We are now in Petersburg and will be going through Wrangell Narrows tomorrow, en route to Wrangell. I have not been able to post our normal post of our trip from Sitka to Petersburg. I will do so as soon as I can.
In the mean time check out JoAnne's blog at jobeeart.blogspot.com.
George and JoAnne.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Baranof Warm Spring to Sitka
The next morning we took our AM bash until we made it nearly to Peril Strait before things smoothed out. I had gotten really cold being under dressed in the cold air. Even when the sunshines warm in this part of the world the wind blows cold.
It was good to get to Appleton Cove and get anchored after our cold 39-mile passage. Once we drank hot chocolate and fired up the oven, we started to thaw out.We had a good night, anchored at 57° 28.319’ N / 135° 17.363’ W, with a large power yacht in the tranquil anchorage.
The next morning we headed for our appointment with high slack tide at Sergius Narrows and onto Sitka. 
We stopped at Bear Bay 57° 25.279’ N / 135° 34.258’ W for lunch and to wait for high slack tide to go through Sergius Narrows.
After we got through Sergius Narrows we went through Kakul Narrows and into Salisbury Sound to Veva Strait, through Whitestone Narrows to Olga Strait to Sitka.
When we went into Salisbury Sound we picked up a NW breeze and set a reefed main sail and had a brisk dead downwind sail all the way through Olga Strait before the wind dropped to the point where we had to restart the motor and motor sail the rest of the way to Sitka.
May 23, 7 PM we hailed the harbor master and were directed to the transient dock near the loading dock 57° 03.436’ N / 135° 21.188’ W. We tied her down for our stay in Sitka, and were greeted by Earl the resident Sea Lion.
The view from our berth looking west, the snow capped Mt. Edgecumbe, a dormant volcano.
The next morning Donna from Skookum Canvas came by and started taking patterns for our new bimini top.
More to come in a few days.
George nad JoAnne.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Port Protection to Baranof Warm Spring
The next morning we timed our departure from Port Protection to arrive at Devils elbow 56° 38.190’ N / 133° 41.219’ W in Rocky Pass an hour before high tide, this would put us right to go through the channel at the Summit with water depth to spare.
All went as advertised and we didn’t see anything much less than 16 feet. We met one other boat coming the other way; the 55-foot MV/ Dustin who announced his arrival at the Summit and asked for north bound traffic to advise.
We kept in touch by VHF radio until we saw each other just north of Devils Elbow.
When we got on the other side of the Summit and back into deeper water, we stopped by a little island near Day Marker Red “32”and anchored for lunch 56° 41.816’ N / 133° 43.845’ W.
We then headed for a little Cove near Point Camden to anchor for the night.
The little cove provided excellent anchorage,
and we enjoyed our stay at the very scenic spot 35 miles from Port Protection 56° 47.623’ N / 133° 49.270’ W.
Tomorrow we head for Baranof Warm Springs across Frederick Sound and into Chatham Strait.
The next morning we headed for Baranof Warm Spring through the scenic islands as we went by Kake.
The 40-mile passage from Point Camden to Baranof Warm Spring was smooth but the air from the heavy snow packed mountains on Baranof Island made it a little on the cool side.
We tied Teal to the dock at the Borough of Baranof Warm Spring 57° 05.343’ N / 137°49.978’ W. We learned from Ted a property owner there, building an impressive stairway up the side of the mountain to his cabin, that The Borough has a small population of summer residents and one or two all year.The warm spring pools, a half a mile or so up the river at the end of the inlet, were still snowed in when we hiked up the trail. But the Borough has built a free bathhouse by the dock with hot water piped into three tubs from the spring. JoAnne and I took a soak in the one Japanese wooden tub there; it was a beautiful piece of work.
It is quite unique to be soaking in warm water in a piece of artwork while taking in the view of snow capped mountains and the spectacular waterfall at the end of the inlet.Back on the boat we dined and turned in for the night. Tomorrow we head for Peril Strait.
Stay Tuned,
George and JoAnne
Monday, June 02, 2008
Exchange Cove to Port Protection
The 28 mile passage through Sumner Strait to Port Protection was glassy smooth with fair currents.
After dodging commercial salmon fishing boats trolling their lures right through the harbor,
we tied to the visitors float 56° 19.363’ N / 133° 36.686’ W at 3:15 PM
After getting squared away, we rowed over to check out the store. Port Protection services the local fishing fleet. There is a fish buyer and a small store, a liquor store, marine supplies, a laundramat, and shower of sorts.Back on the boat we dined on crab before turning in for the night. Tomorrow we will head accross Sumner Strait, into Keku strait for our appointment one hour before high tide at Devel's Elbow.
More to Come stay tuned,
George and JoAnne
Ketchikan to Thorne Bay and Exchange Cove
Last fall before we left the boat in Ketchikan and went home, I arranged to have Teal re-upholstered during the winter and have new cockpit canvas made when we returned in the spring. Greg, the impressive young fellow who was to do the work died of inoperable liver cancer during the winter. He was only 51 and his loss has been greatly felt by his family as well as the community. After investigating our options, we made arrangements with Donna at Skookum Canvas in Sitka to do the work and we will shove off for Sitka on May 17th.I put an extra 10 gallons of fuel in a flexible bladder at the aft end of the cockpit for the 280 mile passage to Sitka. The first leg of the trip was a 40-mile passage to Thorne Bay. The day started with overcast skies and sprinkles and just enough wind against the tide to make things rough enough to encourage hoisting a reefed main sail to steady the boat. By noon it had smoothed out and we had enough sun to be comfortable the rest of the way to Thorne Bay.
The entrance and route to the once ‘worlds largest lumber operation’ at Thorn bay is a shallow passage around and through several shoals.
