2024 SE Alaska cruise with 13 year old granddaughter

[jkidd]

Jay, Pretty interesting that you ran into him again. Wrenny keep up the stories it's fun to read lots of good memories being made to remember the rest of your life.

[Hunkydory]

6-21-24, 21 days on the water. 101 miles today & 728 miles total

Well, we certainly didn’t end up tonight where I had planned to. The plan was to catch the ebbing tide from Warm Springs bay to the tip of Admiralty island, then the flood to Kake, a small native town on the south side of Fredrick Sound a 37 mile run, fuel at Kake, then back across Fredrick Sound to Snug Cove in Gambier Bay, of course, this was all weather dependent, but mostly depending on Kake having fuel, which everyone, I talked to assured me they did. I had called Kake, but no answer & that should have sent the alarm bells ringing. Smooth water run to Kake, but once there, no fuel available for four days. Fortunately, I had enough fuel in reserve to continue on & make the 64 mile run to Petersburg. Where we took on 77 gal of fuel for $365 to cover the last 365 miles. It all worked out with a smooth water run the whole day.

Wrenny is happy to spend a couple nights in Petersburg as she likes all these Alaska towns & we really need to stock up on some supplies before making this last extended run to the tide water glaciers & Fords Terror.

After a couple weeks of beautiful mostly blue sky weather, it’s raining here now & will be the next couple of days, but more blue sky days ahead & the wind looks in our favor for heading out of here Sunday to see the sea lion colony on the Brother Islands, located on the south east side of Admiralty Island.

[colbysmith]

Hi Jay, What are you using for fuel tanks? If your's is the standard 22, I believe you only have 40-44 gallons capacity. I assume you are carrying extra cans. Are you using the 5 gal ones, or larger like Bill has. (15 or 20 gal). BTW, $4.74/gal, not to shabby! As for the rain, we've seen our fair share of it here in Door County, Wisconsin, where we are for a week. Colby

[Hunkydory]

Good morning Colby. I’ve calculated a minimum of 80 usable gallons. In actuality 44 usable gal in the main tanks & 6, 6 gallon plastic containers that actually hold 6.5 gal, I have 83 gal & if needed another 3 gal that can be transferred from the Kaboat fuel tank. The main tank pick ups are set so low one can’t see fuel through the plastic, when they do run out, so when fully topped off, I do have at least 44 usable gallons in them.

Yesterday was the lowest I’ve ever gone on fuel before refilling. When I took on the 77 gal, I had at least 5 gal remaining in the main tanks & 3 in the Kaboat tank. I used to carry up to 103 gal total & one year went over 400 miles & still had a reserve of 27 gal. I made yesterday’s run all on plane & if concerned could have slowed up & stretched out the fuel. Also weather forecast were for calm water & they were.

My 6+ gal individual containers are stored in bins that will contain leaked fuel if it should happen & give storage room on top for the generator & other items.

Jay

[Hunkydory]

Cockpit fuel ect storage

[thataway]

Talk about stern weight! Wow. But you do well.

Have you considered letting Wrenny jig for herring off the end of the dock near the Shrimp processing facility? Then stoping at Pybus bay, where there is a ledge on the North East side, where we always caught halibut in the 30 to 60 pound range?

Also check to see what is happening at the Son's of Norway Hall tonight (Saturday) and Sunday. We have had some good dinners there, donated to charities, and met some wonderful people. You just missed out on Syttende Mai. (Constitution day--May 17, but they had events until Friday....)

I want to hear what Wrenny says about Petersberg.

[Hunkydory]

Bob, yes way back on our first couple trips here, when I carried even more fuel then now & more of other stuff also, I learned more then trim tabs were needed & found the Permatrims made a huge difference with the Twin Honda 40’s. They still do with the 60’s. Before the Permatrims, when fully fueled & starting early in the cruise with all the supplies even with trim tabs, getting the proper angle of trim for optimum performance was impossible. Now with the 60’s & Permatrims at least, I can max out the performance, but of course only so much, as the heavier the boat, the more power it takes to move it. What has always amazed me is how well the boat still does in rough seas with all that extra stern & overall weight, even when, I was towing the Mokai. I know many have said they use the trim tabs only for side to side weight adjustment, but my experience still shows using both trim tabs & Permatrims for bow to stern best angle adjustment, gives the best optimum performance, that is readily shown on the NMEA 2000 motors fuel gauges. It’s that bow weight as you well know, that one really needs to be concerned about for safety in following seas.

