SE Alaska & the Yukon River 2016

[Hunkydory]

May 3. We just left Angoon & are now started out back across Chatham Strait on very calm water & finally blue sky.

The locals guide to SE Alaska pamphlet & the cruising quide both come up way short on providing where to go for docking & fuel access in the small native town of Angoon. We squeezed by a large fuel barge last night checking out the long pier on the outside access to Angoon & didn't find any docks at all for town access, so went in the fast water, narrow channel behind & found the town Marina & separate fuel dock. This morning we went to the fuel office & the sign said it was closed on Tuesday & even worse when we found the owner it wasn't opened up at all yet from the winter shut down. Fortunately, they did a early start up just for us, so we are topped off on fuel for the boat & diesel for the stove. We took on 35 gal of gas for the last 210 miles of running giving us a very good 6 mpg & we have now gone through 6.5 gallons of diesel in the Wallas in 2 weeks. The people we met in Angoon could not have been more friendly & helpful to us roving strangers.

[journey on]

The residents in those small Alaskan town are friendly people. You'd be too, if you hadn't seen anybody new all year. If you weren't glad to see a new face, and there are some, you' be a misogynist. (If I got that word right.)

Boris

[Hunkydory]

May 3 continued. It's evening & the sun is setting on an extraordinary good day. Following the smooth crossing we again checked out beautiful Takatz Bay, of which from our first time there, we have made it a ritual to always go back in, if passing by even if just for a few minutes. The miracle of modern technology then let us Skype with one of our grandkids & parents just outside the the entrance. Then upon arrival at Warm Springs Bay, we found only one other boat & they are caretakers here. On the way into the bay we passed a whale & a couple hours later it was all around the dock & right up to the huge water fall seeming to enjoy the fast current there. It was a wonderful experience & not one we've ever enjoyed before. To top it all off we both soaked for a long time in the hot spring water, while watching the last of the sun shine off the snowy peaks above the sides of the bay. Th only down side is we saw our first other cruising boat today, while crossing Chatham Strait & know many more are on there way.

We noticed for the first here, that the IPad AT&T Internet & AT&T cell phones can be accessed from the plane float off the edge of the boat dock, so I can can just walk down the dock & send this into cyber space from Warms Springs Bay, Alaska.

Day 15, 47 miles today & 715 total

[Casey]

Good to hear that AT&T now has connectivity at Baranof Warm Springs! Previously I remember that the back of the bay was pretty cut-off - not even a VHF signal (so getting wx wasn't even an option).

Mary's FAVORITE place in all of SEAK was BWS.

Best,
Casey&Mary

[Hunkydory]

May 4. We were rudely awoke in the middle of the night by a large 90 some foot fishing tender wanting dock space. We moved our boat out of the way for them, but they hit the old dock very hard & now it's got an even bigger bow in it. I noticed all but the two steel support pilings are easily moved about by hand, & this dock won't take many more hits like this one. The Captain who wants to wait out here, some more gales in the Gulf Of Alaska is on their way to Bristol Bay, but could have easily just anchored & waited until morning to dock. On the good side it's named Whale & the whale that was around the dock & falls last night returned this morning for an even better show. There's a group of whale researchers staying here for the summer & the leader says they think this whale has figured out a new source of food in close to the dock & water fall as there normal food has not arrived here yet, but this one was bubble feeding on fingerlings. Les & Sandy, I'll bet it's the same one you guys saw here around the dock last year.

Casey, unlike Mary, this normally may not be our favorite place, as we prefer the more remote, but with all it has to offer, like the beautiful walking trails, hot tube soaks at any time, the magnificent views all around including huge water fall, a free dock to tie to & now the visiting whale it's making for us a very hard choice to move to Red Bluff bay, while the weather window is open tomarrow or be weathered in here until the next big front goes by. It's a tough call but either one will be wonderful, so more like choosing between two gold nuggets of different shape.

[Jeff and Julie]

Jay,
Very good to hear about the fuel in Angoon. Earlier this month, there was an article about them closing down due to an initiative to bring in pellet stoves and they were concerned about not being able to make it with the lost revenue.
Thank you for the update!
Julie

[Hunkydory]

May 5. The storm has arrived & we are being rock & rolled at the dock here in Warm Spring Bay this evening.

This has been another fantastic whale watching day with Hobo (this is what the whale research group here has named her) the 42 foot humpback coming in close to the dock & feeding on fingerlings three times. Also the resident otters & mink are good for an occasional showing & in between us soaking in the hot pool. We added to this during the day, while making a run out to the bay entrance for faster internet to post whale whale watching & video on face book, a run up a narrow channel into a lake just east of the dock. Fantastic views up there, that I knew about from taking the Mokai there in the past. We checked it out during low tide & decided it couldn't be any worse at high tide than some of Lake Powell's narrow Canyons we have explored. It turned out no problems with much fun doing. JoLee got a good video of it on the old IPad.

12 miles today, & 727 total

[hardee]

Hi Jay,

Enjoying your posts. Thanks. Guess it was better to have to wake up and move that have that guy raft to you

I was at Browns Bay Marina, Campbell River last summer for a night. A big (90ish foot tender came in at about 2300, and about MN there was a huge ruckas at the dock. It was the manager and the captain fighting, (actually shouting from the dock to the wheelhouse), about him tieing to the fuel dock even though they were closed and the skipper had supposedly arranged ahead of time to be able to fuel at 04 and be off the dock by their opening time. Long story short, the skipper didn't win, but the moored boats got the wake-up ride of the night when he left with the thrusters on at full power, and the mains at close. Equaled about 3 foot waves in the marina. It would have been a better night at a quiet anchorage anywhere else.

