Discovery and Hunkydory in South East Alaska 2015

Discovery · Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 12:11 am Post subject:

6-29 to 7-5, 2015

We travelled 45.9 miles with 14.2 gal. of fuel. Luckily we were able to get moorage in the harbor for the next 6 days. Today was beautiful weather—sunny and warm. Was rainy and foggy with 3-5 ft waves to Klokachof Island and then smooth from Salisbury Sound to Neva Strait and on to Olga Strait, and eventually into Sitka. There are 5 harbors in the area and we are in Eliason Harbor. The harbor master told us they can moor 1600 boats in this area. We are moored near the working boats and they are all busy getting ready for Salmon fishing opening on July 1st. It is so interesting to see everything that goes on in a busy harbor. There are the trolling fishing boats, the seine boats, the gill netters—and a lot of cute 25ish young men that come to work on the boats. Oh to be young again,lol. We will spend the next few days doing laundry, shopping, sight seeing, fueling and all the other things necessary for the next leg of our excursion.

Discovery · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 2:44 pm Post subject:

It is raining here today. It rained all night and was windy enough that I had to get up at 2 AM and re-tie the dock lines to keep us from bumping the finger dock. Looking out through the gap in the breakwater I can see large rollers and surf on the beach. The forecast from NOAA was for 11' seas today. That's why Discovery and HunkyDory are in Sitka.

It's the second day of the Chinook Salmon opener and I'll bet it's not fun for the fishermen out in the rough seas, but you've got to make money when the fish are available for harvest. Sitka Harbor is the fifth largest by value of annual seafood harvest, in the United States.

We walked the town yesterday and did some shopping for the grandkids surprises. We had a beer and sandwich at a place called "the pub". It's a 5 mile walk to the shopping district. There is a cruise ship pier near the shopping, and you can browse the shops with hundreds of other cruisers. Not our favorite kind of shopping. We were chatting with some cruise ship passengers and they seemed surprised that you can get here in a small boat. One of the shop owners told me that it would not be safe to come in a boat less that 40 feet. She didn't know C-Dorys.

We are having a great time!!!

Wandering Sagebrush · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 6:57 pm Post subject:

Just a note of thanks from those of us who are making the trip through your eyes. Be safe, have fun!

Discovery · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 12:51 pm Post subject:

We are leaving Sitka this morning 7/5, and going north through Sergius Narrows. We expect to overnight on the hook in Baby Bear cove. Tomorrow traverse Peril Strait. Over the next week or more we will be on the north and then east side of Baranof Island, and probably out of internet contact.

It's been a good break to be on the dock in Sitka. It's interesting to be docked with the working boats and watching and talking to the fishermen. The 4th of July in Sitka was fun and a lot like the small town celebrations we are accustom to. They had at least a two hour fireworks display along the waterfront on the evening of the 3rd, vending booths and food then a parade on the 4th. I think half of the town plus the Coast Guard, including a helicopter flyover, was in the parade, while the other half of the town plus the boaters, tourists and fishermen watched.

Discovery · Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 11:05 pm Post subject:

It's been 11 days since we had internet in Sitka. 300 miles later we are in Petersburg, and online again. Updates to follow shortly. The speed is still not fast enough to post pictures. We have more than 500 photos to review and post a few of the best, probably when we get home in September.

El and Bill · Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 8:41 am Post subject:

What a marvelous cruise - keep us posted We are on a virtual cruise
with you, and you bring back so many wonderful memories. Bon Voyage!

Salmon Fisher · Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 10:26 am Post subject:

Loving your posts, Thanks So Much for involving all of us!

Discovery · Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:33 pm Post subject:

The easiest way to do a virtual cruise with us is to look at the Delorme tracks of our path. Zoom in on the spots. You can see the topography, even the buildings and harbors. The Delorme url is in my signature.

Thanks for the comments. Dixie will resume a day to day list of the trip. She's at the laundry with Jolee and Jay. I have been cleaning up the boat and putting away the shrimp and crab gear for a few days. We all will go to Le Conte Glacier in Discovery tomorrow.

Dixie ask if we can go fast tomorrow? We have been running at displacement speed most of the trip. Our most efficient speed is at 1900 rpm on one motor at a time. That translates to 6.3 MPH on calm water. 1900 RPM burns about 1.2 GPH on the port motor and 1.5 GPH on the starboard motor. If we can go with the current, we can often get to 9 or 10 MPH. Not bad for 1.2 GPH. On the other hand if we get against the current we sometimes go 4 MPH. Still not bad for 1.2 GPH.

