Time to catch you up on our travels. As you can see, we’ve made it from Sitka to Petersburg since I last wrote. Actually, we’re officially heading south. Our furthermost northern point was at Swanson Harbor on the south end of Couveden Island: 58o11’27”N. Our most western point was in Sitka: 135o21’96” N. To put that in perspective, here are the coordinates for LaConner, Washington: 48°23′26″N 122°29′44″W. There’s some math to be done, there, to figure out the distances…..
Saturday morning, July 16, our route from Sitka retraced the route we had to Sitka, so we departed in good time with an eye to the currents in Sergius Narrows. Although the day was overcast, we didn’t have fog and could see some of the beautiful scenery. We met the fast ferry, Fairweather, once more, in Neva Strait and were prepared for the huge wake we had to bounce through. Our diligent planning resulted in a smooth passage through the narrows. Although this is a good thing, I think it gives us a false sense of security. We haven’t really had a bad passage through any of these narrows since we plan well, so we start to think that there’s not much to them!
We cruised east through Peril Strait and once again saw whales in the distance. You may remember, we came upon a sleeping whale as we cruised west through this area, but didn’t hear any “whale snores” this time! It took us about 7 hours to reach our anchorage for the night, at Hanus Bay on the northeast side of Baranof Island. We didn’t have good information about this anchorage, but decided to give it a try and it turned out to be lovely! We anchored in 40 feet of water. Jerry and Beth tried fishing, again, but absolutely no luck! But, even better, we saw bears! This is the first time we’d seen bears of any consequence. We watched the sow and her two cubs forage through the grass at the edge of the cove for a good half hour! Must be a lean year…they looked rather scrawny.
We went to bed after enjoying a glorious sunset and on Sunday, July 17, we awoke to a beautiful sunny morning. We were a little concerned about the tides so we hauled anchor about 0650. That probably doesn’t sound very early to you, but it seems early to us. Our preferred departure time is closer to 1000! We had a beautiful cruise south along the east side of Baranof Island. The day was bright and sunny and the water was absolutely flat…pretty cool for Chatham Strait, which is a big body of water with an ocean entrance at its southern end.
We stopped at Warm Springs about 1030 to explore the area and enjoy the hot mineral springs. This is one of those places where Alaska’s geothermal activity is capitalized upon. Boaters can tie up to the dock and have a soak in a hot tub, filled with naturally supplied hot water. We all decided to give it a try! The view out the window is of Baranof waterfall. We later hiked up to the lake and wandered around this little “boardwalk town.” Our travel book said to be sure and wear boots to hike these trails. Well, I think the book was written before someone came in and put in lovely boardwalk trails. So. to put them to good use, I waded out into the water to stand on a rock for this shots. 
Our destination anchorage on Tuesday was at Red Bluff Bay, where another waterfall greeted us. Once again, the fishermen tried to catch dinner, but no luck! We did have a lovely anchorage in a little cove, and in one of the trees on the shore was an eagle’s nest. We watched mom and dad come and go to feed the chicks. We’ve seen lots and lots of eagles, but being so close to the nest was a first. Our view off the back of the boat was of the lovely falls in this delightful cove. Lots of "photo ops"!
Monday, July 18, we awoke to overcast skies in Red Bluff Cove and, once we got out into Chatham Strait, we found 4 foot waves against our beam and rain. Yuck!! Our destination was Cannery Cove in Pybus Bay on Admiralty Island We had stayed there with Jim and Chris Munch a few weeks before and knew that this was a beautiful anchorage. It seemed like a good place to stop on our way to Petersburg and we wanted Beth to see this lovely little spot. Well, we had quite a trip across the Strait. The cat was pretty unhappy and was glad to have Beth there to hold her. We made it safe and sound…we’ve got a tough little boat here. However, it wasn’t the lovely cruise we had hoped it would be.
We pulled into Cannery Cove about 1300 and couldn’t even see the tops of the peaks the surround this anchorage. It rained and rained and rained. I don’t think the fishermen even ventured outside! Three other yachts much larger than us were also anchored in the cove, and I’m sure they had pulled in to wait out the bad weather. On these days when there isn’t much to see and less to do, everyone usually reverts to reading or napping. While Beth has been on the boat we’ve had many games of Mexican Train and Phase Ten (a card game Jill gave us last summer), but we save those for evening pursuits. Fortunately, we’re well supplied with books and it’s rather pleasant to swing on the anchor, listen to the rain, and settle in with a good story. No phones, no internet, no TV of course…just lovely peace and quiet. A rainy day on the boat just isn’t all that bad!
When we awoke this next morning, we had lifting clouds and clearning skies, although we never did quite see the tops of the peaks around the cove. Beth is a persistent fisherman and threw out a line once more. Again, she got skunked, but did see eagles all around the cove. She has a photo of five eagles sitting on a rocky outcropping in the cove. Imagine! We’ve seen so many that they’re becoming hum-drum, if that’s possible. We can even readily identify the eagle’s funny, high-pitched cry. 