I have seen a bit on the news twice in that last week: A short video of a humpback whale feeding in a bay very close to a dock and the boats tied there. Maybe they are learning and passing the info from individual to individual.

Thanks for the updates. Stay safe.

Harvey
SleepyC

[Hunkydory]

Jeff & Julie, we didn't know anything about the Company providing fuel in Angoon having problems, but yes, good to know they are opening back up now. Next time, I will call them before passing up fuel elsewhere.

Harvey, good story. Last night we had two large tenders tied up here waiting out the storm out on Chatham Strait & the Gulf. Today a large 65' charter boat "Suveyor" replaced one of them. Last year when we were with Brent & Dixie, we saw it by Slocum Arm on the outside Chichagof wilderness area & then again later tied to the dock at Sitka.

Today, we tried to use the hot tubs & for the first time here, the water was brown with the tannic run off from the very heavy rains & to cold to be comfortable, so after a good walk in the rain we are reading & relaxing in the boat this afternoon. A big tide is coming tomarrow morning with a 22 foot difference between high & low.

[Hunkydory]

May 7. After a long hot tube soak we have left Warm Springs Bay & the whale. It was tough to do, but we are heading directly to our favorite place, Red Bluff Bay & after the big storm have a good weather stretch to look forward to.. It may even last long enough for us to get around Cape Ommaney.

[Hunkydory]

May 7 continued. The very calm waters out of Warm Spring Bay became rough as we edged get down the west side of Chatham Strait & met the combined beam seas from Fredrick Sound on the bow from Southern Chatham Strait. Rain followed with us into Red Bluff Bay where we anchored in our usual spot with a good view of the bear meadows, but no bears.

A couple from a sailboat anchored near by stopped for a visit while out in their two person rubber kayak. What a surprise to find they were from Jackson Hole, Wy. Tow professional photographers who have spent a lot of time here.

37 miles today which includes some mileage from yesterday in Warm Springs Bay.
764 total.


May 8. We awoke to a beautiful blue sky 34 degree morning. I got the RIB off the roof for the first time this trip, put on the little 2.5 Suzuki motor & went for a nice ride around the inner bay then to shore & a walk dengue the very low tide to a point I could see the inner edges edges of all the upper bay. No bears, but lots of human tracks in the tidal zones from bear hunters. Either they or the sedge grass being to small as I'd yet has got the Bears further back. This in a place I've seen a dozen different bears in the past, so with with west winds out in Chatham Strait we're thinking of making for Gut Bay.

We have never towed the dingy, but are set up for it now & gong to see how it does.

[Hunkydory]

May 8 continued. We are now anchored in a small 1/4 mile X 1/4 mile salt water lake connected to Gut Bay proper by a small shallow tidal entrance to port about half way up Gut Bay, that goes dry at -4.5 feet. For beauty it's near the equal of Red Bluff Bay. There's a creek & meadow at the head with a 4500 foot snow covered peak, towering straight off to the side & the best part, bears have appeared now on both ends with a large one by the creek this evening. The bears appeared just after I finished applying a new coat of rainX or maybe with the windows sparkling clean we finally saw them. I'm now a big believer in rainX at least on a boat. When heading into the spraying chop, I don't even need to use the wipers.

Today has been another totally blue sky day & after the very chilly 34 degree morning it warmed up enough where the Wallas heater was shut off most of the day & still not on, as I write this at 6:30 this evening.

19 miles today & 783 total

[Hunkydory]

May 9. Two beautiful blue sky & warm days in a row following very cold nights. Not even having to run the boat heater during the day. The sun through the windows bringing the inside up to a dry toasty 70 degrees.

I'm writing this from the little always open community center called the Bear Den, here in the tiny isolated SE Alaska town of 70 people near the very tip of Baranof Island. We arrived here in the afternoon after a calm sea run down from Gut Bay & a stop in Little Port Walter where we were given an the complete tour of the NOAA fish research center there. Only three people stay there year round, but now to fall there are 20 some including a team Rutgers University working underwater drones.

The weather is looking excellent for rounding Cape Ommaney for the outside Gulf of Alaska water route to Sitka in 3 or 4 days. It appears to be just what we need for running these remote waters in our 22 foot C-Dory boat. We have previously made this run in 2010 & then 2012 came here, but returned back to the north again by Chatham Strait.

Kevin, who just bought a CD boat similar to ours & homesteaded here in 1974 & now has a thriving lodge, boats & plane & who specializes in remote fly fishing, showed up at our boat at the dock & shared much interesting information about living in this isolated community. He has invited us over to his place tomarrow morning & we sure are looking forward to seeing his place. He also commercial fished out of here for 28 years & his information on how, when & under what conditions, we should consider making our run around Cape Ommaney to Sitka, was the best we have received yet & extremely appreciated.

Day 21, 51 miles & 834 total

[NewMoon]

Hi Jay,

Any chance you could post that advice on rounding Cape Omanney? (or have you already done so and I missed it?)

[Hunkydory]