Tomorrow we will go 20 to 25 MPH and to hell with the fuel consumption. It'll probably go up to 9 GPH for the 50 mile round trip.

jkidd · Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:43 pm Post subject:

I watch your tracks every day. I'm having a get time. The wet rainy weather hasn't botherd me yet. Laughing

Discovery · Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 12:54 am Post subject:

7-5-2015

We left Sitka this morning and backtracked up through the route we had already taken. We went up through Olga Straight and Neva Strait into the WhiteStone rapids. There we were caught by the high speed Alaska Ferry. This is a narrow waterway and the Ferry travels at about 30 knots. We moved as far to the side as possible and oriented the boats to hit the wake as best we could. The rules for controlling your wake apply to all boats—including the Ferry— and they slowed a little to cut us some slack. We crossed fine and appreciated the friendly nature of the captain. We haven’t always received that courtesy from some of the larger boats. We had rough water across Salsbury Sound and all the way to Sergis Narrows. We choose to go through Canoe Pass and even with the strong current of 5.5 knots ebbing, we powered through and made it just fine to Baby Bear Cove on Peril Strait. Traveled 34.2 miles and had a good night with no wind.

7-6

56.1 miles today from Baby Bear Cove to Ell Cove on the Chatham Strait. Brent caught a 10 lb. Coho just as we got to Ell Cove. Nothing like having fresh salmon on the barbecue. Today we saw Orcas, and hump back whales and lots of dall porpoises. We had smooth water and favorable winds all day today. This scenery is just spectacular. This bay was not too favorable to taking the dog to shore. It was a case of picking a spot, climbing up the boulders, and telling Rusty to do his thing on the top of the rock. Good thing Rusty is adaptable.

Discovery · Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 12:55 am Post subject:

7-7-2015

11.6 miles today to Warm Springs Bay tied to a public dock. We had problems with the windlass in Ell Bay but manually pulled the anchor and went on to Warm Springs. If you want a spot on the dock, you have to get there early and wait until a spot is available. We did get a spot shortly after getting there and went to work on the windlass. We cleaned all the wiring contacts and examined the windlass motor. Other C-Brats have had similar problems and we thought we may need to get a replacement. Luckily after working it over, Brent decided it may be the chain binding and a problem with the gypsy clutch. After cleaning all the electrical connections from the batteries forward, released and re-set the clutch, and all was well. Knock on wood. We are the little guy’s on the dock, with a 57’ Nordhaven, a 65’ of unknown manufacturer and a 42’ Nordic Tug. There is a big older steel sailboat, about 65’ that is a charter out of Juneau and it has a bunch of young boys, 20 something on it. They are having a great time doing Alaska on the cheap.

7-8-2015

We stayed over another day at Warm Springs Bay. It’s raining, we walked to Baranof Lake on the trail/boardwalk, fished from the dock and read.

7-9-2015

26 miles today from Warm Springs Bay to Red Bluff Bay. Clear, warm and with a south wind. 2’ chop. We anchored in the north east corner near the meadows. Jay likes to look for bears and we need an easy shore to dingy to with Rusty for potty breaks. Willie’s Tug and Nudibranch, two Rainger Tugs, came in in the afternoon.

7-10-2015

It has rained all night and most of the day. We are staying another night in Red Bluff Bay. Jay took the Moaki up the river on high tide and saw four brown bears. It looks like our luck with the warm and sunny weather has run out. The weather has gone to more typical Alaska summer conditions.

7-11/12-2015

28.4 miles today from Red Bluff Bay to Gut Bay. This is further south on Baranof Island, and one of the less visited bays. It has a narrow entrance and the bay twists and turns for about 6 miles to the head where there is a small stream. We dropped the shrimp and crab pots, hoping for better results. The next morning there were a lot of Herring working around the boat. A large predator fish was feeding on the herring, making them boil out of the water. Brent cast a Bucktail Castmaster into the boils and hooked up with something huge. The fish rolled a couple of times and looked to be a Salmon about 4’ long. Probably a King (Chinook), the fish began taking line until it had almost spooled the reel. Brent thumbed the spool to slow it down, but the line parted. We trolled around the bay during the day and caught enough rockfish for dinner. We rebated the the crab traps with fish guts and dropped them again.

