SE Alaska 2013

C

Casey

New member
Thought I would re-spin Richard's (New Moon) previous thread (SE Alaska 2012) for anyone interested in Southeast Alaska cruising this summer.

"Katmai" is currently in the water at the Prince Rupert Rowing& Yaching Club (PRRYC). We launched this morning, and the weather window for crossing Dixon Entrance looks pretty good for tomorrow (and better for Saturday).

We will probably depart tomorrow, and hope to cruise for Jun/Jul/Aug before returning to Prince Rupert for the trailer trip back to Florida.

We'll hope to see other 'Brats along the way!

Best,
Casey&Mary
 
Casey & Mary

Happy to see your back on the water for your boating part of the adventure after a wonderful first half road trip. It was super to see & talk to you two during your short stop here on the way north.

We would have loved to share some anchorages & other times with you guys, up in the area your cruising this summer, but though JoLee is continuing a remarkable recovery it is not enough for extended cruising this year. JoLee & I will be looking forward to a time when we can hear all about this fantastic trip directly from you guys, preferably while sitting around a campfire. In the meantime your sharing a tale or two here while exploring northward & back from where you are now would also be appreciated.

Best wishes for a continued fantastic adventure,

Jay & JoLee
 
Casey & Mary
I will be fishing between Dundas island and Work channel starting on the 5th of June for a week.
We would have loved to look for you in the area but you are too soon for us'
We love that area for fishing and cruising.
I will picture you cruising by Green Island tomorrow.
Have a great trip.
Ed :thup :smiled
 
Hi my names Cliff from Mt Dora, it was great to read about you this morning. Im knocked out you trailed you boat so far. "Salute"
All the best with your travels
 
Hi Casey and Mary,

Best to both of you!

Marcia and I will be following your adventures closely and know that you will have a great time. Hoping to see again next winter in Florida, both of us next time!

Regards,

Nick and Marcia
"Valkyrie"
 
Have a fantastic summer you two. Gorgeous country. We'll be riding along via your posts. While you explore SE Alaska, we'll do our part to poke into all the nooks and crannies down here. Best wishes, run safe. George and Carolyn.
 
We hadn't planned to be underway until about June 1st, so we're several days ahead on our non-schedule.

...probably a good thing. There are several things we want to do yet in PR (The Museum of Northern British Columbia, and a few more muffins at "Tim Horton's" [...yum!]).

Dixon Entrance Wx is looking progressively better for Sun, Mon, and Tuesday so the current plan is to play ashore, and sleep on the boat in the marina for a couple more days. PRRYC has Wifi, electricity, a shower, and is an easy walk to "downtown."

Mary was beginning to dis-believe me about PR wx. It has been sunny and cool ever since we arrived; not the customary gray w/ drizzle that PR is known for. This morning we awoke to grey skies and light rain ... so I feel vindicated.

Yesterday's launch was uneventful, although I erred by briefly messing with the fenders and dock lines ... and was promptly informed that was "not my job." Lesson learned. The trip from the launch ramp to PRRYC was less than ten minutes, but about :04 minutes into it Mary asked if I was tired yet, and wanted some relief at the helm. I think she likes it!

Mary has just informed me that low tide (+1.6ft) will be in :08, and high tide (+20.1) will be at 1404hours. After that the next high tide will be a +24'. Wow. Obviously, she's really getting into this! ...meanwhile, I just want to know what kind of muffin's are ready at Tim Horton's!

Life is G O O D!!!!

Best,
C&M
 
Looking forward to following your posts. Our CD22 will soon be in Blaine, WA for a few years and a trip to Alaska is in my plans at some point.

Enjoy.
 
Casey and Mary,

Sure hope you have a great time, a fun cruise and safe trip all the way. I will be following along and (drooling), wishing and waiting for my turn to follow your wakes.

Here's wishing you a wonderful time. :thup :D :thup

Harvey
SleepyC:moon

JC_Lately_SleepyC_Flat_Blue_070.thumb.jpg
 
cool, have a safe adventure. I'll keep an eye out for you, maybe I'll bump into you somewhere in the greater Elfin Cove metro area
 
Have a great trip. We will be thinking about you--and hope you will keep us all informed about the sights and adventures along the way!

Tell Mary, that it is not always nice and sunny. We have gone thru Venn passage twice with heavy fog, draft of 6' and top speed of 8 knots--no chart plotter, but GPS, so we could check off the markers, and watched the radar closely. Of course near the entrance was wall to wall bow pickers with the nets all of the way across the passages. Find a tug or commercial boat going thru--and follow that to get passage!

