Our cruise north has come to an end.

We have been in Ketchikan since getting back from our circumnavigation of Revillagigedo Island making ready to head south to the lower 48. We are leaving this morning for a two day passage to Prince Rupert, making one more overnight stop in Alaska at Foggy Bay, then south from there. We will bring the blog up to date somewhere along the way, access to the web providing.

Stay tuned,

George and JoAnne

Walker Cove, July 24.

After lifting 50 pounds of ground tackle 110 feet back on board, and after a short rest for me to recuperate, we headed for Walker Cove.










When we turned into Walker Cove a float plane was just leaving. When we got to the mooring, 55°34.865’ N / 130°57.600’ W, I spotted a bear and a cub on the beach.





It was a female Alaska Brown Bear and her cub. We tied to the mooring in the cove near the beach where the bears were foraging.







Our scent presence and noise we were making didn't effect the bears a bit. The female was content grazing on beach asparagus,







while the cub some distance away on the tidal beach entertained itself digging clams.

We basked in the warm sun after lunch just watching the bears gorge themselves in between trips to the water to bath.




They seemed oblivious to all else, until a float plane came from up the valley at low altitude and buzzed the beach. That got her attention,






and the cub came running to mom.

Occasionally the cub would follow mom around bleating ceaselessly until she would rollover and nurse it.

About 3:30 after working the length of the visible beach they finally disappeared into the trees.


About an hour later four males came around the point and started grazing along the same shore where the female and her cub had spent the day. One of males was huge I had a hard time believing what I was seeing. The four males worked the beach until evening then they also disappeared into the trees.

The next morning two float planes landed and taxied into the stream looking for bears. They allowed the current in the stream to push them back into the cove, then paddled the length of the beach without seeing any bears.





During the float plane show, I rowed the skiff out and retrieved our crab trap and ten large crabs. I cleaned five good sized males and released the rest, as the float planes took off. We were making ready to leave the cove and the female and her cub reappeared on the beach.




After we left the mooring I was able to get very close to shore before I ran out of enough depth for Teal. JoAnne was able to get very good pictures, which she refers to as her "National Geographic photos."






We went up the head, where there are actually two heads, where two separate glaciers met leaving two glacier cut valleys. We went in close to the west head and saw no signs of bear.

The east head however had three large males working the high tide line.







When I gassed the motor to leave, one big male stood up for this photo.







When we left Walker Cove and headed north up Behm Canal the weather was changing for the worse.

Stay tuned for the rest of the story,

George and JoAnne

Rudyard Bay, July 23.

After leaving Shoalwater Pass we headed for Punchbowl Cove in Rudyard Bay.










New Eddystone Rock is a prominent sight in Behm Canal and can be seen for miles.







Rudyard Bay is the heart of Misty Fiord's National Monument.








When turning into the entrance to Rudyard Bay you get a hint of the spectacular vistas to be seen.







Punchbowl Cove takes your breath away. The summit of the glacial cut ridge is over 3000 feet.

There was a boat moored at the only mooring in Rudyard Bay, 55° 31.750’ N / 130°47.085’ W. The crew had apparently rowed ashore and hiked up to Punchbowl Lake, leaving their boat at the mooring. There was no other suitable anchorage.


As we headed up the Bay we discovered each cove and glacial valley was equally breathtaking.







Our little camera was totally inadequate to capture the majesty of the vistas.








As we worked our way further up the bay we saw several waterfalls. During rainy periods there are hundreds all gushing into the sea.









The end of the road. These glacial-cut inlets are all spectacular with beautiful meadows at their ends, where Alaska Brown Bears forage.






While we were at the end of the bay a float plane landed, beached, and let passengers out on the beach to get the feel of the wilderness, I guess.






Float planes in the Fiord's are thick as flies.








Not finding suitable anchorage in Rudyard Bay, we headed across Behm Canal to Manzanita Bay.

A south wind found its way into Behm Canal and by the time it fetched to Rudyard Bay it made a lumpy crossing over to Manzanita Bay.


The mooring shown on the chart was not present in the cove and we had to anchor in 110 feet. 55°34.865’ N / 130°57.600’ W
That was going to make it a long haul to get our ground tackle back on board in the morning, before going to Walker Cove.

Stay tuned,

George and JoAnne

Around Revillagigedo Island, July 21.

About the time we squared away Teal after out trip to Moira Sound the weather looked like we were going to have a Sun break for our trip around Revillagigedo island, and through Misty Fiord's.

We got away from our berth at the club mid afternoon and layed over in a nice little cove behind Carroll Point.


The cove is well sheltered, and we tied to the mooring placed in the center of the cove. 55° 17.915’ N / 131° 28.305’ W.










Secured to the mooring in Carroll Point Cove, we settled in for the night.







The next morning we continued on our route to Behm Canal and Misty Fiord's.




We went into Smeaton Bay to check out the Fjord and the anchorage at the head end of Bakewell Arm








After looking over both scenic arms of Smeaton Bay, and not finding suitable anchorage we continued on to the anchorage in Shoalwater Pass at Winstanley Island.
55° 24.830’ N / 130° 010’ W








We anchored in the tranquil cove and settled in for the night.








Like so many of the coves where we have anchored, the reflections on the mirror like surface are stunning.

Tomorrow we will continue our cruise to Punchbowl Cove in Rudyard Bay.

Stay tuned,
George and JoAnne.

