's (museuii ?) and just enjoying being in a boat slip with electricity. It's interesting how much the simple amenities are worth, after a period of "roughing it." (Well, actually, we weren't roughing it, but I'm sure you get my point.)

Sitka is a summer-tourist town like several others in Southeast. It has a population of about 9000, and is heavy into fishing (both commercial and recreational). Given the number of boats and boat harbors it appears there are half as many boats as there are people! There was a "commercial opening" (season opened) on July 1st for King Salmon, so for several days prior - the docks were buzzing with fishermen getting their vessels ready to go make money. The range of boats used in commercial fishing is amazing. Many boat are large (approx. 45-60') and well equipped and cared-for. Some are at the other end of the spectrum. Honest-to-God some of the boats make you wonder if they'll make it back to port! Then, naturally there are the fishermen themselves. A colorful Lot indeed (I'm being rather kind)! A good friend used to be an Agent with National Marine Fisheries here in Sitka. I'm come to have a new respect for him. This would be a tough beat for anyone in fisheries enforcement, and to be a "fed" working the commercial fleet would be a Real challenge. Think of the roughest "roughneck" from the oil patch in Texas and you might get the image.

In Sitka, unlike other cruiseship towns, cruise ships don't dock at massive piers. Here, the ships anchor just offshore (1/4 to 2 miles away...) and "lighter" their passengers ashore using some of the ship's lifeboats. Now don't confuse "lifeboat" with "liferaft." These are not the inflatable things.... These lifeboats are about 35 foot catamarans with twin diesel engines, and carry about 95 people. They are fully enclosed, have radar, and are very seaworthy. On the hull the markings tell you: "Service Capacity - 95 passengers." The same markings also state: "Rescue Capacity - 152" (!) Very Cozy. It's interesting to see the boat going to-and-fro shuttling passengers. Actually, I think if might be a better alternative than having to build all the expensive shore-works, and disgorging all the passengers ashore at once.

Met a fellow from the C-Dory company a couple days ago. He was in Sitka setting-up a new dealership and spotted our boat while down at the harbor. We had a nice chat, and he seemed to enjoy hearing from such "satisfied customers." He told me about a WiFi hotspot he found the previous day. I tried it, and was able to connect to Internet. Picture this: Casey was standing at the edge of a parking lot, with his laptop resting on the back of a dumpster (...a rather odoriferous dumpster at that), on the Internet, doing the monthly banking (aren't retirement checks Wonderful!!) Several passersby on the sidewalk asked what I was doing. They didn't want to believe that I was online doing personal banking. They preferred: a) doing a traffic study for the State of Alaska, b) measuring VHF radio frequency intensity for the FCC, c) doing GPS surveying of the roadway, or d) a marketing survey for the Chamber of Commerce. Hopefully I'll be able to get this message "out" using the same WiFi location later today (but I'll probably have to come up with a whole new batch of answers for "wha'cha doing Mister?")

A slight change in plans. You may recall the Tenekee "rescue" story. I think I mentioned that we suffered some gelcoat damage in the process. After talking to the fellow from C-Dory, I think we'll return to Arizona via the factory (Kent, WA) and try to have them do the repairs. Since Naknek is only nearing her first birthday (July 18th) we'd like to keep here looking nice, so will let the good folks a C-Dory make her well. (Will certainly look better than if I tried to fix the gelcoat!) Returning via the Seattle-area will also give us a change to get a couple minor canvas modifications done. As a result, we'll probably aim at being back to Prince Rupert about the end of July rather than the end of August.

From here our trip will carry us back through the "Peril Straits" to the native village of Angoon. We may venture down toward Baranof Hot Springs and Red Bluff Bay, then to "Kake" (another native village). The plan for the moment is to take the Keku/Rocky Pass route southward, then back to Wrangell, Myers Chuck, and Ketchikan. By that time we'll be well on the return leg. Gee, saying it that way almost makes it sound like the trip is over! This really has been a fun trip, the boat has performed flawlessly, and the weather has been abnormally nice (overall). Inspiteof all that, it will be nice to get home. Sandy and I will certainly have a new appreciation for things like electricity, unlimited baths/showers, the washing machine, and as much ice as we want in our drink! ...and I suspect Jake will enjoy having his "big yard" back!

This has been a great trip, and we're already giving thought to the "next" trip aboard Naknek. Although Southeast Alaska is a great place to cruise, there are countless other places as well, and having a boat that is easily trailered is perfect for us. I'll be doing army stuff for the last half of September, but the jury is still "out" on whether or not I'll be working back East for the winter. If so, that will take care of wintertime Adventure options. If not, the current plan is to take Naknek to Key West and liveaboard in the marina for a couple weeks then cruise the ICW northward for a few weeks, then return to Key West for a few more weeks before returning to Arizona. Retirement is a Good thing.

