Having fun in Petersburg

Petersburg definitely gets a lot of rain, but we lucked out with out getting a drop of rain yesterday. And it didn't rain last night either, but it did start raining about noon today and it looks like it will continue thru the night. Hard to tell about tomorrow, but if we had to guess we'd say there is a 70% chance of rain tomorrow - at some point during the day. We may now qualify as a weather forecaster in Petersburg.

Today is our last day in Petersburg, before we go further north. But as Brad's cell phone hasn't arrived, we know we'll be back soon. At this point, it looks like we'll leave in the morning to go to Admiralty Island, which is famous for having a lot of bears. We'll anchor in Snug Bay, inside of Gambier Bay and then move on to Windfall Harbor, where we plan to go explore the bears at Pack Creek. From there we'll move up to Tracy Arm and explore Sawyer Glacier.

Petersburg is on Mitkoff Island and to go north we go thru Frederick Sound, which has an estimated 500++ humpback whales feeding in the area. As we'll be crossing thru this sound as we head north, plus when we come back south to Petersburg to pick up Brad's phone, we hope to see quite a few whales. But during this time we won't have internet access, nor phone access, until we get back to Petersburg in about a week.

As this is our last update for awhile, I wanted to share a few photos of Petersburg.

Many of the walkways are beautifully decorated. Here is one of my favorites:










Many of the homes and shops have delightful flower gardens and baskets. I thought this one, reflecting the hull of a boat, was very cute.








Also, many of the homes and shops have beautiful Norweigian style painting on the outside. Oh, we've also seen them painting the outside of homes, businesses & boats while it is raining.











Here is a link to some info on the Pack Creek Bears: http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/admiralty/packcreek/index.shtml


Here is a link to some info on Tracy Arm: http://www.alaska-cruise-advisor.com/tracy-arm.html

Here is a link to a webcam in Petersburg. It provides a good view of Frederick Sound.

http://kfsk.org/modules/webcam/

Log Update from Petersburg

We arrived in Petersburg yesterday (Wed). We had rain for a good part of the trip, but good visibility and calm seas. We were amazed to see how many fishing "little" fishing boats were in Wrangell Narrows, but they all looked like they were having as much fun as we are.

Petersburg is known as the "Little Norway" of Alaska and it definitely has a lot of unique history. The average rainfall here is 106 inches. And we've lucked out today without a drop, even though the forecast was 70% chance of rain. But yesterday we had rain all morning and lucked out with blue sky & sunshine in the afternoo, so tomorrow we'll probably have a day full of rain. Afterall, that 106 inches has to come sometime to keep everything so green!

Upon arrival yesterday we checked to see if our replacement cell phone had arrived, but unfortunately it hadn't. We've concluded we'll stay for three nights in Petersburg, to relax and explore the area, with the hope that the phone arrives. But at this point we are planning to head further North on Friday morning, even if the phone doesn't arrive.

We hiked to Eagle's Roost Park, which provides a nice look out to the North part of the narrows and you can see Fredericks Sound in the distance. When we leave Petersburg we'll be going thru Fredericks Sound up to Tracy Arm. Fredericks Sound is an area that attracts whales and there are estimates that ~500+ whales spend the summer feeding here. Needless to say I'm excited about humpback and orca whales.

Wrangell, Alaska is a great place to visit

We've really enjoyed visiting Wrangell, Alaska. This is definitely a city that represents Alaska, not one that lives to host cruise ships. The view from the harbor and surrounding areas show that the water is changing color, picking up hues from nearby glacier waters.

There are several ferries that stop by a couple of times a week, and Alaska Air also has several flights into the nearby Airport. So, even if you don't have a boat I highly recommend you coming to Wrangell, Alaska for a visit. Quite a bit to do and there are some really cute B&B's, plus a few nice hotels.

This we hiked to a petroglyph park on the beach and explored for quite some time. There were also two old ship wrecks that were interesting to explore. Some pottery looked like dishes from the 1940's.

We visited the Wrangell Museum, which we view is one of the best museums in Alaska. A great collection, plus they have a glass window that allows you to view back into their archives.