About the fishing, I know Wrenny would enjoy it & the places you mention perfect, but I’ve found for extended cruising on the 22 C-Dory up here, the room for the fishing gear & taking care of the fish, after caught, not worth it for me. Although, the first few trips, I did. Those who are really into fishing could give up something, I wouldn’t want to now to make room, so it is doable.

I’m hoping Wrenny will share more tonight.

Jay

[doc]

After we left Wrenny and Jay at Red Bluff Bay, we too headed to Kake for fuel. When we got to the dock and inquired about fuel, we were told that the fuel guy just now medevaced out with his wife. No fuel. Looked like we’d be heading to Petersburg. My wife, Colleen had the idea to call our friend, Brandon in Juneau, who grew up in and still has family in Kake. He called his old friend, Edgar who drove down to the gas station and loaded up the bed tank in his truck with diesel drove it down to the dock for us. We are back home now and maybe we’ll see Hunky Dory on the way back north.

[Hunkydory]

6-23-24 23 days on the water 77 miles today & 805 total

Wonderful to be back in Petersburg even if it not the plan. Wrenny not feeling good & a bad headache limited our activities here & her writing, but still got all our shopping done, showers, trip to library & bookstore & a respectful visit to the boardwalk community hall & memorial area for those fishermen lost at sea, where along with the memorial there is a small replica of a Viking ship all very well done.

JoLee & I have spent considerable time here since 2004, when on our trip north from Prince Rupert, BC, we had the Fords Terror incident, where in our ignorance we ran the extreme mid strong ebb tide current over the entrance bar & lost our navigation notebook computer & software along with cameras & depth sonar. It was Petersburg we had the navigation replacement sent, which took over a week. Several times since, we have been here, the last time in 2022, when I was leading the group cruise.
It’s a friendly community of mostly Norwegian ancestry fishermen, where the strong tidal currents have stopped the onslaught of large cruise ships, so it still has its mainly fishing community small town, Alaska, feeling with beautiful mountains & water surrounding it.

It has been surprising this trip in meeting so many people that have watched that video on YouTube of our Fords Terror incident & “Oh” you are the ones in the boat that ends with a big ? mark of how it all turned out.

Today we made a very early morning start to catch the ebb tide for the long trip to the Brothers Islands, where Wrenny was delighted with antics of the sea lion colony there. There roaring, jostling for space & constant movement in & out of the water at close up viewing is quite a sight to see. This year there were far less there, but the ones there, were on a small tidal island, that was easy for us to maneuver around very close, without seeming to change their behavior at all, but for Wrenny an extremely good look look at their activity.

After the sea lions, we headed to Gambier Bay & all my normal anchorages had crab boat fishermen anchored in them, so went to an alternative near Snug Harbor, that I had to find space among the crab pots set out by these same boats to anchor. It’s the same spot where Jolee & I years ago had to move in the middle of the night, when a strong wind came out of north & had us literally levitated in the bed, which wasn’t bad but crashing back down not so good.

At anchor the no seem um, white sock nats are out in force tonight. A couple bites even being careful. Fortunately I’m not reacting to the bites like JoLee & I always did in the past, where they would create a blister that would sluff off & create a itchy sore that would last for 10 days or more. This year, I’m reacting less than a mosquito bite & Wrenny fortunately the same. Don’t know the reason why, but very glad for it. After the evening rain shower, we had a very pretty sunset over the snow capped mountains to the west with extremely still water tonight. All in all a very enjoyable evening at anchor.

I’m really looking forward to being back in Fords Terror tomarrow & showing Wrenny its unmatched beauty.

