SE Alaska 2013

Casey · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 12:29 am Post subject:

Russ & Toni,

Looks like you're several days ahead of us.
We hope to be back underway on Tuesday, and begin the
Behm Canal loop. I figure that may take us about six days,
then back to Ketchikan for a night or two before we press-on.

We plan to stop in Myers Chuck and Wrangell as we go north.

...hope we can meet-up somewhere this summer!

Best,
Casey&Mary

hardee · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:13 am Post subject:

Great cruising going on up there. Hang on, I'll make it ....sometime. hyou all have fun.

AS TO THE MOISTURE. Has anyone tried DriDeck under the V-birth matresses. And it also takes moving air. Ventilate. Dress warm and keep the cabin cooler Embarassed

Enjoy.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

Casey · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:14 am Post subject:

We have "Hypervent" beneath the mattress, but the condensation
accumulates on the inside/underside of other fiberglass
surfaces.

Heat that does not create moisture (e.g. electric) helps, and yes,
ventilation helps as well (we tend to keep the cabin door open
a bit, or some slightly opened windows). And as Noro Lim says:
some large sponges!

Best,
C&M

NORO LIM · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:09 pm Post subject:

Yeah, I forgot to mention the Hypervent under the V-Berth mattresses. It really helps.

tpbrady · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:39 pm Post subject:

Casey,

Look for us in Ketchikan next Wed/Thur (Jun 12). Our boat is at the City Dock now and will be for the next 10 days or so while we head to Anchorage for a couple of days.

Tom

Casey · Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:30 pm Post subject:

Tom,

We plan to be underway tomorrow, to do the Behm Canal loop.
We will look for you when we come back through Ketchikan in
about a week.

Best,
C&M

journey on · Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 12:11 am Post subject:

That's a beautiful trip and the drive must have been wonderful. When you return to Prince Rupert, you may want to think about going south through Grenville Channel. This is a unique geological pass which is both beautiful and interesting. I assume Bill and El will answer any geological questions. It's worth the trip.There's a nice anchorage half way down, so it could be an overnight trip.

And by the way, Prince Rupert is the founder of Canada.

Boris

El and Bill · Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 1:21 pm Post subject:

Sure - we'll give a try on any geological questions -- take some pics, and ask away is best.

Casey · Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 10:33 am Post subject:

After a total of nine days in Ketchikan, two colds, and learning
the bus system (by heart) we decided to forego the Behm Canal,
And try to escape from beneath the rain cloud.

We may do the canal when we pass through 'southbound, or not.
We'll have to think about that later.

As we headed North to Meyers Chuck the wx was great in Clarence
Straits (which was nice - it can be nasty). About 13 miles south of
MC we watch a humpback very leisurely grooming(?) itself along the
shear rock face at the shoreline. It was fascinating, and we watched
for about 20-30 min (at a respectable distance, of course). We can
only assume that it was rubbing-off parasites or something. Whatever,
it certainly seemed to be having a good time, and oblivious to our presence.

MC was the same, delightful spot as usual, and we enjoyed happy hour with
two couples we met at the dock. Both were in larger vessels (heck, Everyone
seems to be in boats larger than 23')! The next day the crossing over to Thorne Bay was ok, but we had to zipper the route a bit because of the sea conditions. We were back under the 'raincloud, but at least we had electricity at the expensive dock ($1/ft +$6.30elec). We did a lot of walking in the rain
and our massive golf umbrella was Very useful (as it was in Ketchikan). We enjoyed TB but it didn't take too long to see. Nice folks though.

I'll try to comment on our trip northward later, but will have to take a break lest I loose this - which makes me Crazy...).

In the meantime if you want to read more (with many pictures), I urge you to look at Mary's "Facebook" page (Mary Burtner Casebeer). She is really good at
Face-booking and has some great commentary and pictures.

We've been in Wrangell for three nights and will depart for Petersburg within the hour, so we have several little chores to get done (and finish my second cup of coffee!).

Best,
Casey&Mary
...onward from Wrangell!

NewMoon · Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:37 am Post subject:

Hi Casey,

We made it across the Dixon and arrived in Ketchikan yesterday. Hope to meet you and Mary sometime this summer,

Casey · Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 5:29 pm Post subject:

Katmai arrived in Petersburg on Wednesday. Had a good ride
up from Wrangell w/ a night at anchor in the lee of Keene Island.

When we got to Petersburg we ran into Russ & Toni on the dock,
and enjoyed a great happy hour aboard 'Traveler.

