2015 Pelican, Alaska Gathering

H

Hunkydory

New member
With our San Juan & Gulf Island cruise this year confirming that Jolee's back surgery was successful enough for us to plan another Southeast Alaska cruise next year & Barry's exhortation of the C-Brats attending the Friday Gathering to step up & host Gatherings in other places we are willing to do so in Pelican, Alaska followed by a partial outside waters cruise on the West side of Chichagof Island down to Sitka. If you don't live in Southeast Alaska & perhaps even if you do, just cruising to Pelican would be considered by many to be a challenge & from there to Sitka much more so & a decision to join in shouldn't be taken lightly. Even though we have gained much local knowledge of this area & are very willing to share it first hand there are still more than the usual risk involved of cruising the Alaska Inland Passage here & it still may require those wanting to gather at Pelican & then to venture on out to the open gulf to raise their level of acceptable risk like we have done on each of our cruises in this area.

For those who may be interested in doing this, some extra consideration is in order for the planning & the reason for my posting it a year in advance.

For consideration of a date I would suggest very late May or early June when the bear viewing is best & the chances of fog the least though storm periods are more often & time must be allotted to wait them out. For those that fish, early June around Pelican in the past has been a great time for kings with the town holding a derby for them & other fishing hard to beat anywhere this mixed with the abundant amount of bears in the area to watch has made waiting out the weather in the Pelican area always a good time for us.

In my minds eye this gathering would consist of being more a shared adventure than a social occasion.

Jay
 
First, we are very happy to hear that Jolee's back is better. Second, what's the word on the possible new grandbaby? Third, wow, that's what I call stepping up. This might be a flotilla to AK opportunity. Where is Pelican?
 
Barry & Patti

Thanks again for the gift of the book "Living High". It was an interesting & fun read. JoLee managed to find & purchase your recommendation of " Totum Poles & Antiques" but we haven't read it yet.

Our grandchilds early arrival turned into a false alarm with all going fairly well now & just waiting here close to home for the arrival.

Pelican is a very remote Alaska fishing town & is known for its being closest to the fish by the fisherman or at least as a promotional saying from the town & is for sure the gateway to the Chichagof & Yacobi Wilderness which is a remote wilderness gem & bear paradise with some challenging accesses to beautiful harbors & a hot spring along with a 30 mile or so stretch of inland channels just off the Alaska Gulf that are Alaska wild, majestic & beautiful at its best. This link gives a description of the town http://www.pelican.net & I have thoroughly written up this area on several of our cruises there in the Grand Adventure Forum & would advise anyone really considering this to read or re read them again. I really don't expect many or maybe even any to join us there & cruise south to Sitka due to its remote location & challenges of the water between there & Sitka with it probably being best if only a few of the more experienced with time & a yearn for a challenge do. The small town of Elfin Cove is located about 20 miles from Pelican & situated on the southeastern edge of Cross Sound just before South Inian Passage & a toss up to Pelican to me for a Gathering place with close access to the Chichagof Wilderness waters.

Jay
 
Jay,
I would like to go, but after Ginny read your not social but adventure part of the trips decription she is trying to decide if she really wants to shake hands with death. We will start to plan on going tentatively. Ginny's parents are on the north side of their 80's so with Ginny as the only local go to provider for the things they need help doing besides me. I would trailer the boat the 3700 miles or so to Skagway from Pa. and head down and over from there. Maybe I can follow a mail boat or something (sic). About how many nautical miles to Pelican from Skagway? Around 200? I wondered what is the longest stretch on the proposed trip between available available fuel stops?
D.D.
 
Dave,

Your & Ginny were the first ones I thought of who might make this gathering when I suggested it, being I remembered you commenting on considering trailering to Skagway in 2015. It is under 150 nautical miles from Skagway to Pelican via Haines, Hoonah & Elfin Cove & slightly longer if detouring to Auke Bay near Juneau on the way. Excluding Juneau the longest point between fuel is Haines to Hoonah about 90 n miles & if including Juneau approximately 60 n miles, so access to fuel is not a problem.