Tuesday’s afternoon’s destination was Petersburg. Although Beth didn’t fly out until Thursday morning, she wanted a day to explore this cute little fishing town. We had much better weather as we crossed Frederick Sound, after we cleared the fog coming out of Pybus Bay. As we approached the northeast side of Kupreanof Island, we saw whales again. This time they were breaching! I wish I could insert a fabulous photo but they were just too far off and too fast for me. This was the first time we’d seem them jumping out of the water so we stopped, floated and watched. I told Beth that the subtitle for her visit with us is “Whales!”
We settled into our berth in North Harbor in Petersburg. The photo at the left is our view off the back of the boat. The cannery that you see is “Icicle Foods” and is very busy place! When the fishing boats and the fishing boat tenders are in, they are off-loading fish 24/7! We met our next door slip mates – a couple from Australia who have been cruising since 2007 on “Betty Mc”. Can you imagine bringing your motor-sailer all the way from Australia?!?
This young man was more interested in feeding this poor, gasping herring salmon roe (bait) than catching more herring. Mom was the epitome of patience! We even watched a sea lion dine on a salmon, right off the end of our slip!
We’ve had several slip neighbors, and several have been fishing boats. The one in the photo is a purse seiner style of fishing boat. We ran across one of the crews at the pizza place at the head of the dock. The captain was quite an interesting fellow. He and his boat were out of Everett, Washington, just north of Seattle. His crew consisted of his son, his two adopted sons, and another young man. It was quite apparent that he was feeling the pressure of having such a young crew. He said he was captain, cook, and nursemaid! His biggest complaint was that he couldn’t get anyone interested in cooking for the crowd…apparently everyone was quite content to eat cereal for every meal!
Beth left us (doesn’t that sound sad???) on Thursday, July 21. Alaska Airlines services all of these little towns and the service is quite good. She flew to Juneau, then Seattle, then Victoria, where she caught a ferry to Vancouver, BC. She has a cousin in Vancouver and will spend a few days with Ann and her family. We will miss her! We love having company on the boat…anyone, any time! Beth is not company, though, she’s family….and such a good friend. She retired from teaching this year so we’re looking forward to seeing a lot more of her.
After Beth left, it was back to boat chores! We decided to stay in Petersburg until Monday and then head south. We needed to capitalize on phone and internet access and catch up with family and friends.
Being in a marina, near a decent-sized town is such a luxury. We enjoy getting off the boat and walking through neighborhoods to see what everyone’s garden and yard are doing. The growing season here in Alaska is short but intense. I suspect that folks with well-manicured lawns mow twice a week or whenever it’s dry enough. According to the Chamber of Commerce brochure, it rains 105” per year, although half of that is in the winter.
On Friday, July 22, Jerry and I did the five-mile loop around the north end of the island. I always take my camera along on these hikes...looking for the funny little shots...like this unique yard art! Petersburg, as small as it is, has lots of parks and outdoor spaces. Perhaps that is due to the Norwegian influence of the town. We’ve also noticed that the town is very clean…the streets are swept every Wednesday morning! Obviously Alaska has more money than California!
I think I mentioined that when we were in Wrangell…seems like 100 years ago…that we went to a movie at the museum theater. We’ve noticed since then that every small town has a similar shoiwng. First-run movies are shown on the weekend at the local auditorium Petersburg is no different. Northern Lights Theater, at the middle school, had a showing of “Super Eight” so we went Friday night. This Steven Spielberg movie was great fun and we’re glad we went. Sadly, not many from town were there, but we had a great time.
Saturday we walked south of town. Because Petersburg is on Mitkof, a relatively small island, there aren’t many roads. The only way to get here is by water or by air. Wrangell Narrows separates Mitkof Island from Kupreanof Island so that channel sees a lot of traffic. It’s the only way to come north on the “inside” and that’s our route of choice. Walking south out of town put us right along the narrows…a lovely walk. As we returned to town, we had this amazing view of the moutains just north of Petersburg. This is the first time we’ve had such a amazing view. I wish we could say that the harbor in the foreground is ours, but no….this is South Harbor and we’re in North Harbor. The red-roofed buildings in the background are the Sons of Norway Hall and another commercial building.
Sunday we were back at the Petersburg Lutheran Church. I’ve mentioned previously that we enjoy going to church whenever we can. It’s a great way to meet the folks who actually live and work here. Plus, after thirty years of church every Sunday in Visalia, it seems strange to not be in church on a Sunday. We met Lila and Grant, who have recently retired from commercial fishing and found that we have much in common. They have friends from Edmonds, WA, who have a Nordic Tug, and Grant gave us their contact information. We’ll have to look them up in the fall.
So, we’re taking off in the morning to head south down Wrangell Narrows. If the weather cooperates we’ll explore the west side of Prince of Wales Island with the ultimate goal of Wrangell on August 3. We have an appointment on August 5 at Anan Creek Bear Observatory to watch the grizzlies consume the spawning salmon.
We depart in the morning to head south down Wrangell Narrows. If the weather cooperates we'll explore the west side of Prince of Wales Island and stop in to visit the friendly folks at Point Baker. We will be in Wrangell on August 3 to prepare for our visit to Anan Bear Observatory on August 5. Yup, we're gradually heading south...our adventure is half over.
We hope all is well with you and wish you could be here with us!
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