Goodbye till Leg II 

First sunny days of the entire trip were spent planning our next adventures in Alaska with D&K, maintenance on WS, and socializing with many new friends as they too arrive from the lower 48.

Ketchikan is a great town once you get past the dominance of the cruise ship passengers the seem to descend on the small village like swarms of frenzied feeding Piranhas.  It is not long until we’ve found the locals bar – the oldest bar in Ketchikan – owned and operated by the lovely Paula who would have been just as comfortable running a brothel during the golden days of “Creek Street” where both the fisherman and the fish went up stream to spawn.

Our main challenge here though was to find a safe place to leave WS while we must leave her to go “home” (we both feel WS is now home) for Mom’s 90th birthday, Heather and Ted’s party in Big bear and their wedding in Hawaii. 

Till our next leg, thanks for coming along with us, for your encouragement and all of your support for our wandering ways.

The Crew of Wandering Star,

Adie & Jo    

Latitude: 55:22.21 N Longitude: 131:27.92 W

Weather: overcast   Wind: 2170 10kts.  Barometer: 1024

Engine Hours: 182        Fuel on Board: 404

Trip Distance/Total: 37/1065

The race is on!  Two other trawlers pulled into Foggy Bay after us last evening and managed to leave at 6AM, a half hour ahead of our planned departure of 6:30.  Not knowing how much dock space was available in Ketchikan, I decide to see if we can pass either of them on the 37 nm run to town while still running WS at a reasonable fuel burn rate. So off we go. By tightening up our waypoints and running at 1600 rpm we did manage to pass one boat about half way up the channel and called in for our slip assignment before both boats so mission accomplished.

We are assigned a slip in Bar Harbor, North Ketchikan.  The harbor master assigned any slip slip not being occupied at the moment by its owner to transient boats and moving about during the stay is likely.  We buy a month long pass giving us access to a slip for the month we will be gone if we decide to use it and can find an available slip for that long a period.

Once docked, we are off with D&K to explore town and find the Artic Bar, the oldest pub in Ketchikan. Know for it’s “happy bears” logo and a real local waterhole, we feel right at home like we would at any bar in Big Bear. Cruise ships stop and go constantly as the main source of income for the town with the loss/decline of timber, fishing and mining industries.  Voyager, with Les and Rose Dobbes, fellow Selener’s, invite us for cocktails on Sonata, a 62” homebuilt steel trawler where we meet the owners, Les and Diane, and are amazed by the comfort and spaciousness of their floating home. I even has a complete workshop.

Late dinner back aboard DW as we officially celebrate our arrival in Alaska.

Latitude: 54 57.01 N Longitude: 130 56.45  W

Weather: overcast  Wind:  2750 10-17kts.  Barometer: 1013

Engine Hours: 174 Fuel on Board: 427

Trip Distance/Total: 50/1028

Well we made it to Alaska!  We no sooner drop the hook in Foggy Bay and a mommy bear with two cubs wander out of the woods and feed in the meadow at waters edge…wow! 

It was a rough ride getting here though. Dixon Channel had 3-4 foot swells most of the way across. WS handles the beam seas great and once we chase down all the things rolling around she is quiet too. Paravanes would be nice but for the short times we would need them hardly worth the trouble.

Weather was rainy too but once we got here the sun came out and soon we were exploring our 49th state in the DW dinghy,  Nestled in the trees we did find a trappers cabin still being used although no one was home. Hiking now includes bear bells and pepper spray. The local story is that you can easily tell black bear scat from grizzly – black bear has berries and squirrel fur in it and grizzly poop has bells in it and smells like pepper.

It’s back on board for naps…we have set the clocks ahead an hour for Alaska time so now it will be light from early morning till bedtime. It will be a salmon BBQ on board and a night of quiet repose as we enjoy just being here.

Boat chores, provisioning, and laundry occupy the day with dinner aboard Dream Weaver and an early night.

Latitude: 54 19.19  N   Longitude: 130 19.11 W

Weather: overcast  Wind: 2100 10-12  kts.   Barometer: 1018

Engine Hours: 169  Fuel on Board: 439

Trip Distance/Total: 34/978

Short day today to PR after a quiet night on the anchor.  Large bubbles of foam on the water attest to the shallow rapids leading to a large lake further up the anchorage. By 0930 we are back in the passage again and on our way to the last major town in British Columbia.

The approach to PR leads up a long, curved channel to the enclosed and well protected harbor.  We call the Prince Rupert Yacht  Club at 1:30 as we pass the main waterfront and are assigned a side tie on the main float with DW right behind us. Conveniently located, the PRYC is only a short walk to the Pub and the main shops of town.

Both crews take the afternoon off to walk and explore town as it is the first time here for all of us. Evening finds us in the pub with friends of D & K from Mexico for dinner.