Tomorrow morning we'll head off to Petersburg.

Here are some photos from our trip to Wrangell:
















Brad pointing out fuel prices at a local gas station.












Here we are having fun at Petroglyph Park.














Here is a photo of the famous Chief Shakes Tribal House, on Chief Shakes Island, in the middle of the Wrangell Harbor.

Log Update from Wrangell, Alaska

We arrived in Wrangell, Alaska at noon today. Very cloudy with the mountains still having snow on the tops, but we were able to walk around town in jeans and a fleece jacket. Of course, I'm pretty much wearing my fleece hat where ever I go. Thus, I look pretty close to a homeless bag lady. But I must admit I've been pretty warm this past week, possibly because I'm adapting to Alaska's weather.

Looks like we'll be here two nights and then off to Petersburg, where we also hope to pick up a new phone that Brad ordered via the internet.
Here is some insight on what we've been up to since our last posting:

Sat., 6/21 - Ketchikan to Meyer's Chuck (35 nm)
Purchased more fuel in Ketchikan, before heading North (86.5 gallons for $352). As we headed north the Grand Banks Tour was also heading North. Quite fun to watch them cruise, as if in a parade. We arrived in Meyer's Chuck close to noon and tied up on the public docks. We enjoyed a nice walk around the area where a few people live. We met a family from San Diego (Point Loma) and another one from Washington. The couple from Washington actually own a mooring (B26) in Cherry Cove, Catalina (one of our favorite spots in Catalina). Mid-afternoon, a local teenager from Meyer's Chuck visiting all the boats on the docks and trying to sell homemade sugar cookies. She was raising money to help her participate in a Volley Ball Tournament in Reno,Nev where 10,000 women would be playing. We were very impressed with this young lady and bought some cookies from her, which actually were some of the best homemade cookies I've ever had.








Sun., 6/23 - Meyer's Chuck to Santa Anna Inlet (22 nm)
We had very flat seas and stunning views of snow capped mountains. We spotted our first Humpback Whale and slowed the boat to enjoy watching the whale feed. This was definitely our first "sunglass" day as we both had to wear sunglasses all day long. We anchored in Santa Anna Inlet, near a little waterfall which made noise like it was quite large. Possibly there was more to the waterfall than we could see, but the trees were so thick it was difficult to tell. I did catch a very large fish...but unfortunately it was a "Dogfish" which isn't a desired fish to catch.

Our anchorage was: 55 58.68N 131.56 091W

Mon., 6/24 - Santa Anna Inlet to Wrangell (36 nm)
An easy trip with calm seas. Big highlight was dodging all the gill netters catching salmon. We thought dodging lobster pots in So. Cal was difficult.

Still in Ketchikan

We are still in Ketchikan. Had originally planned to leave this morning, but have decided to stay one more day. Brad's cell phone died and we've ordered a replacement to be sent to us in Petersburg.

We're on our third day of sunshine. It is so delightful to have sun. But I realize up north one can't take sunshine for granted as the weather can change quite quickly.

Tomorrow we'll definitely depart for Meyer's Chuck and then on to Wrangell.

Here is a photo as we enter Foggy Bay:


This is Brad cooking dinner on the BBQ, while we are in Foggy Bay, Alaska:


Fishing Boat & cruise ship in Ketchikan:

We've arrived in Ketchikan, Alaska

We actually arrived Tuesday morning in Ketchikan, Alaska. Other than very heavy mist, so misty infact you could probably drink it, we had an uneventful cruise. We did see a beautiful Alaska ferry while underway, along with quite a few fisherman. And when we entered the harbor at Ketchikan there were four cruise ships tied up at the docks.

We are staying at the Bar Harbor Marina in Ketchikan. It is an older marina on the north side of town, away from the cruise ship terminals. It is quite close to a Safeway store, which helps for provisioning. The other marinas in the area have a bit longer of a haul for provisioning, or end up buying items are very small grocery stores.

With 3 nights on the docks we've been able to do a pretty thorough cleaning of the boat, replenish our galley and explore the area. But we're ready to head out of here in the morning (Friday).