Discovery · Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 12:57 am Post subject:

7-13-2015

31.9 miles today across Chatham Strait to the Bay of Pillars on Kuiu Island. We toured around the bay and saw two fishing camps. One was a nice log cabin still under construction and one was a floating riverboat that had been converted into a charter operation. We were disappointed in the fact that we saw no pillars of any type. We entered the inner lake thru the narrows on a strong ebb tide. The tide was up and all rocks were covered but there was a 3.5 knot current. We saw 5 black bears and several eagles. It was a very pretty lake.

7-14

This morning Brent and Jay realized that to gain help from the current and tide in Chatham Strait we needed to leave the inner lake in the Bay of (no) Pillars. At the time they realized it, it was like right now. However this was not the correct time for the narrows passage. We went to the beginning of the narrows and they looked it over—not exactly a reconnoiter in the dingy, but a look— and decided we could make it. Did they confer with Jolee and me—heck no! They powered up the motors and made the commitment with Jay in the lead—no turning back now. We were going against the flood and had to power up for control. What a ride!!! Swirling, boiling water with Jay trying to follow his tracks from yesterday and calling out the depths to Brent who was trying to stay right behind him without running over the Mokai. When we made it thru, Jays first comment was “well, that was the same rush you would get from 4 cups of coffee.” We have passed thru 3 rapids on this excursion and this one took the prize. The estimate was that the flood was running at 8 mph and the channel was less than 100 feet wide and 1/2 mile long. Dixie said “ that was fun! Let’s go back and do it again. This time, I’ll ride on the nose with the GoPro”.

Chatham Strait was just as we hoped and other than the rain and fog limiting visibility we moved along well. We saw whales, eagles, black bear and jumping coho salmon. We traveled 38 miles to Halleck Harbor in Saginaw Bay. Today the tide and current were with us all day long.

7-15

46.5 miles today from Halleck Harbor to Portage Bay on Kupreanof Island. We made an early start to keep with the current as long as possible. Entered Portage on the start of the ebb tide at 2:30 p.m. Anchored just off a forest logging dock. The dock dries at low tides and there is a 19 ft. change today. The current was strong all night and it sounded like we were anchored in a river. Brent had to time his trips to shore with Rusty with the tide so he wouldn’t be swept out to sea in the dingy.

7-16

25.9 miles into Petersburg today. We walked to town after taking a slip for the next 3 days in the Petersburg harbor. Interesting area. It is the largest seafood cannery in Alaska and the harbor has lots of fishing boats. The cannery employs 1100 people during the summer fishing season. The town is a working town as opposed to a cruise ship town. The people are very friendly and we will enjoy the next few days re-provisioning, doing laundry and shopping. I just wish the weather would go back to the non-traditional Alaskan weather of sunshine instead of rain. Stuff is starting to mold!

Discovery · Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 8:26 pm Post subject:

7-17-2015

Still at Petersburg. Today was laundry day. We are giving up on shrimping and crabbing. There is some indication that crabbing is possible but everyone we talk to say they don’t know about shrimping. We put the pots away and will give up on that idea. Petersburg is a great little town with a nice,friendly group of people. We really are enjoying our time here.

7-18-2015

Today was a great day. We got to fill up with fuel 85.9 gal. of fuel ($313) and left the harbor to go to La Conte Glacier at speed. I requested that we do this trip off the regular “Putt Speed” and go at what was most comfortable. We went 47.4 miles to the glacier entrance. We weren’t able to get to the glacier because of the ice bergs. We got to within one and half miles of the face. We took so many cool pictures of icebergs and eagles and just cool stuff. We had Jay and Jolee with us and it was so fun to travel there together. It was amazing. We returned to the fuel dock and added an additional 25.3 gallons ($97.00) The real cost at running at speed but it was so worth it to me!! Returned to our slip and showed again. The hot water hose blew off and we had to do a little plumbing—just part of the deal with boating.

7-19

Filled the water and dumped the garbage and walked the dog and left Petersburg. Travelled 22.3 miles (6.0 gal of fuel) to Thomas Bay. We attempted to go to the Baird Glacier but it was too foggy and rainy so we ended up in Ruth Island Cove. The water was really muddy. DoriDaze (CD 25 from South Carolina) was anchored here too. Just before dark, Nudibranch—the ranger tug from Seatlle joined us too.

7-20

38.8 miles to Duck Point on Whitney Island in the Cleveland Passage. Foggy start and rough passage until we rounded Fanshaw Point. There were lots of whales and some dall porpoise.

