8/26/17
Clarice ended our last note with us crossing Dixon Entrance
and re-entering the USA (Alaska) with fair seas and fairly nice weather. Since we could see that our weather window
was not likely to last more than a day we went ahead and went the full way into
Ketchikan rather than making an intermediate stop as we had planned.
In 2000 when we started into the channel leading to
Ketchikan we were greeted by a pod of Orca fishing and swimming directly off
our bow. This time it was a pod of
humpback whales using a fishing technique where they swim in a circle and all
jump half way out of the water at once.
I didn’t expect the jump and so got only the end of it on video (but I’m
finally finding some less camera shy whales).
They put on a show for us for some time.
The past two nights we stayed at the Ketchikan Yacht Club
docks. I was excited to see the actual
bell that is rung at the end of the R2AK race in the club house when we joined
the group for burger night. We have seen
a couple of the boats that were in the race this year along the way but haven’t
met any of the owners yet. We did make a
note-to-selves that we really need to emphasize when we call in for dock
assignments that we are a BIG 46 ft boat.
This time we barely squeezed into the spot they had arranged for us but
they have a flat $35/night rate including power which is a great deal for us.
On the maintenance side; Ketchikan is the first dock we have
stayed in that were equipped with GFCI breakers on the dock electrical
posts. This revealed that somewhere on
Salish Aire we have a fault that I haven’t found yet. At first I thought it was an inverter issue
but I’ve pretty much ruled that out. I
did find that one of our outlets had the neutral and hot wires reversed (3
years of ownership and I’d never checked all of the outlets with my handy dandy
outlet checker – embarrassed). Another
outlet had corroded connections. Bottom
line is that I need to start working my way through the 120 V wiring and
looking for (and correcting) issues as I find them.
Ketchikan is showing signs that they are likely to blow
their all-time rain record out of the water. Just saying that our new rain gear
purchased in Prince Rupert (with Canadian dollars J ) are getting well
tested. We giggled at the cruise ship
passengers with their freebie ponchos that didn’t look like they were much help
at all. We were amazed to see four ships
in town at once with a steady parade as soon as one left another arrived.
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Entering Ketchikan |
For many years I have been fascinated by the idea of
circumnavigating Revillagigedo Island.
Now that we have time and fuel to do so we are going for it. We left this morning in low clouds and rain
heading for an anchorage in Misty Fiords National Monument.
8/28/17
Last night the rain stopped and we anchored in a truly
idyllic setting in a very protected cove behind an island. The island has a forest service cabin on it
where two middle age guys were just setting up housekeeping after being dropped
off with their kayaks by a guide service.
We kayaked over and visited with them for a bit and checked out the
cabin – a very cozy and critter proof place in an incredible setting. It comes with bunks for 4, a wood stove
(wood), a deck with a bench, an outdoor fire circle, and a priceless view and
solitude.
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| FS Cabin |
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| Anchorage from cabin deck |
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| A proper outhouse |
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| Campfire circle |
We kayaked around the bay and walked Jarvis on the shore
(where he almost got a bit too curious about a small porcupine!)
Today we took a side trip up Rudyerd Bay which is rated as
one of the prettiest in Misty Fiords NM.
All we can say is “WOW” and thanks to the folks who worked to preserve
this place. I’m hoping that of the many, many photos I’ve been taking today
that some of them will show the majesty of the place. Think of Yosemite in a fiord instead of a
valley with the only tourists being those who fly or boat in. (We’ve only seen
one other boat today exiting the bay and a number of float planes that either
do fly-throughs or fly-in and land on the water for 20 minutes before departing
back to Ketchikan.) We have had a dry
day with broken clouds and glass smooth water.
A truly awesome experience.
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| Porthole view of our world |
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| New Eddystone Rock (the remains of a volcanic intrusion) |
8/29/17
It looks like we will have internet access before the day so
I will try to catch up on notes. After
we left Rudyerd Bay another cruising boat contacted us on the VHF radio and recommended
the mooring buoy in Walker Bay (which we had planned to skip) – MV Pleasant if
you read this – Thank you, Thank you for the recommendation. Again we travelled through a fiord that
challenged Yosemite for spectacular scenery.
The buoy was in the end of the bay next to a small creek
outlet. It still seems unsettling to us
to be so close to shore and then realize that the depth sounder at the buoy
shows 50 feet of water under the keel.
We had never caught a mooring ball with this boat before and were a bit
concerned about how to accomplish the task without a crew member falling
overboard. We figured out years ago that
it is much easier to catch the ball from the aft section of the boat and often
shake our heads watching people hanging off the bow trying to reach the mooring
below them. Instead we take a long line
from the bow back to where the boat has a low gunnel and then threat the line
through the loop on the ball and take it back to the bow and tie it off. Salish Aire doesn’t have any really low spots
for reaching over except through the side doors. The plan was that I would try to stop the
60,000 lb boat dead in the water a foot from the buoy within the space of an 18
inch doorway. I came close enough on the
first try that Clarice was able to get the line through the loop. (We have now done this twice and are feeling
pretty sure of ourselves – guaranteeing that the next time will be a total
foul-up.)