Our cruise schedule will continue to take us North, but at a more relaxing pace. We now plan to spend more time on anchor, in remote areas, and do some fishing and crabbing. But as we are moving North we'll periodically be hitting some places that we hope will provide WIFI access. No, not the bears, but little communities on various islands.

It looks like we'll anchor in Meyer's Chuck and then move up to Wrangell, which is a good size city for Alaska. So while I didn't get a chance to post any more photos while in Ketchikan, I hope to be able to do so once we get to Wrangell.

Oh, today there were 5 cruise ships in Ketchikan! The town is really hopping. And everyone is really friendly. We've also had two days of glorious sunshine. And we've seen many locals walking around with out a shirt on and/or wearing shorts, all while we are walking around in jeans, long sleeves and frequently wearing a fleece jacket. Pretty obvious we're not local, but everyone smiles & says hello just the same. I highly encourage others to come to Ketchikan for a vacation.

We're heading off to Foggy Bay, Alaska

Up early this morning as we have 57 nm to Foggy Bay. While enjoying a cup of hot coffee I wanted to post an update. Weather this morning looks like a great day for the PNW: no drizzle, but light grey clouds. Unclear if we'll see the sun today, but it doesn't look like we'll have a problem with wind. Should be a great trip, with calm seas.

Here are a few more photos that I took last night

Gale Winds 30-40 knots - Oh My!

First, we are safe. We tied up on the docks at Port Rupert Rowing & Yacht Club in BC ~10am this morning. And, they have WIFI. And we haven't had rain all day. The sun actually popped out, from behind the clouds, for a few minutes. We're spending one night here and then we cross over into US waters, where we'll soon begin a more liesurely cruise in Alaska vs focusing on moving north.

While we've lost a few days of cruise time, due to gale winds, we've had a great time. We've met some wonderful people and have actually been cruising with a sailboat (Doug & Jean from WA on Shaman), since we departed Port McNeil. Each day that we cruise further north it appears everything gets greener and more beautiful. We are now cruising the "inside passage" and the islands provide a great barrier to the majority of any storms that hit the PNW, but still we watch the weather reports and take things seriously if we hear of potential strong winds.

We're seeing more and more Bald Eagles, with each day that goes by. We probably saw 30 Bald Eagles today. I actually came within a few feet of one sitting on a pier. They are now almost as abundant as seagulls in San Diego, but definitely more entertaining.

We've also seen quite a few bears, some Black Bears and some Brown (Grizzly) Bears.

And we've caught a few fish, but I must confess they were too small to keep. Baby halibut, so we tossed them back. Still, it was fun to fish. Brad probably caught his first within two seconds of dropping a line, and another 5 fish within 3 minutes of starting to fish. I on the other hand, had fish eat my lures but it took sometime before I landed a fish. To clarify, our to-date fishing experience was a simple play time while on anchorage in a beautiful cove that wasn't really the best spot for fishing. Still, we are hoping to soon be able to spend more time fishing and catch some big halibut & salmon within a few more days.

We'll provide another update, once we get to Ketchikan. For now, here are some details that other boaters might be interested in and at the very bottom of this update are some photos.

Here is some insight on what we've been up to since our last update:

June 7th - departed Port McNeil for Allison Harbor (30 nm)
After 3 days on the docks in Port McNeil, we were really excited about heading further north. But, as gale winds had been blowing 30-40 knots in Queen Charlotte Strait, it was a good time to be tied up on the docks. You see, we needed to cross the strait to get further north. But we didn't really want to cross the strait with 30-40 knot winds.

During our time in Port McNeil we did a bit of boat cleaning, laundry and light shopping. We enjoyed chatting with fellow boaters, many of which were heading North to Alaska. While the local tourist center provides great insight on things to do in the area, we really value the opinions from fellow boaters.

While on the docks, we met many delightful people. One lovely couple, Doug & Jean from Wa., and this is their 2nd year to cruise to cruise north. One day we were all in the Visitor's Center, using their free internet access, and we all took a short walk together to check out the world's largest burl which is 24 tons. It was very interesting, but I kept thinking how I'd love to find someone who would cut it up and make some nice furniture out of it for me.

