Southeast Alaska 2012 with Jay, Jo-Lee & the Hunkydory

Pat Anderson · Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:42 pm Post subject:

Jay, we'll be following this all the way! Keep up the reports!

Hunkydory · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 11:47 pm Post subject:

Left Elfin Cove about 8:30 am out Cross Sound to Lisianski Inlet, then up Lisianski Inlet to Lisianski Straight where we stopped at the Tongas Forest Service dock with its open face cabin with stove & fire pit by the narrows.

Many whales in Cross Sound with several very active. They were breaching & one all by its self doing tale slapping for the entire time we passed at 5 mph. First noticed that kind of Humpback whale activity on our 2010 cruise.

Think we may have figured out why we had a whale rise directly in front of the boat a few days ago while cruising in Port Fredrick waters from what happened today while cruising up Lisianski Inlet. Any whale will look big when suddenly appearing with in feet of the bow of the boat while underway & the reason why I may had mistook the mother for the calf. In today's instance we met a mother & calf surface swimming towards us. Shortly after they passed about a 100 yards off our port side, out of the blue sails the calf in a full breach along side & parallel with us not more then 50 feet from the boat & yes that was dramatic!!, the calf looking as huge as any big male in the short couple seconds it was in the air & just as unexpected as the other occasion & we believe both due to youthful exuberance with its lack of caution where as its having just the opposite effect on us.

I'm writing this while sitting next to the warm wood stove with a delicious cup of coffee at hand surrounded on three sides by unique cabin walls & facing out the open front to the tidal waters of Lisianski straight passing by with sounds of light wind in the trees & a fast running creek nearby.

Earlier I took a walk on the trail from here by myself, that goes to a long abandoned mine. Didn't get to far before stopped by the snow & even sooner put on full alert by the huge fresh grizzly bear tracks in the snow. Hadn't seen any bears yet along shore, so didn't know if they were out & about yet. Now I do!!!

20 miles today & 331 total

4-25-12

Woke up in the middle of the night by a mink bouncing about the boat. At first we thought it might be a bear, but there was enough light to see the mink jumping onto the bow & coming right up to the front windows looking at us just a few inches away, then went to the cockpit which is enclosed & tried to get in under the snaps. I slapped the plastic windows right in its face & it would back up then rise up on its back legs & come right back to me trying to get in. I yelled & slapped some more which sent it back to the bow & around the roof top alternately bouncing back & forth from the dock to boat & then back to the cockpit trying some more to get in there. I was thinking seriously of giving it a shot of bear spray when it abruptly on its own takes off down the dock to land & us back to sleep. Another unique & interesting experience to add to the seemingly never ending list.

Come morning, which came a little later for us then usual due to the mink experience, we headed the six or so miles to Pelican. The town was going strong when we were here in 2007, but when back in 2010 the Cannery had closed & it was in dire states . This year, though still can not buy groceries there is fuel, showers, laundry , a couple pubs & a small restaurant. The town is back on the upswing, but not by much.

From Pelican went up to the head of Lisianski Inlet & by Mokai (our small jet drive kayak) up the Lisianski River. In 2007 when there in late May there were many bears in this area. No bears today, still to early for the sedge grass & their finding food elsewhere. In the evening headed back to Pelican for the night. $10 transient moorage fee per night.

Many humpback whales in Lisianski Inlet. Six, just in the waters off Pelican & many others up & down the Inlet from there. The Pelican Harbormaster said the herring were back, thus the whales & fishing boats, which we hadn't seen in abundance before Cross Sound. Also many sea otters in the upper inlet.

31 miles today & 362 total

Hunkydory · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:39 am Post subject:

4-26-12

Writing this from the library in Pelican. So far it's the only one that will give a password for the IPad to use wifi.

Heavy rain up to late afternoon here at the Pelican dock, then the sun broke out & the of the day was & is beautiful. During the rain got caught up on laundry & showers for us.

With the sun saw a whale about a half mile out in the strait from Pelican, so hopped in the Mokai & enjoyed it up pretty close between soundings till my hands got to cold. On the way in & out from the whale saw up close several sea lions & otters. Around the dock the water is boiling with herring & a reddish shine on the surface from the knell, the low one on the food chain that's bringing on all the others & intern letting us enjoy them all.

In 2010 spent six days between here & the forest service dock waiting for good seas on the outside. Will do the same now. Want no part of the 10 footers we encountered out there in 2007.

