Just completed the trip from Whittier to Seward. A day and half of rain and a day of sun and calm seas. Did about 160 miles over all counting side trips into Surprise Cove (first night), Eshamy Lagoon (fishing), Icy Bay (sight seeing), Otter Cove (second night), and fishing in Puget Bay, Johnston Bay, Whidbey Bay, Day Harbor, and looking for a place to spend the third night.
The route went from Whittier to Culross Passage, around Main Bay to Eshamy Lagoon. We had pretty much been in rain to point with visibility at 1.5 miles or less. On entering Eshamy Bay we could see some lighter sky to the south, but was wall of rain and fog in front. We went through the wall into pretty decent weather and had lunch at the head of the lagoon catching silvers in the sun. After a few hours of that and consulting the latest weather report for the Gulf of Alaska, we decided to advance the schedule and get into Resurrection Bay on Thursday rather than Friday. We went back into the gloom but came out into pretty good weather in Dangerous Passage. From there to Icy Bay the weather was good with calm seas. Only one other boat in the area and that followed us into Icy Bay. After dodging ice to get in Nassau Fjord, we got a great view of the Chenega Glacier.
After exiting Icy Bay, we were back into rain and fog with visibility less than .5 miles. Passed a Salmon tender which was the last boat we saw until after lunch the next day. I got a chance to do a lot of radar work in the poor visibility but didn't find a lot of targets. I was able to get a return off some of the bigger pieces of ice. We entered Bainbridge Passage and stopped in Otter Cove for the night in light rain.
The following morning we could see across Bainbridge Passage and the sun was starting to peak out. By 0900 we were on flat seas with the sun out and started a slow cruise down Bainbridge Passage to Port Bainbridge and then out into the Gulf. The sun was out, the winds were light, and when we rounded Puget Point we could see all the way to Aialik (about 60 miles). The fishing was great all the way over to Resurrection Bay, but as we got closer the winds started picking up. Friday's prediction was starting to come true early. We couldn't find any decent anchorage inside Resurrection Bay, so made for the small boat harbor and tied up in transient. By the time we got in, the winds were up to 20 knots with seas of 4-5 feet. It was even worse on Friday with winds pushing 30 knots. I was glad to be tied to the dock on Friday. We did go out fishing on Saturday, and managed to pick up 5 fish inside Resurrection Bay, one of which would have been a contender in the derby (just shy of 20 lbs) but I didn't have a derby ticket since I normally fish outside the bay.
With three people on board plus a kayak,inflatable, and an extra 20 gallons of gas we averaged right at 3 mpg. For safety sake, we took on another 15 gallons of gas at Falls Bay from a friend, and arrived in Seward with 27 gallons remaining.
It was a great trip, but I think I won't make the run all the way to Seward next time Crossing the Gulf was okay and the fishing fine, but I would rather make a round robin back to Whittier with the return being up Prince of Wales passage and then along the west side of Knight Island. Fewer people, better scenery, and better anchorages.
The route went from Whittier to Culross Passage, around Main Bay to Eshamy Lagoon. We had pretty much been in rain to point with visibility at 1.5 miles or less. On entering Eshamy Bay we could see some lighter sky to the south, but was wall of rain and fog in front. We went through the wall into pretty decent weather and had lunch at the head of the lagoon catching silvers in the sun. After a few hours of that and consulting the latest weather report for the Gulf of Alaska, we decided to advance the schedule and get into Resurrection Bay on Thursday rather than Friday. We went back into the gloom but came out into pretty good weather in Dangerous Passage. From there to Icy Bay the weather was good with calm seas. Only one other boat in the area and that followed us into Icy Bay. After dodging ice to get in Nassau Fjord, we got a great view of the Chenega Glacier.
After exiting Icy Bay, we were back into rain and fog with visibility less than .5 miles. Passed a Salmon tender which was the last boat we saw until after lunch the next day. I got a chance to do a lot of radar work in the poor visibility but didn't find a lot of targets. I was able to get a return off some of the bigger pieces of ice. We entered Bainbridge Passage and stopped in Otter Cove for the night in light rain.
The following morning we could see across Bainbridge Passage and the sun was starting to peak out. By 0900 we were on flat seas with the sun out and started a slow cruise down Bainbridge Passage to Port Bainbridge and then out into the Gulf. The sun was out, the winds were light, and when we rounded Puget Point we could see all the way to Aialik (about 60 miles). The fishing was great all the way over to Resurrection Bay, but as we got closer the winds started picking up. Friday's prediction was starting to come true early. We couldn't find any decent anchorage inside Resurrection Bay, so made for the small boat harbor and tied up in transient. By the time we got in, the winds were up to 20 knots with seas of 4-5 feet. It was even worse on Friday with winds pushing 30 knots. I was glad to be tied to the dock on Friday. We did go out fishing on Saturday, and managed to pick up 5 fish inside Resurrection Bay, one of which would have been a contender in the derby (just shy of 20 lbs) but I didn't have a derby ticket since I normally fish outside the bay.
With three people on board plus a kayak,inflatable, and an extra 20 gallons of gas we averaged right at 3 mpg. For safety sake, we took on another 15 gallons of gas at Falls Bay from a friend, and arrived in Seward with 27 gallons remaining.
It was a great trip, but I think I won't make the run all the way to Seward next time Crossing the Gulf was okay and the fishing fine, but I would rather make a round robin back to Whittier with the return being up Prince of Wales passage and then along the west side of Knight Island. Fewer people, better scenery, and better anchorages.