After our San Juan-Gulf Islands cruise this spring we are having a difficult time deciding whether next year to depart from Bellingham, Prince Rupert or Skagway. All would make for a fantastic trip & the only one we haven't done yet is Bellingham all the way north. With our love of the road trip & the areas we prefer in Alaska being Fredrick Sound-Petersburg north, there's a likely chance Skagway will be the final choice & if so it would be a pleasure to make the run from there to Pelican with you two if the timing could be worked out. For you or any one else thinking of making it to Pelican, that destination & time spent there & around Elfin Cove alone would be great & going from there on out the outside to Sitka not a must do, but this is a unique opportunity to see an area very few do with someone along that has local knowledge of it, which should lower some of the risk involved.

You & Ginny are much more experienced boaters then us, when we first explored this area by ourselves in 2007, but I also realize its a much different area & type of cruise then you & Ginny are used to & understand Ginny's reservations. I also understand the restrictions involved in the care of aging parents. We did the same for Jolee's mom the last 15 years of her 94 year life.

Jay
 
Dave,

We did that trip last summer in our 40 foot cabin trawler. It's a perfect trip for a C-Dory. While the 40 foot trawler is more comfortable in some respects, a C-Dory is much more flexible and can go places I wouldn't go in the big boat. About all we saw out there last July were commercial fishermen. I can send you our route with some comments if you are interested.

Tom
 
Dave ,

If you do decide to do the outside route from Pelican to Sitka these are the statute miles we cruised from Pelican to Sitka or in one case from Sitka to Pelican & another from Pelican to the Chichago-Yacobi Wilderness area & then back to Pelican. This should give you an idea of how much fuel is needed for the range necessary to explore this area. Between Pelican & Sitka there is no fuel or any other services available & is only about 80 statute miles, but as you see from my cruises there it takes many more to explore the area.

In 2007 after fueling in Pelican we cruised 252 miles in the Wilderness area before returning to Pelican. That year we did the most extensive exploring of the area of all our cruises there enabling us in following years to spend more time in our favorite spots.

In 2010 it was 179 miles & we went from Pelican to Sitka, but left the wildnerness area earlier than planned due to the Wallas stove quitting & us thinking we could fix it in Sitka.

In 2012 we cruised 208 miles from Pelican to Sitka early in the trip & then later back through this area from Sitka to Pelican going 131 miles. The last time it was late in the season & with fog now heavy off & on in this area & Jolee having inner ear problems we cut our time shorter than planned.

I would suggest having enough fuel for at least 200 miles & whatever personal reserve beyond that to feel comfortable, which for most, like me means carrying extra fuel in containers.

At Pelican, I would be glad to share proposed travel routes in the wilderness water area with all that wished to explore this outside area between Pelican & Sitka, but I would strongly suggest anyone wishing to do this purchase the cruising guides & maps or charts & learn all they can of this area & their routes to & from it this year along with any other information like Tom is offering.

Jay
 
Certainly a great cruising area.

Mary says Pelican is her favorite place in Southeast, second only to Baranoff Warm Springs.

In 2013, in South Inian passage we saw more whales than we could believe. At one point I recall seeing upwards of thirty spouts at ONE time. (Ok, how do you count thirty simultaneous spouts you might ask. Whoever is sitting on the port side counts spouts from dead ahead around to port; and the person to starboard does the same on the starboard side ... then add the two numbers.) Simply Amazing.

Hoonah, Glacier Bay, Elfin Cove ... they're ALL neat places.

Best,
Casey&Mary
 
We are putting this on our tentative schedule for 2015. Dixie say's no more staying home all summer tending Grandkids and the greenhouse.
 
Casey & Mary, I agree with Mary on Pelican. It is our favorite medium sized town & Sitka our favorite big one & the area in between our favorite of the wilderness areas with Ford's Terror Inlet & Red bluff Bay a very close 2nd & Red Bluff Bay being on top for us if only counting single bay areas. Port Alexander tops our list for the really small remote working towns. And like you inferred for wildlife & scenic vistas it's hard to beat the whole Icy Strait, Cross Sound & Lisianski inlet & Strait area.