Be looking forward to your posts and photos!
 
Have a good, safe trip! Bob's advice through Venn Passage is sound. Dee and I waited until the fog lifted the 3rd time we went through and followed a commercial fishing boat through the 4th time. Looking forward to your posts. Where were you able to park your truck and trailer?

Safe travels,

Don
 
We parked the truck/trailer at the Canadian Freightways
yard a few miles west of town. $80/mo (total) for rig, and
a good (fenced) yard. They gave us a ride back to PRRYC
and will pick up us when we return. Good folks.

My comment about Mary thinking the wx here was always Perfect
was just a joke. We have boondocked many times on this trip in very cold weather...waking up to temperatures below freezing (even thirteen degrees at one point!) in the cabin and she hasn't complained once. She's a competent boater (owned her own 25' Pursuit when she lived in Ft. Myers) and she's a real trooper. She is enjoying it All, whether shining or drippy!
Best,
C&M
 
Have a great time you two. Looks like Mary is on the fast track promotion course to Admiral. So you behave yourself Captain.
Looking forward to following your big adventure, send lots of pics.

Best,
Martin & Andrea Bridges.
 
Katmai is in Ketchikan following the calmest
Ever crossing of Dixon Entrance.

We spent Sunday night in Foggy Bay.
No bears, but a beautiful, calm evening.

On the run to Ketchikan we crossed behind "Mary
Island" (naturally), and found an interesting little
opening back to the main channel from the north
end of Ham Island.

Shortly after getting through the narrows
we noticed a smallish runabout roughly a
quarter of a mile away that appeared
to be waving to us. When we arrived
We found five oldsters, no gas, no radio,
no oars who seemed Very happy we
happened to be in the neighborhood. We
rigged a towline and brought them about
twelve miles back to the nearest safe harbor.

The remainder of the trip was uneventful
but Tsongass Narrows was rougher than
I remembered (Lots of Memorial Day boat
Traffics). Cruising slowly along the shoreline
we saw lots of folks having a Ketchikan
holiday-at-the-beach/shore. There was even
a group of about twenty who were snorkeling
together. Brrrrrrrr....

We'll be in town for a few days 'touristing.
We're considering doing the Behm Canal
circuit around Revillagigedo Island (how DO you
say that??) before we continue North.

Great trip so far!

Best,
Casey&Mary
...enough thumb typing on a iPhone!
 
Great to hear Casey! Glad Dixon was calm. Can be a bad boy. Keep up the posts. Carolyn just got a stylus for iphone as she is challenged typing on it. Works well! Not so much cursing in the boat. Maybe dryer there than here. Been rainy. G and C
 
After two spectacularly sunny days in Ketchikan, the weather has returned to 'normal. Locals seemed concerned that global warming had changed the normally cool, drizzly wx to warm & sunny. Reports could be overheard (at the local McDonald's, while using their Wifi) that sale's of suntan lotion and shorts had nearly depleted the local supply until the next barge arrival.

Normal (bothersome) condensation continues to be a bit of an issue (although last night it was reasonably dry inside). It's nothing like Jay&JoLee had last year in Southeast AK, but still a PITA. Having shore power permits us to use the "Big Heat" (electric heater) which really helps, but we're still experimenting with other ideas. So far we haven't struck upon the Perfect solution. (Well, I suppose the "Perfect Solution" is being at Lake Powell(!) - but that's not in the cards at the moment.) If anyone has found the Condensation Answer - please 'share! :-)

This morning the Ketchikan Daily News reported more thunder and lightning last night (a rarity), and someone caught a 40# King Salmon yesterday. This is a nice quiet little, if damp, community of friendly folk.

We haven't bothered with the 'news. It's nice to be free of the goings-on Outside. The XM radio seems to work ok when the antenna is pointed South (has something to do with the XM satellite being well south of here...). In any case, it's kind of nice to be news-free for a while.

We're still planning to do the "Behm Canal" loop around Revillegeigedo Island, which will probably take 4-5 days. Have any Brats done the Behm Canal? I've kind of been checking to see if fuel is available anywhere on the loop, but so far it appears that "Loring" is the last place for fuel (and that's 'iffy). We'll probably do the loop in a counter clockwise direction which would put the fuel supply closer to the end of the loop where it may be more of an issue. With sixty gallons capacity (about 56 useable...) range isn't really an issue since we like to displacement cruise virtually all the time.

Loving a cruising lifestyle! :-)

Best,
Casey&Mary
 
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