Wrenny’s thoughts

Okay so I have not written in a couple of days so we are gonna be catching up on EVERYTHING. Two days ago we left Warm Springs Bay and headed to Kake where we thought we could get fuel. It turns out that they didn’t open the fuel dock until Monday. On very little fuel we went at speed to Petersburg. Petersburg is a nice little Norwegian town. We spent that night at the dock and I spent most of it on the phone with the parents because it was the first time I had service since Sitka. The next day I thought I actually would get to sleep in but I got no such luck, my mom forgot about the time change and called me at 7:00, now I love mommy dearest more then anything but seriously the one time I get to sleep in. *scowls jokingly* We walked around Petersburg and went to a very nice little book/souvenir store. I had a major headache and I was convinced that taking Tylenol and Advil at the same time was going to do something horrible to me for some reason, I don’t quite know what was going through my brain. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Folks this is the earliest grandpa has woken me up this trip, he got up at 4:30 “accidentally” waking me up in the process. I didn’t get up until around 5:00 though. We went at slow speed and got to the Brothers islands where there was so so many sea lions making such a racket. They were seriously so so loud, it was like they were yelling at each other. We went to three different bays before we finally found one that didn’t have a crab boat in it to anchor for the night. Today was amazing can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s adventures have in store for us.

[Hunkydory]

June 24, 57 miles & June 25, 93 miles for total of 955 miles

We are in Tracy Arm Cove tonight, following two wonderful days, since leaving Gambier Bay. So many past memories here, mostly of JoLee & my first few trips. One was coming through the Tracy Arm entry way in fast tidal currents & dense fog. Another nearly getting the boat stuck on the beach by going only a short time to shore & the tide almost leaving us high & dry with all the big yachts anchored here to laugh at us. Only a Herculean effort by both of us got the boat off the beach. Two years ago, I was here with the group & now making memories with Wrenny.

We left Gambier Bay in a light rain, low clouds with some drifting fog, making the run up the wide Stephens Passage are look much bigger than it is. A whale rose up very close to blow & with tales raised disappeared, startling & thrilling Wrenny. With all my times in & out of Fords Terror, there was no hesitation to cross the bar in the middle of a flood tide. This with the raw beauty, added to Wrenny’s amazement of this place. We road the flood on into the east Arm before finally anchoring very near shore in The West Arm, after checking out the abundant waterfalls.

Wrenny is having a wonderful time, but now very anxious to be back home, so we’er making extra long days & running faster than usual, as fuel allows. With this in mind we decided to leave Fords Terror early, skip Dawes Glacier, but see both North & South Sawyer Tide water Glaciers in Tracy Arm today. In doing so, we ran over the entrance bar during a strong ebb tide similar to what Jolee & I did in 2004, which took a heavy toll, only this time, I knew where to place the boat going out & keep the front window shut, so very thrilling for us both, but not to hazardous. We did video the exit. I was very surprised to see North Sawyer Glacier is no longer a tide water glacier & just 2 years ago, when there with the group, it still was. Wrenny loved the icebergs, glacier calving & the beautiful scenery & hundreds of waterfalls in Tracy Arm, but I think most of all the numerous seals, by far the most, I’ve ever seen there.