Brent & Dixie, JoLee & I sure hope you can make this happen. She sure lit up when I told her you two might make it to Pelican.

Jay
 
Besides the logistical difficulties - our level of tolerance for adventure (read: danger) is an order of magnitude below Jay's! If something bad can happen, it will happen to us! Love the idea, but we are definitely Inside cruisers, if I can even convince Patty to head north again!
 
Pat,

It's a wonderful mostly all inside trip all the way to Pelican with all the outside crossings you have already made on your way to & from Ketchikan. Like I mentioned to Dave no one needs to do the outside between Pelican & Sitka who do not want to & we could still meet up again with the those who do by taking the inside route to Sitka. I would really like to see you two make it to Pelican. To me many who make the trip to Alaska stop just short of where the best cruising areas begin.

Jay
 
I wish we could make it to Pelican in 2015. We have been throwing out ideas for 2016. Margaret hopes to retire then. The plan we have is to barge the Tom Cat to Ketchikan and fly up. We will spend the summer cruising SE Alaska spending most of our time in Elfin Cove/Pelican/Hoonah. In 2008 we did the inside passage from Blaine, WA and back. We loved the trip! We have cruised BC several times and would just like to get to Alaska without the many miles. Since 2008 we have been back to Elfin Cove 3 or 4 times and transported a friends boat to Ketchikan putting his boat on the barge there. We traveled the outside from Lisianski straight to Sitka. It was a beautiful easy cruising day. As always, you pick your weather windows. If you can't make the 2015 gathering....maybe you could join us in 2016. Can't wait!!!!
 
Gene,

I looked at & enjoyed your photos yesterday & wondered after seeing photos of both Pelican & Sitka what route you took between them. I agree with picking the right weather window or even staying off shore a few miles can make for a smooth run down the outside between Pelican & Sitka much like it was for us coming around Cape Ommaney from Port Alexander to Sitka along the outside Gulf edge of Baranof Island in 2010, but we didn't do any exploring of the inlets & bays on that run either. Did you explore Mirror Harbor, visit White Sulfur Hot Springs, run Dry Pass or visit Sister Lake on your run South? Any or extensive exploration of these waters can be quite different than a quick cruise by like we did the west side of Baranof Island, which even now, I would be very hesitant to return & do. What I am suggesting in 2015 for those who wish to share a cruise with us after a gathering at Pelican is a thorough exploration of the Yakobi-Chichagof Wilderness waters in a similar fashion as we have done solo in the past. I realize that your very experienced, have a great boat & have seen & experienced much of the Alaska waters we prefer, but I don't want those who are thinking of exploring this outside water area to think its a piece of cake & not prepare with the diligence it deserves.

Jay
 
Jay;

We are very used to open ocean conditions, living on the California west coast. Anyone, venturing into the open ocean needs to be prepared for changing weather conditions. And have alternatives for safe harbors along the way. After saying that the inside waters can be as treacherous as the outside waters. We just pick our days to travel and plan 3 to 4 days ahead and be prepared for changes in those plans. In Reefmadness we have XM Weather service. They are very good on the forecasts and give us bouy reports on our plotter. The only real problem I had with the weather was on the inside passage in Chatham Str. last year, on the south end of Admiralty Is. as it crosses Frederick Sound. We knew it would be rough but, my first mate had to be in Ketchikan by a certain date. We received help from a Commercial Fishing vessel that allowed us to stay close to his leeward side. He was headed to Kake and we needed to get to Petersburg. Two thirds of the distance across Frederick the water layed down and we were able to run to Petersburg at 27 Kts. If we would have of had a choice we would have heldup in Angoon for a day.

On our trip from Elfin Cove to Sitka was a fast straight through shot. We didn't do any exploring of Baranoff but would like to when we have more time. You asked about Dry Pass, We usually travel the East side of POW Is to stop a Whales Pass and Thorne Bay. I did go through Dry Str. south of Petersburg and will never do that again. Too many hair pen turns in a very narrow channel.

We wish we could make it to the 2015 gathering. It would be much more fun with a group. You guys will have a blast.