Best to All,
Capitan Casey, Queen Sandy, Seaman (apprentice) Jake



Baranof Warm Springs (7/9/04)

Hi All,

After nine days in Sitka we had seen about all we wanted, and there was a decent weather window so we departed for Angoon, AK.

Departure doesn't sound like a big deal, but unless the forecast is Perfect, and there is natural tendency to question one's decision making. Boating up here is spectacular, but some of the "runs" are lengthy and if something goes wrong you're in deep Caca. Also, the hesitancy to leave a perfectly safe harbor (with toilets, showers, and a grocery store) is almost palpable. One learns something (more) about one's self. I can only imagine what it must be like to strikeout on an across-the-Ocean voyage. The idea of being at sea for weeks on end (like in a sailboat), out on the "big water" would be rather unnerving. This is quite enough for me!

As we returned through the Sergius Narrows we were one hour after low tide. You may recall (can't remember if I wrote it in the last email...) that our earlier passage of Sergius Narrows was a piece of cake. When we were going to Sitka our passage was two hours after high tide. This time, time-and-tide (nice saying...) put us on the low tide an hour into "flood." The passage was unspectacular, but much more interesting. Sergius Narrows is just that - narrow. I would like to see it when the Alaska Ferry transits the narrows; must be like threading a needle with a bridge spike. Imagine driving a small boat on a river flowing at about 8mph. Then throw in a couple small whirlpools and a frolicking whale. One of the things you quickly remember is that when proceeding with the flow you're going a lot faster than normal, and the accuracy of your steering is considerably reduced. Fun, eh? Oh yea, watch out for that big rock over there!

The trip on down Peril Straits was very enjoyable, at least until we approached "Point Craven" and began getting the wind (...which means waves...) coming straight down Chatham Strait. The crossing was about ten miles but given the angle we had to take (due to the seas...) it was more like 12 or so. We were in what is called a "beam sea" (that's when the waves are mostly coming at you from the side ... bad juju). It makes for quite a lot of rocking and rolling, and to keep from being in a "broaching" situation (don't you love all this nautical talk?) you strike something of an angle so you're quartering the heavy stuff. At one point Sandy inquired if we were going to roll over (...I was right, we didn't). She was somewhat calmed when I told her "probably not." I looked back to see her firmly jammed in her seat behind the dinette, with one foot up on the galley so she didn't slide around. As you know, I don't hear well, but I could swear I could hear her praying - in several languages. Naknek performed very well, but I must admit, I don't "enjoy" that kind of boating. I'm not good at estimating wave height (boaters generally seem prone to making their story more glorious than the previous storyteller...) but suffice-to-say the conditions were very unpleasant.

Arrival at Angoon was Very welcome. Although the boating guide does not recommend entry without a "local" guide, we made it to the harbor without hitting any of the many rocks. Never was a modest, calm harbor more welcome. We had an extra Scotch that evening, and only once did the question of what a chartered floatplane back to Juneau might cost.

Yesterday morning we ventured back out to the Chatham Strait very cautiously. We had about 38 miles to Baranof Warm Springs, and frankly were a little gun shy of what we might find. As if turned-out the conditions were delightful but about half the trip was in fog. At this point fog is much more preferable to the really rough conditions. We generally had at least a half-mile of visibility, and I was having a ball tracking the six or seven boats (..."targets," maty) we encountered enroute. Technology is truly amazing, even on this small boat. At one point I was tracking four targets and had the bearing, and speed for each! The radar even told me what the closest point (and time) of passage would be for each vessel. Toys are Cool!

We were at Baranof by 9:30AM and were delighted to find a beautiful location with a comfortable dock near the foot of the largest cascade I've ever seen. The cascade is over 100 feet wide, several hundred yards long, and tumbles about 200-300 feet. Impressive, and the sound is great. We hiked the half mile to the warm spring, and I'll probably go there later today (Friday). Baranof also has three "public baths" that are available to use (and free!). Each room is private and equipped with a metal tank (in Arizona we call them stock tanks...) that constantly fill and overflow with hot, fresh springwater. I'm guessing the water is about 104 degrees (slightly warmer than the hottub at home). During our third "soak" late yesterday I seem to dimly recall Sandy saying something about getting her lifejacket and staying in the "hottub" all night. Yea, it was a delightful experience, and a wonderful day. Since we've pretty well decided to spend another day here, I'm sure there will be a few more trips to the "baths."