On our last day in Port McNeil, we took the advice of Doug & Jean to catch the ferry over to Alert Bay, on Cormorant Island, and they also joined us. The four of us hiked on the "Gator trail", which is a great hiking trail built over a bog. Looks like something that should be in Louisiana. We also toured: world's tallest totem pole, an old cemetery with totem poles, a new cemetery with interesting tombstones & crosses all with First Nation style decor, the U'Mista Cultural Center, the Big House, and many other items. The Cultural Center was far beyond my dreams and an insightful experience where we gained more appreciation for the First Nation people. We highly recommend a visit to Alert Bay and definitely to the U'Mista Cultural Center.
And we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Alert Bay.

When we departed Port McNeill for Allison Harbor, we knew there was a risk if heavy winds in the afternoon, so we made an early departure. It was clear that many boats in the harbor were also heading out at the same time. Unfortunately we couldn't leave until we bought more fuel and the fuel docks didn't open until 8am. But we had great entertainment watching Bald Eagles eat their breakfast on the beach, while we were tied up at the fuel docks & waiting for them to open. As Shaman had a similar destination they set off before us and had set anchor before we arrived in Allison Harbor.

BTW, our top off at the fuel docks was $337.31 CDN for 80 gallons! And everyone expressed that Port McNeill had great fuel prices.

It was a drizzly day, but we loved Allison Harbor. We initially thought we'd stay in Allison one night, but as the forecast reported more gale warnings we decided to stay put for an additional night. Shaman also decided to stay put. Funny, as we didn't end up with any wind either nights. So on the subsequent morning we decided to head out of the Harbor and into the strait, risking weather conditions as the forecast reported. Oddly enough, we had about 30 minutes of 2' windchop and the rest of the trip was pretty flat and uneventful. Oh well, another weatherman was off on their report, but at least we played it safe by staying an additional day in a protected anchorage. And Allison Harbor is a beautiful anchorage that we'd love to come back to again.
51 03.439N 127 30.363W

June 8th - " Allison Harbor for Green Island(47 nm)
We saw several "large" whales while cruising to Green Island. We weren't certain what type, but think they might have ben grey whales. Definitely large. Larger with bigger plumes than I've seen in So. Cal. 51 38.519N 127 50.199W

June 10th - " Green Island for Shearwater (40nm)
We now focused on weather reports for Hecate Strait, which again reported gale forecasts of 35-45 knots. But as we felt we'd get some protection from nearby islands vs worrying about spending too much time directly in Hecate Strait, we decided to go for it. And we started our cruise early, before winds would pick up. Overall, sea conditions were quite calm for this leg of our journey. We were also pleasantly entertained with sightings of more whales and eagles. We tied up on the docks at Shearwater Resort on Denny Island, which is a nice fishing resort.

We've definitely noticed that as we cruise north we are seeing more and more Eagles. But it was quite fun to see a tree overlooking the marina, where a Bald Eagle liked to perch and watch. We were able to get closer to this Eagle than any others (see photos later in this update). The wharfinger (docks' manager) advised all boaters to be careful with onboard pets as this eagle has been known to swoop down and collect a few morsels, even if they were on a leash. Hymm.

Oh, and Shaman is continuing to join us on our cruise north. Jean & Doug are great traveling companions so we have pretty much planned our routes to cruise to Ketchikan together.

June 11th - " Shearwater for Bottleneck (52 nm)
Brad spotted our first Sea Otter today. He was alone and floating on his back. Quite a big one too! Cute guy! We anchored in Bottleneck, a lovely inlet:
54 42.558N 128 24.008 W

June 12th - " Bottleneck to Khutze (29 nm)
Another beautiful cruise, where the highlight was waterfalls. We considered anchoring at the head of the bay in Khutze, but there were three boats there in a raft up and anchorage was ~60', or more, in the open spots. We concluded we'd go back and anchor near the spit, which proved to be a great spot: 53 05.321N 128 30.907W Shaman arrived a few hours after we did and anchored nearby.