In the bay are several occupied and deserted float houses and floating docks.
Once near the marina we hailed the harbormaster and got a response from a fisherman named Raymond who was heading out for Ketchikan and said we were welcome to, not only use his slip for the night, but also to plug into his power if we needed it. 
We found Raymond’s slip 55° 40.940’ N / 132° 31.367’ W and tied down for the night still early enough to visit the store and the rest of the little community of 600. As one local put it “300 here in town and another 300 you can’t see”.
The next morning we headed out for the 45-mile passage to Exchange Cove near the top of Prince Of Wales Island and through Kashevarof Passage. We started out bashing into head seas and foul currents, but we smoothed out by mid day.
Some time after we anchored I set the crab trap and later a motor yacht came in and anchored for the night.The next morning after taking four good-sized male Dungeness Crab from the trap, we headed for Port Protection to stage for our high tide passage through the dreaded (by some local boaters because of the shoal waters at low tide) Rocky Pass in Keku Strait.
More to come Stay tuned,
George and JoAnne
The Dora Bay Ham Rendezvous
(click on photos to open larger in a new window)
May 9th. After a few days in Ketchikan catching up on our email, we set out for the Ham Rendezvous at the Shack at Dora Bay. The Shack is the cabin home of Darlene and Floyd Minor on an un-named Island at Divide Head in Cholmondeley Sound.
May 9th. After a few days in Ketchikan catching up on our email, we set out for the Ham Rendezvous at the Shack at Dora Bay. The Shack is the cabin home of Darlene and Floyd Minor on an un-named Island at Divide Head in Cholmondeley Sound. 
Darlene is the net control for the Great Northern Boaters Net, managed by Barabara VE7KLU at Sidney, B.C. and Darlene KL0YC at Dora Bay Alaska.
Several Boats left for Dora Bay a day or two ahead of us due to the incoming weather being for cast. The day we left all the weather indices showed moderate conditions deteriorating later that day. We rode the last of the ebb tide out Nichols Passage in time to catch the flood tide coming into Clarence Strait in about 10 knots SE. We set a reefed main sail to steady the boat in Nichols Passage and motor sailed on a broad reach to Cholmondeley Sound, surfing off good sized waves toward mid day.
JoAnne went below to fix lunch as we turned into Cholmendely (pronounced) Cholmley by Alaskans. She no more than got the soup hot when the forecasted weather hit. It got a little hectic down below until I got the main sail down and the boat settled
Ever since we left Washington we kept hearing that the ham rendezvous was at the Shack at the end of Dora Bay. When we got to the end of Dora Bay we hailed the Shack on VHF to get landing instructions, to find we were at the wrong end of Dora Bay, and that the Shack was on the little island just off Divide Head. It was a scenic ride, albeit we were a little on the cold and tired side.
Once at the shack we were directed to a neighbors dock where Bob VA7RAK on Counting Coup, an aluminum junk rigged ketch, David and Debbie AB7EO on Vagrant, a Halberg Rassy 42, and Eric and Sherry KD7QFG on Dolphin, a Monk 36 motor yacht were rafted on the deep side of a very nice, new dock. We tied Teal to the inside of the dock. Simon and Sunnie on Seascape, a 50 ft. steel Ketch had collected Barbara VE7KLU at the Ketchikan Yacht Club. She had flown in from Sidney, B.C. for the event. Seascape was tied up at the mooring in front of the Shack.
Kim and Eric on Abyssinia, a 60 ft aluminum motor yacht, was anchored further back in the channel off Divide Head. We all met aboard Vagrant for Hors d'oeuvre and had a nice visit getting acquainted. We discovered later that they all knew each other and had been here at least a few times before.
The next day Sherry and Eric invited us aboard Dolphin for lunch and a tour of their boat. They have made a lot of modifications to their Monk, which have made their cruising more comfortable and enjoyable.
We came back to Teal and fixed our potluck dishes for the rendezvous. About 4 PM we rowed our skiff to the beach in front of the Shack and hauled our dishes to the cabin. The Shack is a work in progress like moat all cabins in Alaska. Darleen and Floyd have done a remarkable job making the Shack warm, cozy and comfortable, we all had a wonderful time sharing all the great dishes brought to the pot luck.
The next morning all the boats took off to the respective destinations in spite of the threatening weather. We tied Teal to the vacant mooring in front of the Shack and went up to return a CD we had borrowed, and spent most of the morning having a great visit with Darlene and Floyd before heading to Kitkun Bay just a few miles away.
Kitkun Bay is a very secluded bay and anchorage with a tricky entrance through a tidal rapid that can only be run in a sailboat at or very near slack tide. When we took Teal through, the ebb was still running 3 to 4 knots; but we were able to power our way through. Once we worked our way to the very end of the bay, we found an excellent anchorage that was as flat as you can get at 30 feet at 0 tide within a boat length or so to shore. 
The anchorage is completely land locked by high snow capped mountains, save the narrow entrance into the basin. We anchored and settled in for the coming blow that started about 2 AM. By morning it was raining buckets, and while hardly any sustained wind could find its way in we had violent gusts that occasionally came off the mountains that healed Teal from port one time, then starboard the next, and pushed up little white caps across the anchorage.
By morning the storm had passed and we took advantage of high slack tide to leave Kitkun Bay, head for Vallener Point and Tongass Narrows and back to Ketchikan. Our passage was smooth and warm and we pulled into the Ketchikan Yacht Club at Thomas Basin by mid afternoon.
Next we go to Sitka for canvas and upholstery work. Its a long trip between internet hook-ups it will take several blog postings to get the whole trip posted.
Stay tuned,
George and JoAnne
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