Blog #5 June 10 – June 30

 

A recap of previous blog links:

Blog #1: http://witiak2015.blogspot.com/2015/05/april-22may-4-2015.html

Blog #2: http://witiak2015.blogspot.com/2015/05/may-5-may-13.html

Blog #3: http://witiak2015.blogspot.com/2015/06/alaskamay-14-26.html

Blog #4: http://witiak2015.blogspot.com/2015/06/may-27-june-9.html

The morning of June 10 we got underway at 5:45 am intending to head down Lisianski Inlet to the outside passage. At the point where one turns left to head to the Gulf of Alaska we consulted Hey You and decided to head back to Pelican and wait for better wind and sea conditions. We were back in our slips by 7:15 am no worse for the morning excursion.

 

Since we are back in Pelican, I will share with you the photo and story of the drowning grizzly rescue by Larry of the Pelican Inn.

By the way the Pelican Inn is for sale if you have been thinking of running a fishing lodge in a remote Alaskan village.

 

 

 

June 11^th we leave Pelican, again, this time at 6:15 am. We are confident that we have a better day. As we near the entrance to the Gulf of Alaska the chart shows us the rocky coast line.  Time to test our navigation skills.  Beautiful and wild is how I would describe it. I can’t imagine those early explorers without GPS and depth meters.  .

Our passage was not bad. We did have ocean swells and wind, but we didn’t feel that we were badly beaten up. For those of you who want the “full” experience, here is a video from inside Phase III:  https://youtu.be/qTIGUR6xwC0

Our first anchorage was near Chichagof Village, an abandoned mining village. Gold and silver was mined from 1905-1930’s. They say more than $13 million in gold was brought out of the mines. We didn’t find any nuggets left behind, but we did find the ruins of the mining equipment and buildings.

 

 

 

At first I thought I had spotted evidence of a horse at the mining site.  Then I realized that the grizzlies are eating grass this time of the year. Fortunately the bear we actually spotted was across the water.   Stealthily we kayaked over to see if we could get a photo. Bears don’t see very well and we were very quiet.   We got a couple photos, but as soon as we were upwind he caught our scent and ran into the woods.  

 

I think David is saying, “Am I close enough?”

One more day on the “outside” and the conditions were again favorable. Whew! We did it. We made the outside passage from Pelican down toward Sitka.  We didn’t take time to poke into all the inlets and coves, but we got a general sense of the ruggedness, desolation, and beauty; and we didn’t hit any rocks.

Kalinin Bay provided a protected comfortable anchorage. Folks who like to fish find it a good place to stay. You can pop out of the bay and fish the points outside. The reports we were getting from those who went out was that it was “snotty” out there. We caught up with the Anacortes folks on M/V Dolphin in Kalinin Bay. They had “new” guests picked up in Sitka and were headed back to Petersburg.

Magoun Bay is one of our favorite anchorages. It is protected, has great kayaking and great cell reception. We ran into Anacortes folks on M/V Tonic. We were in the west bay and they were in the east bay. We had a secret passage between the bays at high tide.

 

McDuff naps as we chat with Joann & Dennis

At this point we are killing time before heading to Sitka. We spend a night in DeGroff bay and then head up and around Halleck Island and down Nakwasina passage. David, Judy and Earl tried their hand at fishing and except for a few rock fish weren’t having any luck. Our entertainment during the day came from listening to fishermen on the radio. There were two in particular that caught our attention. We decided they must be brothers, each with their own boat. The one who we decided was younger was moaning about not catching anything, being bored, needing coffee, etc., etc. Their “radio language” left something to be desired. We were happy for them on the day fishing started to pick up. However, they had a m#@#f#@# sea lion trailing their lines.

As we neared the end of Nakwasina Passage, David was getting cold and bored of fishing. I took the boat out of gear so he could bring his line in. All of the sudden, he called, “Come quick, I have something big.” Sure enough he had hooked a salmon. We netted it and headed for Bee Hive cove where we anchored and he cleaned the fish. That night we shared a salmon dinner with Judy and Earl.