June 13th - " Khutze to Hartley Bay (38nm)
Hartley Bay is a really interesting First Nations village with great docks. Upon arriving we purchased fuel ($283 CDN for 190 litres) and took on water. It was mid-day and Mary, the manager of the marina and fuel docks, said we were her first customer. Obviously, this is a quiet place. To top off our fuel tanks the hose from the tanks was dropped down from a pierhead ~25'. It was an interesting experience.

After fueling, Mary told us to take any open spot in the marina. Without starting up the engines, we simply moved our boat up to an available spot. Quite easy. While waiting for Shaman to arrive, we began to explore the townn of Hartley Bay.

There are no roads in Hartley Bay, as we know them. There are wooden walkways that connect all the homes, as well as the docks. These walkways are wide enough for an ATV to cruise around and it seems that all the locals have one. But don't get the wrong impression and think these walkways are congested with traffic. The most traffic on these walkways were dogs running out to greet us.

The residents of Hartley Bay are part of the First Nation. All very friendly people and heartwarming. You may not remember, but in March '06 it was the people of Hartley Bay that rescued a BC ferry that hit a rock. This small community helped to save the lives of ~700 on this ferry, of which only two people were lost at sea. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060323/rescue_ferry_060323/20060323/ If we ever have a serious boating problem I hope we are near Hartley Bay, or someone from Hartley Bay is near us, as I'm sure they'd help us out. 53 25.447N 129 35.090W





June 14th - " Hartley Bay to Kermeleon Cove (46 nm)
Another deightful cruise and beautiful anchorage: 53 51.762N 130 01.670W

Oh, for our Southern California friends I should let you know that at 7am the inside cabin temperature was 53 degrees. Yes, that is after we've had the heat on. To clarify, we do use the heater in the morning and we'll turn it on a few times while underway. But I think we are getting used to this cooler weather.

June 15th - " Kermeleon Cove to Prince Rupert (33 nm)


Tomorrow morning we'll depart for Foggy Bay, Alaska. It is a 42 nm journey and will be the first place we anchor in Alaska. The following day (Tuesday) we'll clear customs in Ketchikan. As the US Customs does not have an office in Foggy Bay we actually had to call US Customs today, while in Prince Rupert, to ask permission to anchor in Foggy Bay for a night. To clarify, from Prince Rupert to Foggy Bay is 42 nautical miles (nm) and from Foggy Bay to Ketchikan is 38 nm. While we could technically make the trip in one day, our preference is to do it in two days. Thus, we apprecate the US Customs giving us permission to anchor in Foggy Bay for a night.

Our current plans for when we get to Ketchikan is to stay on the docks for three nights. Brad has ordered a regulator for the boat and we are hoping it will be waiting for us when we arrive in Ketchikan. To clarify, Brad concluded it wasn't the alternator that was giving us problems putting energy back into our batteries, but the regulator. Brad also has a few other minor boat projects, like changing oil, when we are in Ketchikan. And I have a large list too. Thus, we've concluded that three days in Ketchikan will give us time to do boat projects, replenish the boat's galley, and prepare for the next phase of our journey....enjoying the summer in Alaska.

The next update should come from when we are in Ketchikan. Tomorrow we'll anchor in Foggy Bay and then clear customs in Ketchikan. We plan to spend 3 nights in Ketchikan as we have a few boat projects to do, a lot of laundry, and need to do some shopping to provision our galley for cruising in Alaska and being able to stay out on anchorage for extended periods.



Photos:
Here is a photo of the World's largest burl, 24 tons, found in Port McNeil, Vancouver Island, BC. This was one of the fun things we did while waiting out the gale winds, while in Port McNeil.


Here are some photos from our visit to Alert Bay:






Here is a photo of a juvenile Bald Eagle. While waiting for the fuel docks in Port McNeil to open we enjoyed watching two juviniles, along with Mom & Dad, all have their breakfast.

Photos from Green Inlet:


Photos from Shearwater:


Photos from Khutze Bay:

Photos from Hartley Bay:



Photos from Kermelean Cove:



Photos from Prince Rupert: