2015 SE Alaska Cruise out of Skagway

Jay,

Thank you so much for all your postings on your travels. I can't tell you how much it has meant to on this trip. I have had way too much time on my hands due to a medical situation and I have following Brent's track as you are moving (in the afternoons here). I also watch the nautical charts on active captain and have been pretty good at anticipating your anchorages. I have also been reading your 2012 log and pictures. It's almost like I'm on the trip. I admire your adventurous spirit and your seamanship skills.
Following your trip has been a great boost to my spirits. I'll be anxious to pick it up again when you get moving. Give a nod to the bears for me.

Bruce Cassal
Carpy
 
Bruce,

Much thanks for your post. Your, Jacks & ones like it make the 5 mile round trip hike to the new library here lugging my heavy 17 inch Dell to up load the photos very much worth it. Now that we've finally have the bus schedule worked out the future trips to town will be considerable less, though on this huge harbor complex with us being on the far end, its very near 3/4 mile round trip to the shower or toilet complex over the boardwalk. Viewing all the huge variety of fishing & cruising boats does make it seem shorter.

I also very much enjoy following along studying the charts & tracks, while reading of others adventures when I'm unable to go myself.

I sure hope your medical condition improves, so you too can do get back to enjoying boating or other adventures.

Jay
 
Brent informed me today that the "Murray" store here in Sitka sells the Delorme In Reach, like he is using, so since my SPOT quit working on the road trip up to Skagway, I decided to purchase one & set up a account. From viewing Brent & Dixie's, it to me is better than SPOT with its more detailed map & a track that doesn't disappear in 7 days, so here is the link to our track https://explore.delorme.com/Map this is now also included in my post signature, instead of the non working link to SPOT.

For those interested in our travels in the Mokai, it should with its very good map detail, show when we are out & about from anchorages too, if I can remember to take it with me.

Tonight here in Sitka they're getting a jump on the 4th with pretty much non stop fireworks along the shore across from the Marina, which will shorty be followed up by a town display.

Jay
 
Jay....
I also envy you being in Sitka. If I could do a re-do of my retirement I would have sold out in 2000 in S.Central and moved to Sitka. I was through there in 1965 and twice more recently all on the ferry. A great place to live in my estimation.
Be safe.
Jack
 
Jack, I too have been impressed with Sitka on each visit here & always look forward to returning, though this years doubling of the daily dock rate since our last time here in 2012 was a bit of a negative surprise. I guess that comes with others liking it here too.

Jay
 
Hunkydory":2htxuw1x said:
Brent informed me today that the "Murray" store here in Sitka sells the Delorme In Reach, like he is using, so since my SPOT quit working on the road trip up to Skagway, I decided to purchase one & set up a account. From viewing Brent & Dixie's, it to me is better than SPOT with its more detailed map & a track that doesn't disappear in 7 days, so here is the link to our track https://explore.delorme.com/Map this is now also included in my post signature, instead of the non working link to SPOT.

For those interested in our travels in the Mokai, it should with its very good map detail, show when we are out & about from anchorages too, if I can remember to take it with me.

Tonight here in Sitka they're getting a jump on the 4th with pretty much non stop fireworks along the shore across from the Marina, which will shorty be followed up by a town display.

Jay
Click to expand...

The link I posted above to our Delorme In Reach shared tracking is not correct. The following one is correct & I corrected the link in my signature too. https://share.delorme.com/JuliusByers
Jay
 
Jay,

Which data package did you select? As I recall deLorme offers choices ranging from ten minutes down to reporting every two minutes (pretty pricey, but superb detail).

We're still in NYC. They had a really nice fireworks display last night (actually several, from different locations) but it wasn't two hours! Sounds like Sitka outdid itself!

What is your route from Sitka?

I layed out a route yesterday for the Erie Canal; pretty complex navigation challenge. From our slip, we proceed east approx 650yards ... turn left
and proceed 150.3sm up the Hudson ... turn left again at the Erie Canal!

Best,
Casey&Mary
 
Good morning Casey & Mary,

Yes, great detail with In Reach, so much better than SPOT & it doen't erase the tracks after 7 days. I selected the freedom recreation 10 min tracking plan & still haven't worked out the messaging & other details. The freedom plan is 10$ more than just recreation, but allows plan to be stopped & started whenever. Still when used its pricy at 35$ per month & the unit here in Sitka at close to $400 expensive too.

I like your simple upcoming route plans. Ours from here over to Warm Springs & Red Bluff Bay with out exact plans from there yet. We're just minutes from shoving off from here now.