Baranof gets quite a lot of boat traffic. At the moment there are about fifteen boats on the dock and anchored "out." We are the smallest, except for a young Japanese fellow ("Nori") who arrived by kayak yesterday afternoon. He left Vancouver, BC two months ago and will end his trip in Sitka in about ten days. He's traveling alone in a Feathercraft folding kayak. Balls. Late yesterday Sandy and I took him a couple cold Heineken plus an assortment of nuts and candies. I don't think I've ever seen a more appreciative young person. Inspiteof the language barrier, he had no difficulty figuring out the intricacies of an American pop-top.

So, here it is, Friday morning in Baranof Hot Springs. The fog greeted us this morning but visibility is (now) up to about 100 yards. Looks like a good day to read, fix another cup of coffee, and think about the next dip in the hot spring. Life is Good.

Best to All,
Capitan Casey, Queen Sandy, and Seaman (apprentice) Jake.

UPDATE: Monday/Wrangell, AK We arrived in Wrangell earlier today. After getting cleaned-up and laundry, I'll try to write an updated email telling you about the "interesting" trip from Baranof Hot Springs to Kake! Stay tuned! Casey



Wrangell, AK (Monday, 7/12/04)

Hi All,

We are back in Wrangell, so as Sandy put's it: "...we've closed the loop, and are now retracing our steps."

Return with me to Saturday (7/10), and our "attempt" to depart Baranof Hot Springs and 'round Point Gardner enroute to Kake, AK (pop. 700). We were unable to receive the NOAA weather channel, so had been watching the barometer, sky, and wind (you know, all those sailorly things...). Everything looked pretty good so at 0515 we were "off" to tackle Point Gardner and the fifty miles to Kake. It's 13 miles from Baranof to Pt. Gardner. No big deal. By the time we got to Gardner things were getting pretty uncomfortable, but still not worth retreating. We forged on. By now we're right at the Point - gee, the wind has now come up (from the South) and the tide is ebbing (...going Out) from the North. Bad situation. This is getting interesting... As we make our turn eastward, we begin to enter "shallower" water ("shallower" up here means it shoals from over 1500 feet to about 300' depth). Point Gardner is the dividing point between the Chatham Strait and Frederick Sound, both massive bodies of water on the move. Without going into too much detail, things deteriorated within about six or eight minutes to the point that it seemed foolish, and dangerous, to proceed so we opted to do a "180" and hightail it back to Baranof for the day. Good decision.

It's been a long time since I've had to live with the reality of weather on a daily basis. I felt defeated, and didn't like it. I also felt a trifle scared, and really didn't like that. Back in the days of flying in Alaska I thought nothing of cancelling a flight due to weather - just one of those things. But this seemed different; like I'd failed. After several long soaks in the hot spring, and talking-over the scenario with Sandy, my defeated attitude gave way to remembering there are some things we can't control, and weather is near the top of the list. I knew that years ago; maybe I needed to remember it. Funny, the things we forget....

As Sunday dawned, we enjoyed not just calm water, but glassy water the entire way to Kake. (...thank you God.) At 9:30AM the Tribal Fuel Dock was just opening on it's first Sunday as we arrived at their dock. Sandy went to the office to pay the bill, and while talking to the (Tlingit/native) woman there, was told: "...yesterday the water at Pt. Gardner was boiling (good term...), and only stupid people come in. We know who the stupid people are." (To get the full impact you really must hear this in the local native accent.) I felt somewhat vindicated by not being among the few "stupid" people that arrived yesterday! Kake is at the northern end of "Rocky Pass" a 20+ mile remote waterway that many boaters avoid. It is quite scenic, and quite "rocky" (...guess that's why they call it Rocky Pass, eh?). A two mile section is dredged and only about 40' wide. The dredged section is absolutely choked with kelp. I hope there isn't some type of Kelp Protection Society; if so, I'm on their most wanted list. We prop-chopped so much kelp Sandy said she could see clouds of it behind the boat. At one point we had to stop and cut the plants from the lower unit - my, that was fun. Picture this: Gray haired Casey wading in his (nearly) altogether in that damn cold water, cutting kelp from the outboard motor. Sandy ably directed the operation from the boat, and Casey was the one (with the high voice...) in the water. Fun.

We overnighted at "Port Protection" (pop. about 75) and headed for Wrangell early Monday (today). Once again, the weather was spectacular and glassy calm the whole way. Due to a commercial "opening" there were dozens of commercial fishing boats drifting upwards of 600-800' nets behind their boats but we threaded our way through the maze. For about an hour we were in medium to heavy fog, but are actually beginning to enjoy playing "IFR" in the C-Dory! Even Sandy is beginning to enjoy helping pick radar targets on the tiny radar screen.