By now we are in need of a Laundromat and we are completely out of vegetables. Eliason Harbor in Sitka is our home for the next three nights. Sitka is a town of ~ 9000 (91% white 4% native 5% mixed). Cruise ships do visit Sitka.  The community manages cruise ship influence so that the town retains its character even when they aren’t in. Mid-June brings a the classical music festival to town. We enjoyed dinner out and the Friday night concert with the folks from M/V Hey You and M/V Carlinda.

With the assistance of our “trusty” bikes we did our laundry, grocery shopping, thrift store shopping and general looking around town. We visited the Russian Orthodox Church and attended a free organ concert in the Lutheran Church right across the street. And yes, we found a nice resident who gave us some rhubarb from her garden.

Sitka has a very strong Russian past. The Lutheran church was founded in 1840 by Finnish employees of the Russian American Company. The first church was built in 1843 by Finnish shipwrights who also built the Russian Bishop’s House. Fire in 1966 destroyed the Lutheran and Russian churches and part of downtown Sitka. The churches were rebuilt and fortunately many artifacts were saved. The organ in the Lutheran church was built in Estonia in 1844. It was in the Sheldon Jackson Museum for many years and was returned to the church in 1983. After another fire in 1993 the church had the organ restored so that it could be played once again.

We get asked how the boat is doing. Knock on wood, all systems are functioning well. We had an issue with our dinghy motor, but David cleaned the spark plug and now it seems fine. We also have some high tech smoke/carbon monoxide (CO) detectors. There are two detectors and they talk to one another. Thus if one announces fire, the other one will also sound the alarm to be sure you hear it. Our original idea was to have one in the engine room and one in the salon. We are having a problem with the CO detector part. It first happened in Ketchikan when the CO alarm went off in the wee hours of the morning. There was a boat near us running his diesel heater and we felt we may have been taking his exhaust in our window. Three other times, in the wee hours of the morning, the CO alarm has gone off. There was no apparent source of CO. As a last resort we have pulled the batteries. Talk about the boy who cried wolf.  We have since put the batteries back in and so far, so good. 

It is time to move south of Sitka for a while. The fishing fleet has been out in force. We are now doing short little hops from anchorage to anchorage: Leesoffskaia Bay, Samsing Cove, Kliuchevoi Bay (Goddard Hot Springs), Herring Bay, and Seven Fathoms Bay. There is plenty of time for kayaking, reading, puzzle working and card playing.

Earl and David in the upper tub at Goddard Hot Springs.  Judy and I avoid the camera.  The view from the hot tub is amazing.  The water (hot and cold) is piped to the two forest service “tubs” from the source up above.  Each tub can hold 5 or 6 people.  Yes, we wear suits. 

Judy and Earl in M/V Hey You split from us on June 27^th. They will cruise the east side of Baranoff Island and then head back to Juneau so Judy can fly back to Anacortes. We revisit Goddard Hot Springs, Samsing Cove and Leesoffskaia on our way back to Sitka.

The end of Leesoffskaia Bay must be eagle heaven. I know many of you have opportunities to see eagles where you live.  We found 15-20 eagles (mature and juvenile) sitting in the trees and occasionally swooping down to the water. It is possible that we were watching a training session for the juveniles. “Swoop down fast, grab the fish and quickly get to the shore or tree and eat before someone steals your catch”, we could imagine the instructor saying. David decided to enhance our viewing by catching a couple fish and depositing them on the shore. My job was to take amazing photos. Unfortunately my zoom isn’t that good and these guys are really fast. For those who are tolerant of my videos, here is “Eagles Eat”:  https://youtu.be/khHwB5ZLIs0

It is hard to believe that June is gone and our trip is half over. Back to Sitka for some civilization, celebration and more rhubarb!