2007 Alaska northern inland passage wilderness cruise

Ken, Thanks for the compliment on documentation. Learned how important documentation is on some of our earlier adventures when during telling a the story you could see the eye brows raise and the looks of disbelief descend. :wink:

Thanks also for the good info on South Inian Pass. On our next trip will check out that narrow spot during slack, so we to can pass through if needed at will too.

Don and Dee, Originally two Mokai's was the plan. Jo-Lee has a severe disability in her right shoulder from a past injury, causing her very limited use of her right arm. If that wasn't the case we would definitely have two.

Hope you do make it to Skagway to start your next cruise. It sure worked for us and that northern section of the Inland Passage is still our favorite. love the road trip up there too. Been up and down that road so many times we're getting to know it a little to well.

Hope you can soon find the time to continue sharing this years cruise.

Jay
 
A personal thought on Grand Adventures-what they are and those that make them.

Life itself can be a Grand Adventure, but in my opinion very few live it as such. Could it be true for the vast majority the qualifications really are just getting out of their personal comfort zone. What seems somewhat strange to me is what Jo-Lee and I were doing and described in this thread was all about being in our comfort zone. Yes there are dangers to be faced and challenges to be met, but these are more the spice to life then an uncomfortable aspect.

To us a C-Dory boat is a very comfortable way to travel and explore on the water, but in itself does not make us or anyone else adventurous. In our life's spent on exploring the edge in what we deem to be our adventures the people we have met along the way mostly in these kind of places or on there way to and from are the ones we best related to and enjoyed most spending our time with.

The majority of those were cruising in sailboats, but one was a fellow cruising alone in a Bayliner whom we met in Pelican, Alaska. He had started out in Washington state around Seattle and was heading to Valdez, Alaska and had been held up for at least two weeks with the same weather systems that slowed us down in that area. He needed a much bigger window of fair weather to make it on up the outside coast to Valdez. He was around 70 years of age and with his Bayliner was having the time of his life. Some others were the Father and 17 year old Son kayaking from Sitka to Hoonah along the outside coast who we met at White Sulfur Hot Spring and were going right through these same rough weather periods. The Captain of the old fishing boat and his crew. The 70 year old man whose wife had died and He had moved to Pelican to start a new life fishing in an 25' converted sailboat. The list goes on and on with the same general enjoyment shared with each and this is just one cruise in a small area. On our other adventures going it mostly alone in the mountains or small boat on river and lakes in the far north the people met along the way form a good portion of the total enjoyment of such an experience.

Some of these people knew they were living a grand adventure and others knew they were on one. All would have recognised what drew them to be where they were and what they did set them apart from most people including those who enjoy their boats and things related to them in many other ways.

Jay
 
Jay,

What an awesome trip, I will be heading to Homer in Aug to help a friend Pilot his Welcraft from Homer to Seattle. Hoping to make the trip in 2 weeks, wish I could take a month and do more as you did, however the job thing only allows so much time off. We will then load the boat on a barge to be shipped to his winter slip in San Diego. Really looking forward to our trip. Any suggestions on routes or charts we should consider will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for all your logs and the videos. I will be hoping to post some good pictures after our trip. I do own a 22 C-Dory myself, with salmon season canceled this year and the cost of fuel, we just haven't been able to get out much except for some trout fishing on the mountain lakes. My truck is in the shop having the transmission rebuilt. another few thousand that was not planned for. But I look forward to abalone diving in the next few weeks with my son. Than Kyak with what looks like a jet engine is so cool where did you get that?

Smooth Seas and grat time to you my fellow Brat,
Doug Carroll Sacramento Ca AKA Hammerhead :smiled
 
I am an Arima owner that cruises much like you C-Dory folk. I love to see your boats on the water and often see some of you on the west coast of Vancouver Island in Clayoquot Sound.

I have spent much time looking at the Hunky Dory Alaskan adventure. The video brings back many memories of my own wilderness exploration.

Two things in the videos make me uncomfortable. One is the extreem braveness of this skipper. The video of going into Mirror Harbor is chilling for anyone that has made an ocean side entrance to a small uncharted bay. Weather, tide, and ocean condtions can absolutly ruin your day for a person without experince and local knowledge. I admire your guts but caution others that you probably shouldnt do this without exteme planning as Im sure this skipper did.

Second, Bears. While I love seeing bears in the wild I always make sure that I dont put myself in a compromising position. I do this for my and the bears sake. Bears are territorial and protective of young. I want to be sure that I 1) Dont cause an attack and 2) Dont scare the bears off. Bears, especially mothers with cubs have a hard enough time surviving without humans scaring them off their feeding grounds. Please be mindfull that this is the bears home and we need to give them plenty of space.

I hope we all get the chance for an adventure like the Hunky Dory and when we do we take all the precautions to protect ourselves and the wildlife we may encounter.
 
hootlakootla,

Welcome to the site also. I think I have viewed each of Jay's postings on the Alaska adventure and most of the videos. I can't think of an occassion that Jay or Jolee put themselves or any bears in danger. The one encounter you may be referring to is the occasion a griz was obviously stalking some nearby kayak campers and Jay took his Mokia out and intelligently discouraged the bear with some shotgun slugs. No one, including the bear was injured.

While I'm all for protecting the wildlife, when it is a choice between Smoky and human safety I'll choose the latter. Those kayakers were fortunate Jay was on scene with his cool head and his shotgun.

With regard to entering an uncharted cove from the ocean concerns, I don't make "not having been there" judgements. Having followed Jay's adventures and philosophy he has earned from most of us, I think, significant faith in his decision making and judgement.

Harper
 
hootlakootla - welcome to the pub.