0 miles today & still 362 total

JamesTXSD · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 8:31 am Post subject:

Great posts, Jay! We're enjoying the narrative. No doubt that mink got your attention! (We had that happen once with otters.) Seems they have no fear when they think there's food to be had.

Fresh bear tracks? OK, that would get my attention even more!

It's 75º at 7:00 this morning; going to be hot, humid, and windy here - your posts are refreshing. Hope the weather cooperates with you.

Best wishes,
Jim & Joan

Jeff and Julie · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:46 am Post subject: Bear

Jay,
We just saw our first bear of the season last night. He was a chubby looking black bear and he was eating grass by the side of the road. You should be seeing them soon!
Take care,
Julie

Hunkydory · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:55 pm Post subject:

Jim & Joan, a temp mix right in between the Texas gulf & here now would be quite welcome. Just a bit to refreshed here so far. Haven't seen another cruise boat yet, just maybe that's why.

Jeff & Julie, good news on the bear sightings & do think we will be seeing them here soon too.

D.D., Yes at displacement speed it does take awhile to make 120 miles. That day we did bump it up to two motors for the Icy Strait crossing. We are having a wonderful time & think maybe about time for you to let the government job numbers to decrease by one.

Thanks to all for the comments.

Writing this from the little Pelican restaurant where they are set up for wifi. They have delicious fresh roasted coffee & serve a good breakfast, however quite expensive.

Hunkydory · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 2:20 am Post subject:

Fired up the Wallas heater & cook stove after the good breakfast at the Pelican restaurant & all was well for about 20 minutes when it abruptly quit. Trouble shooting determined the combustion blower fan & fuel pump wouldn't work. Had to go the 14 miles out to Cross Sound to get reception for the phone. Called Scan Marine in Seattle & caught them just before leaving for the weekend. Bottom line is need to send this one which has failed the last three cruises up here in for repairs which could cost $1000 or have them send the supposedly new more reliable model here for a known $2500. To short of time to make a decision for now, but set off for Hoonah where we are now docked for the night & can ship off or receive freight & make phone calls. No good choices to make, but must have a dry source of heat for our planned three month stay here. Can't order until Monday morning 8:30 am. Also thinking about a run to Juneau tomorrow, while we have a good weather window to shorten the shipping time either way. Gotta roll with the punches, so back to our back up propane buddy heater for cabin heat & butane camp stove for cooking. They both work great, just create constant fog inside the cabin in this environment. When the Wallas went out in 2010 we went for over a month with back ups, but swore never again if any other viable option.

On the up side it was a flat water beautiful blue sky run from Pelican to Hoonah & within minutes of tying up at the dock we had another mink bouncing down the dock beside us. Quite happy to see this one didn't show any intentions of wanting to come aboard.

A Nordic Tug cruise boat passed us going in the opposite direction near Elfin Cove. It was the first cruise boat we have seen on the trip.

72 miles today 434 total

20dauntless · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:26 am Post subject:

Sorry to hear about the Wallas issues...again. I'm continually shocked at how such an expensive piece of equipment can cause so many problems for owners.

Have you considered having an Espar or Webasto heater installed and getting rid of the Wallas entirely? You could probably order the parts and have them up to Alaska as quickly as a replacement Wallas and I'm sure a shop could get it installed fairly quickly. I looked into this option and figured if I bought the truck version of either an Espar or Webasto, the parts needed for a marine installation, and an Origo two burner alcohol stove, and got it all professionally installed, the total cost would be about the same as a new Wallas.

Good luck!

dotnmarty · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:11 am Post subject:

Years ago I had my Volvo 1800ES in for repair with a guy who worked on specialty cars. He had an very pretty older Jaguar for sale. I commented, "it sure is pretty, is it dependable?" The mechanic responded,"well, if it's dependable transport you're looking for, don't buy a Jaguar". Sorry to hear about the Wallas Jay. Glad you've got the Mr Heater Buddy and the propane cooker. Wishing you all the best and a trouble free rest of the trip.
As Yogi Berra said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”
MartyP

dutch123 · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:26 am Post subject:

Sorry to hear about the wallas, just wondering if it's something that can be repaired onroute. With all the experience on this site with wallas failures and repairs it may be possible for us to help from here. What do you have for spare parts and troubleshooting tools? Did you let the smoke out of one of the boards? Did the unit just shut down? With my 95 model wallas I had a hood fan failure( or so I thought ) but it turned out to be a tip32a transistor on the main board that was burned. Scan said 600$ for a new board but for less than 2 bucks and a small soldering iron I was on my way again. On my close inspection of the board it was fairly obvious which unit was burned. Hope this helps. I know how much it sucks when the wallas quits. Good luck!