Best Wishes,

Jay & Jolee
 
7-5-15 With a later start then we should have had, we left Sitka at a little after 10AM. 20 knot winds on the bow later, while at the head of Salisbury Sound would have been less with an earlier start, but perhaps worth the relaxed ending of our good times in Sitka. Anchored on Baby Bear Bay a favorite of mine for the run from Sitka to Chatham Strait with its good bottom for holding & excellent protection from the wind. It has been another blue sky day with Mt Edgecumbe showing itself off as we made our way back north from Sitka. We took Sergius Narrows by way of Canoe Passage, which was running 7 mph, which made for an interesting ride.
37 miles today & 543 total

7-6-15 Had a wonderful day even without seeing a single bear. Up & out of Baby Bear Bay at 8AM with a continuation of this years unique blue sky days from which the only present draw back is a huge fire out of Wrangle creating a very smokey, hazy, but at least still blue sky. It was a pretty much normal run on Peril Strait, then going down Chatham Strait along the rugged snow capped mountains of Baranof Island brought one wildlife encounter after another. We had dall porpoise riding the bow & the shyer more pure black type in several groups of 2 or three appearing & disappearing, several humpback whales, another pod of orcas that passed us just feet away, sea lions & many Eagles. Then just before reaching our nights anchorage at Ell Cove silver salmon jumping all about. Brent & Dixie slowed cast out a line & within seconds had caught a 10 pounder. We are now anchored in a beautiful totally calm cove surrounded by large old trees with a family of Eagles doing there antics along with their variety of sounds. We will be sleeping peaceful tonight with it now being a very short 30 days since leaving home. 56 miles today 599 total.
 
7-7-15 We awakened to another bear along the shore in Ell Cove, which was icing on the cake to all the the varied wildlife we had seen yesterday. From Ell cove with destination for the day Warm Springs Bay, we detoured to check out Takatz Bay, one of our favorites along this coast, where in 2012, we saw whales when entering, bears along the shore & anchored where the ebb tide left us high & dry until it's return. No wildlife here today, but the yacht Rhapsady, which was anchored by U.S. In Ell Cove & Baby Bear Bay beat us here too. This is the yacht & same owners who invited us aboard for homemade sticky buns & fresh ground coffee in 2007, while in Red Bluff Bay just after our diesel cooker/heater quit & we had lost our video camera. When reminiscing with them in Ell Cove yesterday we were very surprised at how well they remembered us & the details of the last visit. Upon reaching Warm Springs Bay & checking out the new hot tubs for public use, we had a fabulous dinner aboard the Discovery of fresh salmon caught by Brent & prepared by him & Dixie. Sharing the Alaska State free dock here at Warm springs Bay is a variety of other boats of which some are multi million dollar boats & I'll bet none had better food or company then us. Late in the evening I headed up to the hot spring tubs for a relaxing couple hour soak that put the final touches on another wonderful Alaska cruising day. 18 miles today 617 total.

7-8-15. We spent hours today in interesting conversation with the varied boat owners, & passengers, which ranged from smallish cruising boats, that were still much bigger than us to commercial fishing boats of varies sizes & types, to a large old sail boat here with paying passengers, to multi million dollar yachts. Walked with Brent & Dixie up to Lake Baranof, which is the beautiful alpine lake, who's drainage creates the large cascade close the the dock at the head of Warm Springs Bay. Then JoLee & I, soaked for a couple of hours in a hot tube with its grand view looking out over the bay. This is a place not listed high on our 2007 cruise, which has grown over our visits to become now one of the favorites. I love the wilderness & prefer it's wild places, but Warm Springs Bay, a scenic oasis mixed with its variety of people & boats, makes for interesting entertainment & conversation, while surrounded by true wilderness in a unique & special place.
 
I too am enjoying every word of your writing, and Dixie's too. What a great trip and perfect set of couples to enjoy this trip together.

I know what you speak of regarding Dixie's cooking (can't speak for Brent's cooking... :-). You can't "buy" better prepared food than Dixie's cooking, you just can't. And together with the company, what an outstanding time!!!
 
Warm Springs Bay, a scenic oasis mixed with its variety of people & boats, makes for interesting entertainment & conversation, while surrounded by true wilderness in a unique & special place.
Click to expand...

Jay and JoLee, THANK YOU for such a wonderful description of your trip. And of Baranof Warm Springs. Such a perfect way to describe it. It is my favorite place ON EARTH. Sitting in the natural hot springs up the trail while the waterfall is raging just behind is an unbelievable experience. Magical. Everything exactly as you describe. We picked salmon berries there, socialized with all varieties of boaters, and even saw a huge whale in the bay just beside the docks. The natural warm springs were phenomenal and the tubs with the piped in warm water were clean and new. (2013). I tell folks (maybe jokingly?) that this was one of the few times on our Alaska trip that we were warm and clean all at the same time.

Looking forward to your next post.

Hugs,

Mary&Casey
 
7-9-15 we eased out of Warm Springs Bay & slowly cruised down Baranof Island to the red bluffed entrance to Red Bluff Bay, which is other than the high number of other cruisers who like it too, my favorite all around bay in Southeast Alaska with its normal combination of grandeur & miles of river & tidal waters to explore & look for bears & other wildlife in the Mokai. Earlier in the year when the sedge grass is young the bears are generally plentiful & later when the fish arrive they return again. Now it's salmon berry time & though I've managed to spot 4 bears from the Mokai, they aren't seen by many others this time of the season. 27 miles today 644 total.