You make some good points in your post; however, by posting it in this thread, it appears you are somewhat critical of Jay and his decisions. I am sure you did not mean it that way but none the less that is how it appears. It may have been better if you started a new thread generalizing your concerns about bears and cruising unfamiliar and uncharted bays.

If I had to trust my life with the decision of a member on this site, Jay would be one at the top of the list.

Again welcome aboard and I hope someday to cross wakes with you.
_______
Dave dlt.gif
 
Doug

Sounds like you're preparing for a really great trip and adventure. That's going to be a short two weeks. Seems like more time is always preferred. Like others said on your Homer to Seattle thread the crossing the gulf and the area before and after yakutat is the bigger of the challenges. I too would suggest Homer to Seward, Cordova and Yakutat then going in Cross Sound to Elfin Cove and on down the Inland Passage using information from the Douglas-Hemingway cruising guides and The Marine Atlas, volume 11, Port Hardy to Skagway. Also it might be worth it to have a copy of A Cruising Guide to Prince William Sound by Jim and Nancy Lethcoe. We picked up our copy through Prince William Sound Books, PO Box 1313, Valdez, AK 99686.

Hopefully August will be light on weather fronts, but from what I've read some running in foggy conditions will be likely. With good preparation and the boat well set up you should be in for a fantastic voyage. Will be looking forward to you sharing some or all of the trip with us. Would be interesting to know more about the Welcraft boat.

Do you do any diving, fishing or abaloneing in the Mendocino, Fort Bragg, California area. We were there over Memorial Weekend reliving memories of times spent in this wonderful area. In my younger-younger years abalone dived, spearfished and body surfed there before surfboards made there debut.

This is the website for and where I bought the Mokai http://www.mokai.com/

Wishing you smooth seas and fogless days on your adventure.


Hootlakootla

Welcome aboard. Yes, many more times the time spent on this adventure went into its planning and even so the inherent risks were fairly high, so its not the type of cruise all would care to make and this in itself makes the bears pretty safe from having to contend with us humans who do care to cruise these areas. In all our time spent in these remote areas we have only seen one other person ashore with bears and the group of kayakers who seemed pretty happy we were there. If you walk in bear country there is no way you can be sure of not putting yourself or the bear in a compromising situation no matter how bear knowledgeable you are, so like cruising in these areas if you want to go ashore its best to be prepared and knowledgeable about whats on land just like what you must contend with on the water. I am more knowledgeable about bears than most, but still see it as a another inherent risk and one I will be willing to take as long as there are bears and I'm able to enter their territory. These are wilderness areas not National Parks. The bears there are not a endangered species and though I don't choose to hunt its allowed in season.

Exiting Dry Pass, entering and exiting Holkham Bay with ice, fog and current and the entirety of reaching and exiting Sister Lake would all be ranked by me more of a risk than Mirror Harbor, though no matter the experience or planning trying for Mirror Harbor or anywhere in this area in unprotected water in high winds or over 10' swells would be taking a very high risk. On the day we exited Mirror Harbor the swells were between 10 and 12 feet or so the radio said when we finally could make contact and that I would not care to do again.

To go on a cruise like this takes more than getting the chance to go. Planning and precautions must be made to have a chance for a successful trip but there are no guarantees bad things won't happen. Certain levels of risk must be accepted and a determination made on personal ability to keep these risk as minimal as possible. Before attempting this type of a cruise a person should have also tested themselves in other endeavors to see if they have the right stuff. Though experience and planning are critical if you don't have it the chances of your beautiful dream turning into a nightmare increases dramatically. Overall I have had very minimal boating experience compared to the majority of this sites members, but in the tested for reaction to bad situations experience I have had more than my share.

Harper---Thanks much for sharing your opinion.

Dave-----Thanks to you too. Compliments don't get any better than that, especially from a person I have come to respect as much as I do you.

Jay
 
Jay-

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Your adventure is riveting to me. I have been to many of the places in your SE AK journey but in much bigger boats. I also have been very fortunate to spend a few days in Red Bluff bay and I must say it is one of the most beautiful places I have been in my 40 + years of exploring. And the wonderful thing about this place is it is one of the safest places to visit on your journey.

The past 15 years I have explored the west coast of Vancouver Island in a small boat and I have seen a few C-Dories there as well. This is also not a place to go for the faint of heart but with the right planning and local knowledge these places can be as rewarding a destination as some you have shared in your Alaska adventure.

Also you are very lucky to have a willing shipmate and companion to share these adventures with. You are a lucky man.

-Hootlatkootla
 
Jay and Jolee,
Here i am on the Chesapeake, 35 years of exploring here, and nowhere near the end...but mostly, it is bucolic....calm, never too far away from what you need if a situation arises....and that is enough for me..

I find C Dory (and i hope Ranger) people have this wonderful ability to adjust their goals to boththe situation and their personal needs and sense of adventure.

I for one thank you for doing what you do...it may not be for me, but it is a testimony to what i call "real boating and cruising"....

terraplane
 
Hootlakootla

Sure agree on Red Bluff Bay. Its on top of our list too for beauty and relaxed enjoyment. Have driven on most of Vancouver Island's roads, but no boating experience there. No doubt the west shore is very similar to Chichagof Island with many of the same hazards. Without the gps and electronic charts would probably not explore in these areas. As a teenager spent time in a sixteen foot boat with very small outboard moter close along the coast near Fort Bragg Calif. and had some close calls involving tide, wind and fog.

Totally agree with you on my shipmate and companion and being a very lucky man.

Terraplane

To either make the attempt or fulfill our dreams whatever they may be should be enough for any of us. Just finally owning one of these wonderful boats puts most of us well on our way.

Jay
 
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