Hunkydory · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 12:32 pm Post subject:

Sam, yes I've considered the other options. Thing is, we love the Wallas when it's working & from what I've read the alternatives are not exactly trouble free either. That & a new hopefully more dependable Wallas would be virtually plug & play verses a much longer more evolved process of an alternative, when we just want to be out cruising. Would much more likely be considering your suggestions for replacement if not on an extended cruise where minimizing downtime is a top priority.

Marty, thanks for the well wishes & needed that chuckle from Yogi Berra.

Dutch, much thanks for the troubleshooting offer, but I don't have the confidence on this end to do it. This 95 model is 12 years old with many problems in that time. It's pretty well acknowledged the model is trouble prone & at this point I'm willing to spend even though still a gamble to try out the new model for hopefully much improved reliability.

Jay

Jack in Alaska · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:35 pm Post subject:

Jay,
The best of luck to you on your adventure. We just passed by Jakes Corner several days ago. Did not turn though. Had a new boat to deliver to Anchorage.
When I still had my 1983 Classic CD my dream was to start out in Whitehorse and follow the Yukon River clear to tide water. Then sell the CD to locals, fly home and start over.
It never got done and now I have gotten too old but I still dream about doing it.
Go live our dreams for us and I hope your Wallas magically comes alive by itself.
I am following you on SPOT.
Jack in Alaska

Hunkydory · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:48 am Post subject:

Jack, I was keeping an eye out for you on the way & wondering about your whereabouts & how the trip up went for you.

The Yukon was & still is one of my dreams too. Was able to do the upper 200 miles from Whitehorse to Carmacks & the Atlin lake sections where it starts at Llewelyn Glacier. Talked to a guy that took a 26 foot Almar Sounder with jet drive all the way down & back. He said once was enough for sure, due to more time spent getting off sand bars in the lower wide sections than cruising, so maybe between that & fuel cost the Yukon will just stay in my dream stage too. Good to hear you & others are keeping tabs on the SPOT track. I'll keep stepping them off.

4-28-12

Smooth water cruising from Hoonah to the Juneau area where we are presently anchored off C- Brat Doc Steve & Colleen's house in a gentle rain. We will be ordering a new stove early Monday morning & then wait here for its arrival.

Gas prices; Juneau $4.14 Hoonah $4.82 Pelican $6.00. Makes it worth topping off with the 93 gal for when we head back to the Pelican area.

48 miles today & 482 total

hardee · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:35 am Post subject:

Jay,

Are you carrying an electric heater by chance, fur use at a dock with power option? Sorry to hear about the Wallas too. Bummer. Wonder if Scan has any idea how many folks are following you on this trip? They did respond one time to a thread that was about the Wallas failures. I too am amazed at how much trouble that system has. I like mine and love the warm dry heat. You mention the new and improved vs the 95 model. What are you looking at there?

Thanks for the travelog. Really enjoy following. Stay safe and keep sending. Wish you the best on the Wallas issue.

Otters, OK, can make a mess, but bears -- keep the spray handy and keep your distance.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

Hunkydory · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:51 am Post subject:

Harvey,

I carry a cord to connect to the Honda 2000 generator for charging up the batteries. They take a extra boost now & then, especially with the one motor slow speed running combined with the low Honda outboard alternator output of only 10 amps max, but no, don't carry a electric heater. Dock fees are cheap up here most places at $7 to $ 11 a night & an electric hook up runs an additional $15. Only so much room in the boat & we'er more than maxed now. Actually the propane Buddy Heater works great except for the moisture it puts out & at a dock don't really mind the fogged windows.

The newer model Wallas 85 supposedly is simpler with less electronics making it less trouble prone. Scan Marine acknowledged the 95 is to complex & not holding up well in this kind of envirement. With all the problems of the 95, I know I'm gambling against the odds with purchase of a new 85 & Pat for one among many, probably thinks I'm nuts. I can only hope he's not right. Think I will let them know theres a spotlight shining on this situation & purchase.

Jay