Latitude: 53 51.65 N   Longitude: 129 59.24 W

Weather: sunny, cooler Wind:1290 10-12  kts.   Barometer: 1021

Engine Hours: 159  Fuel on Board: 462

Trip Distance/Total: 68/944

Our friends are up and cast off early, we take our time and leave just after 0900. Today is a long passage day as we want to be in position to make Prince Rupert easily tomorrow.  We made our way back to the main cruise ship channel and out of the beautiful Fjordland Park area. 

Jo and I continue to take turns standing hour and a half watches so the day passes smoothly with time for projects and naps between the time we must be on watch and alert looking for logs.

We approach Kumealon anchorage just after 6pm and do some seaching around the small bay for an area with enough holding ground and sufficient swinging room for the changing tides. It still takes several tries to get the Rocna to set in about 50’ of water with just over 200’ of chain.

A quiet dinner on board and the continuing of our DVD movie before early to bed.

Latitude: 53 28.19 N Longitude: 128 50.46  W

Weather: sunny, warm   Wind: 14 0 10-15 kts.  Barometer: 1023

Engine Hours:155   Fuel on Board: 474.  Trip Distance/Total: 32/877

Quiet night with little good sleep due to frequent anchor checks.  Our position was precarious enough though to warrant the extra caution, especially with the steady current that changed direction n the middle of the night. 

Up at first light and on the water by 0630 for out last day in Fjordland.  The first stop was to old cannery of Butedale. Lou, the caretaker was only too glad to show off the water driven turbine form the old days that he has harnessed to turn a 100amp alternator which went through a 1000 watt invertor and supplied all of the power he needed to sustain life…TV, freezer, and some lights.  Lou also sells ice cream to passing boaters and some of his handy crafts.

Next stop, about 25 nautical miles further North, we come to Bishop Bay Hot Springs tucked up at the very end of a mile long reach. Here some kind locals have built a primitive bath house, complete with three pools, for the natural hot (no sulfur smell) spring water that pours out of the mountain side. Complete with a 100’ boat dock, it is free for all passing boaters to use and enjoy it we did.  The protocol here is that all newly arriving boats raft up to the docked boats so that a number of boats can use the facility at one time.

Other boaters’ soon joined us and an impromptu cocktail party on WS soon evolved. Here we met Horst and Susan on Metz, a sailing boat originally designed for fishing from Victoria who were long term cruisers in the early 70’s. They knew all of the early world circling legends, the Roths, Hiscocks,  Montesiea, even our old friend, Dick from Dick’s last resort in Fiji. A visiting shrimp boat even traded Ken about 4 lbs of shrimp for some beer and a tri-tip steak so a late dinner aboard Dreamweaver was the conclusion to this perfect day.

Latitude: 52 46.96 N Longitude: 128 13.29  W

Weather: cloudy becoming sunny   Wind: 167 0 10-15 kts.  Barometer: 1017

Engine Hours:142   Fuel on Board: 504.  Trip Distance/Total: 82/845

Hook up at 0630 for a day of cruising in the Fjordland  Recreation Area. Our first stop is a visit to Kynoch Inlet with its hanging valleys and many waterfalls.  We alternate between driving WS for the foredeck with the remote autopilot and the flybridge to fully enjoy the view.  At the end of the inlet, D&K drop their hook and take a quick dinghy ride up Culpepper Lagoon while Jo & I hold WS off shore and keep an eye on Dreamweaver.  The anchoring area is barely minimum and wind is gusting to 16 against the lee shore…not a place we want to chance with WS.

Proceeded to the end of Matheson Inlet, through Sheep passage to Finleyson Channel, then Tolmie Channel to Khutze Inlet.  Jo & I went all the way to the end of the inlet to see the falls but were not happy with the anchoring possibilities and after several tries headed back to Greene spite a shallow spot half way up the inlet and snuggled up close to the bank in 40 feet of water.  The problem with anchoring in a fjord is that the sides are very steep and drop right down to depths of 1000 feet, not much you can do with 400’ of anchor chain. So you must look for a spot with a little shelf and try to drop the thing on top with out being too close to the rock wall.

As the sun set behind the snow capped mountains, I was busy making water while Jo made dinner and by 10 pm we were too sleepy to get through much of a DVD.

Latitude: 53 31.35 N    Longitude:   128 16.94 W

Weather: sunny, warm, clear   Wind: 50 0 4-10 kt.  Barometer: 1013

Engine Hours: 136  Fuel on Board:  518  Trip Distance: 33/763

Left Dock at 0915 and headed out into Seaforth Channel. Last of the cell sites for awhile so we are able to check in with home base/Heather.  Weather keeps getting better all day til by the anchorage in Rescue Bay it si the warmest it has been for months.

We quickly set the hook in 25 feet of mud, dawn our shorts, and dinghy ashore for some shoreline hiking as the forest is impenetrable.  Afternoon find us with K&D on the top deck sunshine with some good wine, music, and munches…just doesn’t get any better!

Tri-tip BBQ on board for all followed by a rousing game of Texas Hold-em where Jo cleaned us all out. Early start tomorrow so festivities over around 10pm.

Rainy day spent enjoying the locals, water taxis to Bella Bella Indian Village, Spring Festival and resting up.