So here it is the end of summer and my blog posting has ‘Gone to hell in a hand basket’. Gone to hell in a hand basket……………what a strange term……I didn’t know hell could fit in a hand basket………what exactly is a hand basket? ……………..and how do you get hell in there? Anyway, the point is that we have had a very busy time this summer. We have cruised up and back the Peril Strait, the Icy Strait, Frederick Sound, Chatham Strait, and many more. This summer the weather has been much more cooperative. There have been many weeks of sunny weather, clear skies and calm winds. What more could a boater want!
Today we are headed for Sitka. We have been there a few times already this summer but this time we are going to see someone about getting some canvas work done to enclose the cockpit area. We also like Sitka…….maybe we will go see the Puffins again.
Well we got all ‘measured’ for the canvas and left Sitka after a week. We needed to try and get into a secure location before the next ‘low’ hit. Sitka gets the weather harder than other locations since it is right on the Gulf of Alaska.
Our first stop was to an anchorage called Baby Bear Bay. We dropped our crab pots across the water in Deep Bay and the next morning they were full. We headed out early still trying to head further East…………we cruised 60 miles that day to Red Bluff Bay where we knew we would be secure. Sure enough the wind blew 45 mph on the Chatham Strait and even the Willowies (wind swirling up the fjords and back down again) got to us in the Bay. Thursday morning we ventured out to check on the Strait. It was still rather ruff at about 20 knots and rough seas. However, we also started to get cell phone messages and texts. Jerry had lost his older brother John. Information was sketchy as the phones were in and out. We decided to go back into the Bay and ‘button down the hatches’. We then headed across Chatham Strait. It took about 90 minutes of rough cruising and a very nervous Misty. We now had good cell coverage and Jerry was able to speak with his brother Ray and Byron. Unfortunately, we were still about 80 miles to Petersburg and Jerry refused to leave me with the boat and try to float plane out. He would have to miss John’s funeral. It was a very sad day!
By Friday the weather had calmed down but continued to rain constantly. Jerry wanted to fish a little while (I am sure he needed to take his mind off his family). Well the fishing was fantastic, he caught a 45 inch Lingcod, 4 hugh Yellow Eyed Rockfish that the locals call ‘Snapper’ and 2 Halibut. I had to insist that we move on – the cooler was full and the icemaker could not keep up.
We stopped at what we thought would be a quiet area, however, the current changed, the wind picked up and the water ‘slapped’ and rolled the boat all night long. We even let Misty get in bed with us since she hates the rolling and I hate the ‘slapping’.
We arrived in Petersburg Sunday afternoon and here we will stay until Sept. 23 when we go to LaConner, WA to the American Tug West Coast Rendezvous.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
July 6, 2009
A month since my last entry????!!! Let me see if I can get you caught up to date. We did go to Warm Springs on Baranoff Island. We met some new folks and some folks we already knew. We walked up to the hot springs and the lake. It was quite a hike! I took some pictures of the trail…….sometimes it was a boardwalk, or snow covered, rocks or tree roots. Normally, there is not any cell service in the anchorages but somehow I got the call about my nephews passing. It was not possible for me to leave Jerry and the boat and try to fly to Baltimore. It was a terrible shock to us all. Jerry and I spent a quiet few days remembering a young man who had his life ahead of him. And Dolly, my sister in law, has endured more than her share of tragedies.
We made our way to Juneau in preparation for Bill and Judy Lord to join us. We shopped and shopped and shopped. Jerry wanted to be sure he was fully equipped for fishing and did not want to have to worry about groceries while we were cruising and I don’t know where we could have bought anything anyway. Suffice it to say that the boat moved a little slower after our trips to the Costco and the Fred Meyer (grocery store).
Jerry and Bill fished and fished. Jerry caught a King Salmon and Bill caught some Soho. Unfortunately, Bill never did catch a Halibut, maybe next year! We did get some King Crabs which were delicious. We anchored in a little cove outside of Tracy Arms Glacier and were a little dismayed when we got up the next morning to see a heavy fog. BUT, we headed out carefully and eventually the sun came out in time for us to miss the floating ice burgs. We traversed as far as we could until the burgs were just too numerous. We took a lot of pictures and had a fun day. In fact we had a fun week with Judy and Bill and reconfirmed our ability to travel together.
Kevin and Jeanne came into Juneau and we all went to see the Mendenhall Glacier, and then downtown Juneau with all those ‘cruise ship’ people. Judy and Bill caught the ‘Red Eye’ home. The next morning we headed out of Auke Bay, which is north of downtown Juneau. We then headed west. After just a little trolling, we had dinner, Halibut. Kevin was also efficient at driving the boat and knew more about some of the controls of the GPS/Radar than we did.
We continued west to Funter Bay and then Hoonah. We saw many whales, Orcas and Humpback. The town of Hoonah has been very aggressive about their tourist business. They have a cruise ship that comes in nearly every day and the local Indian Tribe built a beautiful park, shopping, restaurant, museum and the world’s longest Zip Ride.
Next stop, Red Bluff Bay. We left out early and were the only boat in the bay until late in the afternoon. We dropped our prawn trap and anchored at the top of the bay. Kevin and Jeanne took the dinghy (Lil’ Jade) out and were very excited to have seen a Brown Bear and her cubs. Well we also got to see several Brown Bear and cubs right from the boat. Even Misty noticed and growled. We spent 2 days there with the best weather we have had. Sun all day and very warm temperatures. We even got to wear shorts.
