I finally got around to posting some pictures from our trip north this summer. We were on the water mid-June to mid-July, and boated from Olympia to Petersburg, Alaska and back.
We had one relatively minor equipment problem. We lost reverse in the port engine. It turned out to be the cap off a wiring harness that someone had dropped into the engine when it was installed. It had been floating around for more than 5 years and finally became jammed in the linkage. When I had the engines serviced in Petersburg, the mechanic found the piece.
The weather was something else. Don't let the picture fool you. It was cool and wet most of the way up and back, but two days into the return trip, things got out of hand. Clarence Strait was just miserable. 35 knot winds. Heavy rain. A lot of white on the tops of some very steep waves. We spent a week in Ketchikan, some of it in a nice coffee shop with a view of the harbor. I watched a seine boat make repeated unsuccessful attempts to get to the net float. There was a whole lot of engine revving, gear shifting, wheel spinning and deck crew scrambling accompanying the unplanned 360's that big boat did as it was blown away from the float again and again. It took a death defying leap by a crew member to finally get a line from the stern to the float. Ten minutes later, the boat was secured.
We poked our nose out after three days in Ketchikan and retreated quickly. Even though the winds were abating some, the water was still very unfriendly. Early one morning a couple of days later, the local guy with a boat moored next to us told us he had just talked on the radio to his son who had crossed Dixon entrance in the night in a big boat. The report was two foot rollers. We were gone within 30 minutes and had an easy crossing to Prince Rupert.
Even though this trip was squeezed for time by kids' visits before and after, and by waiting out the weather, we still had a great time. Among other things, we went north via Keku Strait, and south via Dry Strait - two trips I've wanted to do for years. Keku Strait is a piece of cake for an alert person in a shallow draft boat. Dry Strait (the "short cut" between Petersburg and Wrangel) is much more worrisome. We went on the last two hours of a flooding 13 foot tide. I would probably not recommend anything under a 15 foot tide for a first trip, at least. I've spent a lot of time looking at Dry Strait on charts, from the air, and from the shores of Mitkof Island. Some local old hands we're very helpful, especially those who admitted they had run aground. The Stikine River makes the water in the strait so murky it's impossible to see 6 inches into it. The sounder registered 2.8 feet for a short stretch. Had some white knuckles, but all went well.
More pictures Inside Passage 2011
We had one relatively minor equipment problem. We lost reverse in the port engine. It turned out to be the cap off a wiring harness that someone had dropped into the engine when it was installed. It had been floating around for more than 5 years and finally became jammed in the linkage. When I had the engines serviced in Petersburg, the mechanic found the piece.
The weather was something else. Don't let the picture fool you. It was cool and wet most of the way up and back, but two days into the return trip, things got out of hand. Clarence Strait was just miserable. 35 knot winds. Heavy rain. A lot of white on the tops of some very steep waves. We spent a week in Ketchikan, some of it in a nice coffee shop with a view of the harbor. I watched a seine boat make repeated unsuccessful attempts to get to the net float. There was a whole lot of engine revving, gear shifting, wheel spinning and deck crew scrambling accompanying the unplanned 360's that big boat did as it was blown away from the float again and again. It took a death defying leap by a crew member to finally get a line from the stern to the float. Ten minutes later, the boat was secured.
We poked our nose out after three days in Ketchikan and retreated quickly. Even though the winds were abating some, the water was still very unfriendly. Early one morning a couple of days later, the local guy with a boat moored next to us told us he had just talked on the radio to his son who had crossed Dixon entrance in the night in a big boat. The report was two foot rollers. We were gone within 30 minutes and had an easy crossing to Prince Rupert.
Even though this trip was squeezed for time by kids' visits before and after, and by waiting out the weather, we still had a great time. Among other things, we went north via Keku Strait, and south via Dry Strait - two trips I've wanted to do for years. Keku Strait is a piece of cake for an alert person in a shallow draft boat. Dry Strait (the "short cut" between Petersburg and Wrangel) is much more worrisome. We went on the last two hours of a flooding 13 foot tide. I would probably not recommend anything under a 15 foot tide for a first trip, at least. I've spent a lot of time looking at Dry Strait on charts, from the air, and from the shores of Mitkof Island. Some local old hands we're very helpful, especially those who admitted they had run aground. The Stikine River makes the water in the strait so murky it's impossible to see 6 inches into it. The sounder registered 2.8 feet for a short stretch. Had some white knuckles, but all went well.
More pictures Inside Passage 2011