If things look good tomorrow (Tuesday) we'll be headed for Myers Chuck, about 65 miles south, then Ketchikan, AK.

Until then - stay tuned.
...and don't forget: One day can make All the difference, so don't rush things or try to control Everything. As our Tinglit friend said: "...don't be "stupid").

Best to All,
Capitan Casey, Queen Sandy, Seaman (apprentice) Jake

UPDATE: Wednesday (7/14/04). We're back in Ketchikan, and if the weather cooperates we'll be headed back to Prince Rupert tomorrow (1 or two days enroute).

[Redƒox]

Sorry, not many "gremlins" (them silly faces) in this post to help I read this off-line, replied in my email as-I-read, for a "spell-check" here goes:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Great story, and thnx for sharin it!

Too bad about the frig'n cruise ships! I can tell you they have been busted throughout the southeast for dumping raw waste and all kinds of nasties into our lovely water ways for years. Glad some were caught!. I wish we did not need that sickening industry all together... but that's overpopulation... which is another form of miss management. Lets trash the place!

Maybe Petersburg is just plain smart, (we have heard: "more millionaires per capita, than anywhere in the US!!) has good foresight, and manages their fishing industries in a way they all should!. Our stay in the southeast this summer (and talking to locals---some we know well---a fisherman in Sitka) revealed; Petersburg a very shrewd town, (extremely "clannish"---can ya blame them)! and almost any "new comer" did not stand a chance at getting in on the fishing-action. Beneath-the-surface; I hear it aint very friendly there either..) It was very friendly and a lot more beautiful in Wrangel however. I should post some pix, but I been tryna keep it a secret. (lol) Wrangel is for "boat hippies" like RedFox I guess! --

If yer still reading me; and I don't mean to be "harsh" just your story stirs me, and I sense a realist between-the-lines. About navigatin shallows -- (mostly 3-6 feet) with my good-old-sounder; I opt to go to manual, otherwise the sounder (old "Furuno LS 6000") assumes your going deeper, and you get erroneous readings of great depths and of course----a blacked-out screen. My adjustments for it are; set the gain and range all the way to minimum---before the sounder sets itself to maximum settings, searching for the "bottom". That old Furuno, I hear from some experienced fishermen: "is about the best thing going still----it won't shoot-through-things, that the "bigger and better" units, with high-power, do shoot-through!. Anyway, navigatin-shallows and checkin-out the ocean floor in different areas is always of interest to me.

When it comes to getting on-step in the shallows; here is where them huge (12x16 in') trim-tabs come in handy: Even at the slowest speeds, your stern starts to lift. Once on-step, then ya adjust them for maximum speed, and your still drafting less water, than without! That however can work against you in the rough stuff, which is another topic, and I'm sure you know that already.

"Horse flies": was nearly killed-to-death this summer in Hains!! out in "BabyBouy" (the rubber duck with the 2.5 hp) musta been quite a show to boats fishing the area; swatting at them with a towel---appearing like, going for lift-off! Their fierce, and can stay with you in some healthy little sea-breezes! I would kill about a half-dozen of them off, then here comes more, right outa-the-blue, just a few minutes latter--Gawd how I wished for the RedFox to be in, when we were there!

Hoonah: Pictures I've seen; reveal enough trees there to make the faded-dust your probably talking about. I was in awe of how much pollen comes off in literal clouds! it's amazing to watch on a nice sunny dry day with a breeze going. Pollen-clouds carry!
Hoonah's "tour industry" (far as I know) consist of an old restored cannery across the strait (I think it was called "Icy Strait Cannery") I read about it on-line a couple years ago... hell it mighta been just last year! (daoh)
Injuns: If the Natives were left alone, perhaps more trees would grace the area visible. Personally, I don't see they had a choice, to service the "modern world" to survive in it. From what I saw (regardless of "race") of logging and logging communities throughout the southeast this summer----really pissed me off... no where to dump the garbage generated by consumer-society-ways... so I guess the only thing to do is take it out on an old logging road and try burn it, or in most cases, just dump it. Sad reality -- welcome to planet Earth -- just givem more "reasons to close-off all them wonderful and fun logging roads huh!

Now, getting back to thankin yas! Really enjoyed this read, you have a good style, then again I ain't really a "writer" so what do I know... I just have a good time on-the-web, with other participating C-D peeps Were a hardy bunch!

Can't wait to get to a MUCH less populated place (even if it means "poverty") explore, and hopefully have the means to share it---Gods Country!