7-10-15. Yesterday we arrived here with blue sky that become overwhelmed by the clouds & by evening it had started to rain, which has continued on through today. I put on good rain gear & spent a very enjoyable day in the Mokai wildlife watching. Even found a high spot above the sloughs, where I went to shore with foldable chair & sat for a few hours. My patience payed off with the appearance of several bears. Later I talked to Herb, Wilma & Ron who had anchored near us in the Ranger Tugs, Willies Tug & Nudibranch. When we arrived here yesterday the main creeks were almost dry & waterfalls up high very diminished from the past. By evening with two days of rain all were back to flowing. While out on the Mokai, I noticed a few salmon jumping & starting to gather, so it won't be long before they are here & elsewhere by the many thousands.

7-11-15. We left Red Bluff Bay mid morning out through the narrow opening & into the island area & finally making our way south down Chatham Strait in a drizzling foggy rain on very calm waters. Approximately 10 miles down the coast we entered again through a narrow opening into Gut Bay, which similar to Red Bluff Bay, allows water travel up into a area surrounded by rugged mountains, with beautiful streams entering the bay in between them. We anchored in a narrow inlet at the very head where fish are jumping around us, eagles flying over & seals & otter in the water nearby with a short appearance of a small bear where the stream enters. I fished for a little while & actually caught one using my very short 18 inch pole, then JoLee & I took a Mokai ride up into the high tide slough area followed by a run across the bay, where Brent & Dixie were anchored for an evening visit. Shortly after, tints of blue were back in the sky with the hint of another beautiful day tomarrow.

7-12-15 We relaxed most of the day at our anchorage watching the eagles, seals, & river otter with also a hour run down the bay & back in the Mokai. One of the reasons for anchoring in our present site was to test our new Manson Boss 25# anchor in the soft mud, where in 2010 using a 22# Bruce claw type, we couldn't get it to hold, due to its scooping itself full of mud then just skating on it. With the Manson Boss, we achieve an instant set, which can't be budged even with the power used by both motors. My pecking out this writing with two fingers on my IPad is a slow process & difficult to keep the thinking matching the words.
 
7-13-15. We are now slugging our way acros Chatham Strait from Gut Bay to Bay of Pillars against a 2 to 3 foot chop making it hard to peck on this iPad.
 
Steve, your right it is & has been an outstanding trip!

Mary & Casey, you guys know about sharing & what it takes, thanks for the appreciation & for sure we do yours too.

7-13-15. In the outer area of the Bay of Pillars, there were many sea otters among the kelp & a whale in the outer bay. Entrance to the inner bay & now our present anchorage In a narrow narrow cove off of it with several small streams & a grassy meadow at the head is gained by a narrow passage, which with the some charted & others not rocks & kelp on a then ebb tide, a navigating challenge. Fortunately the crews of the Discovery & Hunkydory were up to it. I was somewhat disappointed in not finding visible pillars in the Bay of Pillars, but not at all with missing the ones under the water surface. There is a major change in scenery & bear type with making the crossing from of Chatham Strait from the rugged high mountains with the narrow cliff lined passages of Baranof Island to the many islands & intricate passages about the more rounded hills of Kuiu Island. Me being more tuned to the Rocky Mountains of home prefer the areas of Baranof, Chichagof, Admiralty & the coastal mountains just east & north of them, but the appearance of three black bears, the first we have seen this cruise & now keeping us company along the shore of our anchorage is sure a plus for us here now. During the 15 mile crossing today of Chatham Strait we were surprised to find IPad internet, so made a Skype video call to our granddaughter Olive & her dad Clayton. What amazing technology & wonderful to be able to take advantage of it. 27 miles today & 691 total
 
7-14-15. We're now making good speed back up Chatham Strait with the help of the flooding tide & light winds on the stern. The down side, its very difficult to see the shore in the fog & rain, which started yesterday alter noon & has continued since. This morning we wanting to catch this flood tide, so we went out the very narrow channel into about a 7 mph current. This was worth about an extra 3 or maybe even 4 cups of coffee even with the tracks from the previous day. We have had much better than normal weather the first month, but the last week has settled into a pattern we are more use to from the past cruises. Fortunately the Wallas heater is still working, which JoLee does not like me to even mention in fear it will take notice & quit.
 
Hunkydory":359u8ve6 said:
7-14-15. We're now making good speed back up Chatham Strait with the help of the flooding tide & light winds on the stern. The down side, its very difficult to see the shore in the fog & rain, which started yesterday alter noon & has continued since. This morning we wanting to catch this flood tide, so we went out the very narrow channel into about a 7 mph current. This was worth about an extra 3 or maybe even 4 cups of coffee even with the tracks from the previous day. We have had much better than normal weather the first month, but the last week has settled into a pattern we are more use to from the past cruises. Fortunately the Wallas heater is still working, which JoLee does not like me to even mention in fear it will take notice & quit.
Click to expand...
We anchored for the night in Hallack Cove, Saginaw Bay on Kuiu Island, which is about 15 miles from the Native town of Kake, where we plan on going tomarrow for groceries, ice, water & fuel. 38 miles today & 729 total
 
Back
Top