Wrenny’s thoughts,

Yesterday morning we both slept in, I know that was a real shocker. We left Gambier Bay around 8:30 and skedaddled down to Fords Terror. On the way I saw my first ever ice burg, titanic anyone? When we got to Fords Terror the water was a little rough going in, and after all the stories I have heard about Grandpa and Grandma’s “mishaps” I was a little scared. 😱 Fords Terror is so beautiful, but it is so big I was feeling really really micro. Grandpa attempted to take a video of the enormous cliffs surrounding us but it didn’t work out to well, chill chill I know what your thinking but he didn’t drop his phone he just didn’t get the video. We headed to anchor, and we were terrorized by white socks. Somehow they were getting in the boat, funny thing is I am immune somehow because I didn’t have one bite and grandpa had thousands.
.
The next morning, we slept in again because didn’t have a need to exit Fords Terror early. I rode in the bow for a while, well up until I was attacked by a spider, grandpa teased me for all the swatting I was doing and I could believe the audacity in that man. 😡 He is just as scared of spiders as I am. We exited Fords Terror in a lot of rapids. Well lucky me, I have good balance because I was standing up the entire time. Grandpa joked about how when my parents see that video they are going to have a heart attack. 🤣 We went ice fishing after that, literally we fished for glacier ice for the ice chest. On the way to Tracy Arm Cove we had a fairly close encounter with a whale 🐳. I was a whale spotting fanatic, it was funny, because I saw black out of the corner of my eye, and decided to ask grandpa if he had seen whales in here before, and he said yes, then right after that the whale blew and went under the water. Our original plan was just going to Tracy Arm and staying the night then going to the glaciers the next day, but we changed our mind when we got to Tracy Arm super early. We went to go see the glaciers today and they are remarkable. We sat and waited for ice to fall, and eventually there was a big boom when ice fell off the glacier and into the water. There was seals everywhere and man are they cute, curious and chubby creatures. 🙃 We headed back to Tracy Arm to anchor but on the way we ran out of gas on the way, don’t worry grandpa has like six extra cans in the back. We are anchored at Tracy Arm Cove for the night. Yesterday and today were spectacular, can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s adventures bring.

[tsturm]

FANTASTIC!!!

[DayBreak]

I have been enjoying this Grand Travel Adventure. Thank you so much Jay and Wrenny. Jay, I am amazed how far you drove today on your 3rd day of travel to home. About 785 miles today in about 14 hours and 18 minutes (rest areas from west of Whitecourt, AB, Canada and to south of Butte, MT.) Your Garmin Explore App is an amazing tool and resource. Looking forward to hearing you and Wrenny at the completion of your journey after you get home and settled. Drive safe!

[Schuster]

Jay and Wrenny, thank you both for posting your wonderful adventures in Alaska. I've been following with a high interest in doing a similar trip possibly next year. We had to leave last Saturday for our Alaskan cruise (with Norwegian cruise lines) and I was hoping to view your pictures of Ford Terror. We cruised down Endicott Arm past the entrance to Fords T and down to Dawes Glacier. Spectacular country. So thanks again for posting and hope to see more shots of Fords Terror.

[Hunkydory]

Gary, sure glad you have been enjoying reading about our adventures & following along on the InReach. It is an amazing devise & with unlimited text gave Wrenny & I almost instant contact, when desired, between her folks & JoLee, making the trip a lot easier on all. And yes, that 785 mile day was a long one, but still pleasant for us both.

Dave, sorry about not getting photos up in time for your cruise, as I do have photos & video to upload. The uploading process even now with over 1400 photos & many videos uploaded in my album here, has become more & more difficult & frustrating for me to do, especially during a trip, where I finally this trip just gave up trying & even at home with fast internet, I tried & couldn’t upload video of Fords Terror. I’m extremely happy to see on Will’s thread “Site Update Update”, the process will soon be much easier & Wandering Sagebrush, Steve’s comments on how well it’s improved the site he moderates. When the new updates are finished to this site, I will add the rest of the photos & video.

Following our long wonderful day, leaving Fords Terror with the excitement of going through the strong ebb tide rapids, which Wrenny captured on video & seeing Tracy Arm & the tide water glaciers, we both knew the trip was rapidly coming to an end. With this heavy on our minds, both of us no longer felt like writing about or sharing daily events, instead we just wanted to soak up the rest of the trip, that was left. Now that we are back home it’s time to share with those following our adventure, the time after leaving Tracy Arm Cove.

There was plenty of fuel left for on plane cruising & with Wrenny anxious to see her folks, we made a fast 67 mile run to the Auke Bay Marina 13 miles from Juneau with a very enjoyable stop at the Taku State Park & dock. No one else was there & we walked the beautiful trail to the cabin, which I’ve been to so many times, but as Wrenny’s first, she checked it out throughly.