Gene
 
Gene,

All of the places I was referring to in my last post are in the Yacobi-Chichagof Wilderness between Pelican & Sitka with Mirror Harbor only 5 miles & Dry Pass 7 miles south of where Lisianski Strait meets the Gulf & the furthest mentioned only 21 miles south. The point I was trying to make is it's not just the deep water off shore that weather & buoy reports can lesson the risk, that's the hazard in this area, but rather the intricate tidal entrances through the more shallow rock strewn water that charts & GPS's don't cover, which must be negotiated while avoiding kelp mixed with the often swells that are found on the gulf side & even in good weather fog a ever present possibility to reduce visibility while doing this. We have now cruised in a small boat in the Southeastern Alaska waters for approximately 10000 miles & the majority of these miles where off the more common routes & there is no doubt in my mind that the outside water in this particular area, if planning to explore them thoroughly, as I have described over the years & shared in the Grand Adventure Forum in writing, photos & video & have proposed for this gathering are a step beyond the normal Southeast Alaska cruising experienced by most in a small boat. If you can't see that then we will just have to agree to disagree, but I do completely agree with you, in that for all who do decide to share this 2015 Gathering, it will be a fantastic experience & I wished you could be a part of it.

Jay
 
It would be great to explore that wilderness area with someone that has been there. We were on a time schedule at that point. We took the outside as it was the shortest distance to get to Sitka and the weather was good. It is a very rocky shore and as we recall, fog hugging the coast. Anyone that goes with you will be lucky to have an experienced guide.
 
I am delighted to hear JoLee is doing well and you two are heading north again!

Your trip sounds wonderful :-) I spoke with a couple from the Seattle area who have gone that way to Sitka and the gal spoke highly of the area you are discussing.

I am in Bar Harbor in Ketchikan. A fellow in 22' C-Dory a few slips down showed me 3 fish he caught today, including 2 kings. Yesterday he caught 6 fish so like the others on the docks seems quite pleased with the fish running.

There are 6 C-Dory's here, all with Alaska registration, and none with camper-backs. Most every boat in the marina is set up for fishing.

I came up here with 6 other boats in a Waggoner group. They are all gone. After I hopefully get the auto-pilot repaired I am planning to do the mostly protected 100+ mile circuit around Revillagigedo Island to enjoy Misty Fjords. After that I plan to go to Wrangell and then Petersburg.

My greater goal is to spend a week or so in Sitka, enjoy a summer concert or two and ideally get on a couple of CG Auxiliary Patrols and gain some local knowledge. I'm still networking and searching for a buddy boat to travel with since it is over 200 miles from here.

After Sitka the salmon hopefully will be spawning and I want to find places observe the Brownies, but won't be going into all the amazing spots you go to, Jay. I hear it is not too hard to find bears when the streams have the fish returning. I plan to be back in WA in early September.

Meanwhile, I hope other C-Brat's will seriously consider the trip offer.

As one fellow reading my trip reports on Tugnuts wrote "if Anne can do this trip, I can do it." I am doing the rookie trip, and it is doable.

I cannot imagine a better way to go to such special places than to travel with Jay and JoLee. I am envious. :wink:
 
Anne,

Much thanks for the kind words. JoLee & I followed your write ups as they were posted on the Tug Nuts site & we found your account of the trip north very much a pleasure to read & hope you continue writing & sharing your adventures this summer. We both admire your determination to not only make this trip happen, but the willingness to share it with others. Many never manage to get past the planning stage or the end of the boats electrical extension cord at their home dock no matter how well equipped & you are now in Ketchikan with a summers adventure to look forward to.

On our cruising in Southeast Alaska we have noticed its rare to see small boats like the C-Dory's very far from their home port due to most are used mainly for fishing not cruising.

Gene,

I will be reading your blog of past Alaska trips & if anything like your photos will enjoy them.

We, no doubt will meet up during the coming summers ahead in the Hoonah, Elfin Cove & Pelican area of Alaska & it will be fun sharing our different experiences in Southeast Alaska. I remember seeing the Tootsie Too up there in 2010 & finding out later through emails with you that you were running her that year.

Jay
 
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