We did have a bit of cloud cover that night so the stars
were occluded but that was a pretty minor complaint when you consider we had
this amazing place entirely to ourselves.
The next morning we could see blue sky above us but fog all around the
boat as the morning mist rose from the water. We took the camera in the kayaks
and got some pretty cool photos as the morning fog moved around the basin. We kayaked up the creek a ways and saw a few
spawned-out salmon barely alive or dead in the water.
I had hoped that Bell Island Hot Springs Resort would have
been resurrected as it is reported to be under new ownership. Alas it is in terrible shape with the only
new construction being “no trespassing” signs.
So we moved on to Bailey Bay and spent our second night on a FS mooring
ball (Thank you Forest Service!!). We
walked a short distance up a trail that was supposed to lead to a lake and a
hot springs but decided we were ill prepared as the trail got rougher wearing
our rubber boat boots and not carrying any emergency supplies when we were in a
very remote location so we turned back about ½ mile in. We then kayaked around the bay before heading
back to the boat for dinner. The only
negative thing was Jarvis decided he needed to disguise his scent by rubbing in
some poo he found on the path – this is a new behavior for him and one we hope
he doesn’t repeat.
Last night I woke up about 2 AM and walked out on deck to a
display of stars such I have not seen since my youth when there was less light
pollution. WOW!
Today we will return to heading north once we exit Behm
Canal. We have been told that anyone who gets one day of good weather in this
area is really lucky – we have had three very nice days with anywhere from
scattered clouds to clear skies. I only
wish I had a chance to take a float plane trip over the Misty Fiords NM as I
expect that the views would be very different and very spectacular.
I think we are both beginning to emotionally accept that we
really aren’t on a schedule and can stop when we want or move on when we
want. I think we will try to get on to
Sitka within the next few days so we can at least figure out if we will stay
the winter there or if we need to look at other options.
Clarice's notes:
August 26, 2017
Last night the Ketchikan Yacht Club ( who’s docks were have
been moored at for the last couple days) offered a hamburger dinner for a
donation. We like to support the yacht clubs if we can as they usually offer
very affordable rates. There is no reciprocal moorage available at the
Ketchikan Yacht Club..you are requested to fly your burgee and if you fail to
pay, they will charge your yacht club the fees you’ve incurred. Not quite how
it usually works, but since they were pretty inexpensive so be it. Our slip was
interesting in that Norman managed to squeeze us in a very tight slip. I had
told the moorage coordinator the size of our boat, but as he was assisting with
tying the boat up upon arrival his comment was “ Wow, that’s a really big
boat”. My thought is “and that’s why I told you multiple times our size and
requested clarification if there was a slip that was adequate for us. The
awesome pilot that Norman is made it all work and we were quite snug in our
temporary quarters.
After a couple of very rainy days in Ketchikan we opted to
explore Misty Fjords National Monument and escape what even the locals thought
were extremely rainy days ( the bus driver told us 10 inches of rain in two
days). We headed out in a mild breeze that gradually built to 14 or so knots.
The crossing over the end of Revilligegedo Island was a little sloppy ( I videoed the slop but not sure if it really
explains what it is to those of you who are not boaters) but we finally put out
the paravanes and that calmed it out nicely. The breeze finally came off our
stern and so we chugged happily along viewing lush emerald green forests that
come right down to the sea.
I put out my salmon fishing rig and must have had something
on it, however the line was old and snapped. Lost all the rigging on it (bummer)
but found some replacements in my sorry pile of fishing gear so will try it out
tomorrow. I guess I’m a glutton for punishment, but would love some Salmon or
Halibut. Tried the halibut rig but not really deep enough where we are anchored
tonight.
We entered the bay we were going to anchor in and managed to
fit over the 8 ft ( more like 7 feet in reality) shallow spot that was part way
into the entry and anchored just off the USFS bouy and near the USFS cabin.
Shortly after we got the boat secured two men in kayaks headed over to the USFS
cabin. We launched our kayaks and headed over to the beach. I chatted with the
men while Norman and Jarvis explored the area. The men graciously allowed us to
check out the cabin. It is quite new and very lovely…and what a lovely setting.
We could use the buoy however we are usually reluctant to
use them due to our boats weight ( she’s a svelte 60000 pounds). We kayaked by
the buoy and it’s extremely stout and looks very secure. Since many of the
anchorages are quite deep and not the best seabed to set an anchor, we may try
one out. We discussed how we would hook the buoy since we’ve not been able to
use one with this boat before. It might be a bit of a challenge but it would be
great to try it out.
We headed back to the boat eventually for dinner and our
evening down time. I took a shower and took a picture to share of my view from
the shower. I opened the port as it’s not raining and quite warm outside.
Pretty awesome to have this wonderful view while you shower.
Sounds like the weather will be a little better for a few
days so we are excited to explore the fjords and see what they have to offer.
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