Moira Sound, South Arm, July 14-17

After we left Dickman Bay Cove we picked up our crab trap and had to dump a small sand shark out through the crab door. He had to fold-up nearly in half to fit through the door. He swam away after he dropped out no worse for the ordeal. No, there were no crabs!

However, the prawn trap came up loaded with eight dozen good sized prawns.







We re-set the prawn trap at the entrance to Dickman Bay in West Arm on our way to South Arm.





We went to the head of South Arm to set the crab trap and check out the anchorage there. It was too open for our taste and we went back up the Arm to a little cove we spotted on our way in.









We sounded the little N. E. nook in the cove and felt comfortable anchoring there for the night. 54° 58.830’ N / 132° 07.940’ W







We had no sooner left the spot where we set the crab trap, and JoAnne spotted a bear working the high tide line on the opposite shore. I motored carefully over toward the bear into shoal water so JoAnne could get some photos. I had to back off when the depth of the water got too shallow. Click on the thumbnail to enlarge for a better shot at the bear. Before we got to the cove where we anchored, we spotted another bear also working the high tide line of the shore.

The little cove where we anchored was tranquil and secure.

Click on thumbnail to see the interesting reflections (totems).






The next morning we went back to the head of South Arm to pick up our empty crab trap, and spotted a third bear actually grazing along the high tide line. This 1s where "Beach Asparagus" thrives this time of year. Locals harvest this plant and some can it, and enjoy this delicacy all year. We figured the bears had zeroed in on it too.

After picking up the crab trap, we went over to West Arm and found four dozen good sized prawns in our prawn trap before heading over to Johnson Cove.


We re-set the prawn trap near the entrance to Johnson Cove before going to the head end to set the crab trap and anchoring in the cove. 54° 58.365’ N / 132° 05.520’ W







We set the crab trap near this old ferry boat that apparently had been scuttled and left as a derelict.







The cove was peaceful as well as scenic in the afternoon sun.








While we were sounding our anchorage, this little buck was content to stay put and just watch. When he discovered we were staying, he disappear into the foliage and we never saw him again the rest of our stay.





The next morning we picked up our empty crab trap and headed out of Johnson Cove to get our prawn trap on our way back to Ketchikan.










The prawn trap produced four dozen big prawns, in spite of the tel tale evidence of sand fleas. They left nothing behind of the bait, but the lacy remains of bones picked absolutely clean. There was also a skinny little star fish.





We left Moira Sound with 20 dozen of these tasty morsels in the box.... except for the ones we ate along the way. It's hard to not sample these tasty little morsels when you've worked so hard to gather them.









We got across a flat calm Clarance Strait and into Nichols Passage before the N.W. wind built. I started trolling for Coho as soon as we reached the Bronaugh Islands. We hadn't gone very far when we had a fish on. We got it to the boat, but again we farmed it out before we got 'em in the net. We fished along the north shore until we got to Bostwick Inlet, a local favorite for crabbing. We were hungry for crab and it was early enough in the day to go in to the head end of the inlet and set our trap amongst at least a hundred others. Boats are continually coming and going into Bostwick to tend crab pots. We then spent the next three hours unsuccessfully trolling along the shore between Bostwick Point and Blank Inlet while we were waiting for our trap to fill up with big succulent Dungeness Crabs.

When we went back into the inlet to tend our trap we found two legal sized males and one female which was returned. We went into Thomas Basin at the Ketchikan Yacht Club, and had crab for dinner.

We will hang in here until the incoming weather clears, then go around Revillagigedo Island through Misty Fiords, explore the top end of "Revilla" then come back here to get squared away for our trip south back to Puget Sound to lay Teal up for the winter.

Stay tuned,

George and JoAnne.

Moira Sound, July 13

After several days of rain while at the Ketchikan Yacht Club, it looked like we were going to have a change in the weather, so we took off for Moira Sound on Prince of Wales island. Our route took us out Nichols Passage and across Clarence Strait. There was a little S.E. wind so after we made our way through the fishing fleet at Bronaugh Islands, I set our 140 Genoa on close reach to steady the boat and motor sailed in broken cloud/sunny skies to Moira Sound.



We went into North Arm and set the prawn trap at a likely spot before continuing to Clarno Cove at the head end to check out the anchorages.






We weren't satisfied with any of the coves at the upper end, so we dropped back down to Cannery Cove.






After sounding the cove we anchored for the night.
55° 06.710’N / 132° 08.600’ W










After getting squared away I rowed out the crab trap, under a rainbow, to a likely spot.







Click on the thumbnail photo to see some of the still existing pilings that once supported the cannery. The cannery operated until they canned the entire run of salmon they depended on. A testimony to a bygone day.





The next morning we found the crab trap empty, but on our way to Dickman Bay we hauled our prawn trap and it produced four dozen good sized prawns. This haul reinforced our confidence for catching prawns.





On our way to Dickman Bay we went into Niblack Anchorage to check it out. The chart shows the abandon village site of Niblack at the head end, 55° 03.480’N / 132° 06.630’ W. Since it became a fishing lodge for a while, and now is the site of a small scale uranium mine with a floating logging camp anchored in the southwest cove to serve the mining crew.


None of the coves in Niblack Anchorage suited us so we moved on to Dickman Bay.

We set the prawn trap in a likely spot in about 400 feet before going up to the head end of the inlet to find an anchorage.





We found excellent anchorage in a very tranquil cove.






We anchored in a spot with a beautiful view. 55° 02.765’ N / 132° 15.037’ W

More to see in Moira Sound.
Stay tuned,

George and JoAnne