More excitement than wanted did occur during the 67 mile run. A very large cruise ship passed close to our port & during this with some chop, I had added some trim to keep the bow down. The combination of this & having less weight in the stern with being lower on fuel & still heavy in the bow from the extra items needed for an extended cruise, caused the boat to roll over, further than I’ve ever experienced, when the waves passed coming from our port stern. It wasn’t the initial wave that caused a problem, as they were big, but rounded & fairly well spaced. I created my own problem by surfing the waves without reducing the trim on the trim tabs & not taking into account just how heavy the bow was over the stern with the fuel being on the low side, this caused the bow to dig into the second wave. A quick reduction of power & counter reaction got us back on the level, but another of seemingly endless lessons learned or in some cases relearned.

Wrenny was extremely excited about seeing Juneau, as she had chosen it in the past to do a state capital school report. I’m glad they have a bus system to get the 13 miles to Juneau from Auke Bay, but it’s not fun trying to Figure out the schedling & routes & a wild ride. Once downtown our list was pretty short for things to see as mostly down town is trinket land for the cruise ships, but Wrenny got her Juneau hoody, some stickers & a great ride up & down the gondola, which I’d last been on with JoLee in 2000. After the gondola ride it was a thorough tour of the state museum & a rare meal for us off the boat. Then figuring again, what bus to get on for Auke Bay & another wild ride back. Doc Steve, who knew we were in Juneau came to the dock in the afternoon & we spent several hours of very enjoyable conversation. We had met Steve & Colleen earlier this trip at Red Bluff Bay & that was the first time, while we were both out cruising. All the other many times since 2007 have been at their place or the Auke Bay area with several times us getting their greatly appreciated assistance.

After two nights at Auke Bay we left for our 89 mile, last day run of the trip with beautiful blue sky & smooth water to enjoy the huge mountains & hanging glaciers rising up from the Lynn Canal. We made a short stop in Haines for Wrenny to see their award winning library & a muffin from the somewhat health food store. The stop for the muffins was disappointing, as the quality just wasn’t there, compared to the past, when it was one of JoLee’s & mine, most looked forward to treats. We arrived early in afternoon at Skagway, so along with showers & relaxing, we prepared some for the start of the road trip home. By now Wrenny was really anxious to get home & if we got home soon enough there would be not only Wrenny’s folks to see, but also son, Clayton & granddaughter Olive, so the road trip home was going to be the fastest way home. I had previously planned on stopping by fellow C- Brats, Peter & Judy’s place in Alberta to visit them & see their buffalo ranch, but that will have to be on another trip. By 11 am, we had the boat loaded & cleaned & we were on our way. We traveled even more miles than planned that day, because as the afternoon passed, more & more animals were appearing along the road. Wrenny had never seen caribou before & they were numerous, along with many stone sheep & 9 bears. We finally stopped for the night at Stone Mountain Provincial Park, which was over a 550 mile drive. We arrived home after three more trouble free days of driving, with only the last one of 350 miles a short driving day. As was usual with Wrenny, the long drive home was done with smiles & laughter, even the day, we drove 795 miles.

No problems with boat, truck or trailer, which is amazing, considering the truck is a 2006 with 200,000 miles & JoLee & I had put a rough 7500 miles on it last September on a road trip to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean & another 2000 miles in late March touring the Southwest, followed by another 2000 miles attending, the Friday Habor Gathering. The boat a 2000 with 27,790 logged miles of which over 15,000 are in the Pacific Northwest with most of those in SE Alaska & this the second trailer, the first had over 40,000 miles & the present a 2007 with over 60,000 miles. This trip lasted 36 days with 4781 miles on the road & 1102 miles on the water. My knee problem was the only hindrance as the weather & all else wonderful. The whole trip with Wrenny was a delight & will be remembered as such the rest of my life. What a wonderful gift she gave me & so glad she enjoyed the adventure, just as much, as I had hoped, she would.

Wrenny has been extremely busy since our return, camping with parents, time with her friends & now with us in Family gatherings near Denver, Colorado & has assured me she still wants to finish sharing her thoughts about the rest of the trip here. I will post these, when she does.

[thataway]

Thanks to both of you to allow those of us who have been there before, to "ride along" and see the world through Wrenny's eyes. It was a delight.