Moorage here is the same as Wrangell ( <$19/night w/elec).

We left Petersburg yesterday and tried to get to Le Conte glacier
but ice blocked our path about 2-3mi out (but we saw LOTS of
icebergs!). ...so we headed over to nearby "Ideal Cove" to anchor
out for the night. The only other vessel in the cove brought a fresh
crab just before dinner. ...so we had fresh crab to go with our salmon.
(Life is Good!)

The next leg of this trip will be our longest; to Juneau. We hope to go via
Tracy Arm this time - but I have to recompute the mileage & fuel beforehand.
(No fuel stops on this leg.). Happily, the autopilot makes displacement (slow)
cruising Very simple, and Greatly increases our range.

Our pizza just arrived, so it's LUNCH TIME!

Best,
Casey&Mary

Casey · Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2013 11:35 am Post subject:

Greetings 'Brats!

Katmai arrived in Juneau yesterday after a run from Taku Harbor.
the previous day, we were at "No Name" cove at the entrance to Tracy Arm. We explored all of Tracy the day before, in Spectacular wx. Earlier in the day (we departed from Entrance Is) and had a bumpy ride for a couple hours - that even had me calling USCG/Juneau with a position/safety report just to be cautious. For about twenty to thirty minutes it was just plain Crappy - but once again the boat performed flawlessly (even if my pulse was 'up a bit). Meanwhile, Mary was enjoying the Ride (glad Someone was!).

As we arrived in Juneau, Russ & Toni (Traveler) saw us coming in and took a couple pictures. After showering and strolling through downtown amid four cruise ships of visitor's, we again joined R&T for happy hour.

We'll be at Harris Harbor (H5, slip 15) for another night, then plan to move up to Auke Bay for a few nights. While at Auke Bay we hope to catch a Wx-window that will permit us to make Haines/Skagway on our own bottom vs. riding the AMHS ferry - which will permit us to stay in each place longer (than getting pricey motel rooms). Stay tuned.

We're looking forward to "fish taco's" for lunch at a place downtown, then we may find somewhere with Wifi to use the iPad (versus thumb-typing).

Best,
Casey&Mary

Casey · Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 1:59 pm Post subject:

Friday morning at the IGA Foodland in Juneau.

We finally caught up with Russ & Toni (Traveler) and enjoyed seeing them, happy hours, etc. Yesterday the highlight, in my opinion, was visiting the Russian Orthodox Church (built in 1894) and having an opportunity to visit the the youngish Monk who was there for the summer. He'd been at the church for less than two weeks, and was posted to Juneau for the summer from a monastery in Pennsylvania. Extremely interesting.

It looks like we'll head north shortly, through the Mendenhall Bar Passage to Auke Bay. The channel requires a 14.5 tide (I'm told...) and high tide is at 1233, and it's a 14.5 ... so here-we-go! We plan to be enroute by 1100 to catch the rising tide through the 'skinny area. Hopefully.

The wx forecast for Lynn Canal on Sunday and Monday's calling for SE @ 10k, so we're hoping to ride the good wx to Skagway. Hopefully.

...and our mail-drop should be at the downtown post office. Hopefully.

...lot's of 'Hopin going here!

Best,
Casey&Mary

BoaterHomer · Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 2:08 pm Post subject:

I'm not much of a blogger and admire those folks that have the patience, dedication and commitment. Too much like homework for me. But I do like to post photos. So I'll let Casey take care of the narrative and I'll be the photographer. Just got some more photos uploaded to our album. Check them out if you have a minute. SE Alaska is just GORGEOUS!! We saw 13 whales in one day. Seals, sea lions, eagles. Amazing.

I took this photo while at Tracy Arm. That's South Sawyer Glacier behind the iceberg with the seals. Just as I was feeling like a National Geographic photographer, right around the corner was a National Geographic boat! It's the same one that we've crossed paths with several times. I think they found out that Casey has done this trip four times before and knows all the good spots so they are following us.

If you can't do SE Alaska on your own boat, do it however you can...the National Geographic boats or even a cruise ship. It's just gorgeous.

AJF · Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 2:39 pm Post subject:

Nice pictures of Tracy Arm. I would recommend in the future you don't go up to floating icebergs/ice chunks that close. They have a habit off rolling over with no warning, sometimes with disastrous consequences, especially when you are as close as shown in your picture.
The rolling over is basically caused by ice being less dense than water and when the ice above the surface starts to melt, the larger amount of ice below the surface wants to float and causes the iceberg to flip.