I found a unsecure connection in Wrangel:
First day in AK. We got up at 5:30 and were underway by 6:30 through Venn passage. Slight fog and moderate haze, but little wind. The crossing of Dixon entrance was as smooth as we have seen. Also the first time with GPS chart plotter (previous with paper charts and GPS waypoints.) We saw a whale breech just after we entered the AK waters—and of course the US Coast Guard cutter right on the boarder. Not many boats North Bound—two sailboats were all that we saw—and they were not friendly—didn’t return waves. Maybe they won’t grow up and become C Dory owners!
On the other hand, when we explored these waters by sailboat, we took 3 days to go from PR—what we did in 5 hours today. Customs took about an hour to arrive—but quick when they did—just verified the information given over the phone. This is the first time we have ever had a customs agent board in the PNW—including the 4 years we cruised here in the 90’s and about half a dozen trips to Canada since.
Off to Tongrass Trading post and buying fishing licenses—gotten real expensive for the non residents. It would be much cheaper to buy a lot of fish at the market—but the Admiral wants to catch more Halibut—and perhaps a Salmon.
Safeway—and Waldonbooks—I found the book that Bill had mentioned on survival yesterday!
I guess that there is no un-employment problem in AK….we had walked by the little café at Bar Harbor marina several times (quite a distance for an old guy with heart disease). We went up to eat dinner—and were told that “reservations were necessary”—even though there were a dozen empty tables. It turns out that they could not hire enough servers! Wow—there are sure some folks in the lower 48 who would love to come up here and work!
Two C Dory 22’s right behind us—but no sign of their owners (Float 2 at BH south).
We will probably find an internet connection up the line and I’ll post this theen.
Day 2—to Meyers Chuck. We picked up more fuel at the North end of Bar Harbor—I had problems with my credit card—and because of the fuel purchase in Prince Rupert. Glad that the company is watching it! We paid $2.15 a gallon for gas—the cheapest we have seen so far—and I guess no “road tax”. We had picked up two extra 5 gallon cans at Tongrass Hardware and outfitting (along with some odds and ends of fishing gear. We want the range to make Ford’s terror, and some other coves from Petersburg to Juneau. I suspect that some displacement speeds will be necessary. We saw a couple more whales blow and then tail flip as they sounded. At Meyer’s Chuck we met up with a couple from BC in a 30 foot aluminum boat with a layout very similar to the C Dory—they had seen us in Prince Rupert and Juneau, so we had a great visit. Marie always hits it off with fishermen and we had visited with a couple who were traveling North. We left a few $$ in the gallery in Meyers Chuck—cards etc. There are almost twice as many homes there as were 15 years when we were last there. We also picked up some information on one of our friends who had lived in Thorne Bay, and then gone back to the Bush (Joe Mays, who had won the Ideridod in 1983 a trapper, sailor and ham operator who we had kept in touch with.
This Morning we awake to see another boat anchored in the bay. It turned out that a fishing boat had heard his distress call about 4 PM and finally found him at about 9 PM—and towed him back to Meyer’s Chuck from somewhere in Earnest sound. We had passed the fishing boat on the way to Wangrell, and they moored right ahead of us this evening. The power boat (about 45 foot long) didn’t have much in the way of towing gear or bits and the fishing boat skipper (from Port Angeles, Wa, was afraid that his deck cleats or windlass was going to pull out of the deck from the load. He described the owner of the power cruiser as “old”—Marie said—we are “old too”—his response was that thsese folks were much older—heart attack older!
We like challenges, and had never taken Canoe passage toward Wrangell. Problem was that it was almost low tide. Of course with the C Dory draft of about 14”, that should not present a problem….At the narrow and shoal area, Marie got on the bow, and counted the starfish directed me through the channel. We never saw less than 18” under the boat—so I probably didn’t need to have put the motor up as high as I did. At the end of the narrows one of our favorite boats was anchored—a Defever 49. We had to stop and talk with the owner for at least half an hour. He claimed to have taken his skiff through the narrows at a minus 1.4 tide. It certainly was a nice protected place, where he had seen at least 3 bears and a dozen dear the last day.
Well, all of that wonderful sunshine disappeared. We have 20% rain forecast for each of the next 6 days—at least for this area. Fog, rain, and a bit more wind---but that is what the C Dory is all about. We felt sorry for the couple of sailboats we passed, with the skippers in their foul weather gear in the cockpit!
Wrangell remains a wonderful working fishing town—although it is definitely larger than our last visit—it has about the same charm. There is an opening of Salmon for seine boats and a crab opening, so the docks are very busy. The gear is being loaded and supplies taken aboard. One 60 footer was so loaded that her scuppers were only 10” above the water and she was at least 6” below the water line foreward….
Our fishing boat friend is doing long line halibut inside Fredrick sound. Apparently there is a quota system. Last time we were here, there were openings of 24 to 48 hours—and it was a very dangerous situation, when boats which were not capable went to sea. This boat was very interesting. He had the fish hold converted into an aft stateroom, and all of the tubs of fishing gear were also stowed in racks to the side. It takes only a couple hours to remove this interior, pull the tubs out and convert it back into the ice hold for the fish.
Tomorrow off to Petersburg, via Wrangell Narrows. Of course the high tide is late in the day or early in the AM…but with the shoal draft and speed this is not too much of a problem. It is also nice to have the Garmin chart plotter with current stations and predictions very frequently. We also have a bit of a delema, with Ford’s Terror, entrance be necessary at high slack—either at about 6:40 in the AM or 7:30 in the PM…we will probably go for the PM going in—and AM going out. (We have clocked the current during max flood at over 15 knots when we were there in our Cal 46 and ran up against flood in our RIB.
Should be in Juneau in Mid next week.