7-21

Left Duck point to Gambier Bay. We ran with radar in thick fog. Hunky Dory was much more experienced and lead us along. At Five Finger Islands it turned sunny and clear and were treated to 40 to 50 whales bubble feeding. It was amazing. There would be 6 or 7 whales
working together that would all surface at the same time and then go down and blow bubbles to confuse the fish that they were feeding on. It was totally cool. Rusty, our dog was freaking and kept barking like he thought he was needing to protect us. Hunky Dory said they had never seen so many whales at the same time. We went 26.1 miles and have now used 23.1 gallons from Petersburg.

Discovery · Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 8:29 pm Post subject:

7-22-2015

Today we toured Gambier Bay in all the coves. We fished for Halibut but were unsuccessful while we waited for the tide change. We went 35.4 miles to Pleasant Bay on Seymour Strait. We saw many whales, some were actually breaching completely out of the water. Pleasant Bay was a small, well protected bay. We have used 31.1 gallons since fueling in Petersburg.

7-23

Still in Pleasant Bay for a few more days. Rained all night and the next morning. Jay went on the Mokai and saw grizzly bears fishing on the stream.

7-24

Dawned sunny and bright today and we all went to shore to burn garbage and enjoy the sunshine. We were able to see the bears in stream and enjoyed the time out of the boats. Brent caught two pink salmon in the stream. Returned to the boat and took care of the fish. We genned up some hot water and enjoyed a well deserved short shower.

7-25

Today we left Pleasant Bay and went 26 miles to Holkeim Bay on Stephans Passage. We anchored on east side of Harbor Island. This was the worst anchorage we’ve had and we pounded all night and felt like the anchor may not hold. Brent set up well into the morning before he was able to come to bed. Once in a while things just don’t work out as well as they should and this is what happens. We did hold anchor but it was not a restful night.

7-26

Today we went 31.6 miles to the fabled Fords Terror. OMG What a beautiful place!!! We have feared this place ever since we read Jay and Jolees record of their terrible experience here but we were so glad we came. The entire bay is surrounded by huge granite mountains with snow caps and water falls everywhere. We had an easy passage on a full high tide through the narrows. We anchored off the waterfall stream in the north arm and two black bears greeted us on our entry. It rained most all night and most of the next day—what’s new?!

7-27

Today we left Ford’s Terror on the high tide slack and travelled up Endicott Arm to Dawes Glacier. The water was rough and we kept thinking we might turn back. Dawes Glacier is notorious for not being able to get close to the face because of the icebergs. We just kept working our way towards the face and before we knew it, we were there. It was amazing!!! We could watch the calving of the glacier and just watched in awe at the whole thing. It was absolutely beautiful. The only problem was the rain but we are getting used to that. We spent several hours there and took lots of photos. We returned on the ebb tide to Ford’s Terror arm and entered on near low ebb tide. We returned to the same anchorage in the north arm and watched a huge black bear at the stream. We had salmon dinner from the salmon caught in Pleasant Creek with all four of us and had a great evening. It continued to rain all night.

Discovery · Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 8:35 pm Post subject:

7-28-2015

28.5 miles from Ford’s Terror to WoodSpit Cove. We left to time the exit with the low ebb tide at the narrows, but we screwed up and had a significant flood tide and there was much exhilaration for everyone as we exited. No danger—just fun. Unfortunately, it is still raining.

7-29

29.6 miles from WoodSpit to Taku Harbor Public float. We had a good flood tide all day and then we tied up to the nice public dock. We walked around on shore. We had a peaceful night tied up and not on anchor.

7-30

38.5 Miles today. We went to Juneau and intended on staying in the Harris Harbor, but that didn’t work out. Juneau is not a transient boater friendly place and had no showers or restrooms. We choose to wait for high tide and traverse the Mendenhall Glacier Bar to Auke Bay. The passage is 10 miles long and gets as shallow as 4.5 feet on a 15 foot tide. Interestingly enough we found depths of 2 feet with the 15 foot tide, but we made it just fine. Auke Bay is pretty and the marina is fine with the bathrooms and showers but they have no organization. You don’t get a slip assignment, and you just have to see what you can find. We ended up tied to the breakwater float with no power for $16 a night. We can move to another spot if we find one, but we are going to ride the bus to Juneau to shop and sight see tomorrow. It will be okay, but we are parked by a STINKY commercial fishing boat. Oh well, that’s the breaks!!!