Time to leave! We turned into Peril Strait passing what must have been 100 fishing boats all along the shore line. We were headed for Appleton Cove. We got settled, put out the crab pot and Kevin, Jeanne and Jerry left on the dinghy to do more fishing. Still searching for the BIG Halibut. Well I had just gotten comfortable with my book when “Lil Jade calling Jade Princess”. It seems that trolling took more fuel than expected and they ran out on the way back to the boat. Then did have oars on the dinghy and took turns rowing, but after an hour then were still a long way off. Finally, Lil’ Jade wanted Big Jade to come and pick them up. At least the caught a King Salmon on their adventure and once again the crab pot was lucrative.
A month since my last entry????!!! Let me see if I can get you caught up to date. We did go to Warm Springs on Baranoff Island. We met some new folks and some folks we already knew. We walked up to the hot springs and the lake. It was quite a hike! I took some pictures of the trail…….sometimes it was a boardwalk, or snow covered, rocks or tree roots. Normally, there is not any cell service in the anchorages but somehow I got the call about my nephews passing. It was not possible for me to leave Jerry and the boat and try to fly to Baltimore. It was a terrible shock to us all. Jerry and I spent a quiet few days remembering a young man who had his life ahead of him. And Dolly, my sister in law, has endured more than her share of tragedies.
We made our way to Juneau in preparation for Bill and Judy Lord to join us. We shopped and shopped and shopped. Jerry wanted to be sure he was fully equipped for fishing and did not want to have to worry about groceries while we were cruising and I don’t know where we could have bought anything anyway. Suffice it to say that the boat moved a little slower after our trips to the Costco and the Fred Meyer (grocery store).
Jerry and Bill fished and fished. Jerry caught a King Salmon and Bill caught some Soho. Unfortunately, Bill never did catch a Halibut, maybe next year! We did get some King Crabs which were delicious. We anchored in a little cove outside of Tracy Arms Glacier and were a little dismayed when we got up the next morning to see a heavy fog. BUT, we headed out carefully and eventually the sun came out in time for us to miss the floating ice burgs. We traversed as far as we could until the burgs were just too numerous. We took a lot of pictures and had a fun day. In fact we had a fun week with Judy and Bill and reconfirmed our ability to travel together.
Kevin and Jeanne came into Juneau and we all went to see the Mendenhall Glacier, and then downtown Juneau with all those ‘cruise ship’ people. Judy and Bill caught the ‘Red Eye’ home. The next morning we headed out of Auke Bay, which is north of downtown Juneau. We then headed west. After just a little trolling, we had dinner, Halibut. Kevin was also efficient at driving the boat and knew more about some of the controls of the GPS/Radar than we did.
We continued west to Funter Bay and then Hoonah. We saw many whales, Orcas and Humpback. The town of Hoonah has been very aggressive about their tourist business. They have a cruise ship that comes in nearly every day and the local Indian Tribe built a beautiful park, shopping, restaurant, museum and the world’s longest Zip Ride.
Next stop, Red Bluff Bay. We left out early and were the only boat in the bay until late in the afternoon. We dropped our prawn trap and anchored at the top of the bay. Kevin and Jeanne took the dinghy (Lil’ Jade) out and were very excited to have seen a Brown Bear and her cubs. Well we also got to see several Brown Bear and cubs right from the boat. Even Misty noticed and growled. We spent 2 days there with the best weather we have had. Sun all day and very warm temperatures. We even got to wear shorts.
Time to leave! We turned into Peril Strait passing what must have been 100 fishing boats all along the shore line. We were headed for Appleton Cove. We got settled, put out the crab pot and Kevin, Jeanne and Jerry left on the dinghy to do more fishing. Still searching for the BIG Halibut. Well I had just gotten comfortable with my book when “Lil Jade calling Jade Princess”. It seems that trolling took more fuel than expected and they ran out on the way back to the boat. Then did have oars on the dinghy and took turns rowing, but after an hour then were still a long way off. Finally, Lil’ Jade wanted Big Jade to come and pick them up. At least the caught a King Salmon on their adventure and once again the crab pot was lucrative.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Red Bluff Bay
We finally left Petersburg on Thursday. We spent one night in Scenery Cove, but it was a short one. To put things in perspective the sun goes behind the mountains about 8pm however, it is still very light out at 10:30pm. (The sun rises about 3am, so it is not totally dark for long.)That is when we went to bed in Scenery Cover. Well about 1am we started to hear the anchor and/or chain. About 2am it was confirmed…………….the winds had changed from the prediction and we were dragging anchor. We had planned an early departure to get to Red Bluff Bay and decided to pull up and head out. It was still bright enough to see out and the sun would be coming up soon. We had also put a prawn trap out across the ‘cove’ and it needed to be retrieved. With me in my nightgown guiding the boat we had to make several passes at the trap because of the strong winds. Finally we got pot with a measley mess of prawns and headed out. The winds and current were pushing up along and we had a 2 knot push.
We arrived in Red Bluff Bay by 10am. With high cliffs on either side of the bay, many waterfalls and snow covered mountains, this place is special. We dropped the prawn trap and headed 3.5 miles to the head of the bay and Bear Meadow. We anchored with no problem, ate and took a well deserved nap.
The weather is still full of sun all day with no clouds in sight, a lot better than last year. Mid 70s have been the norm. We dinghied around today for 3 hours admiring all of the waterfalls, the seals and the brown bear with 2 cubs.
Tomorrow with head for Warm Springs and a soaking.
We arrived in Red Bluff Bay by 10am. With high cliffs on either side of the bay, many waterfalls and snow covered mountains, this place is special. We dropped the prawn trap and headed 3.5 miles to the head of the bay and Bear Meadow. We anchored with no problem, ate and took a well deserved nap.
The weather is still full of sun all day with no clouds in sight, a lot better than last year. Mid 70s have been the norm. We dinghied around today for 3 hours admiring all of the waterfalls, the seals and the brown bear with 2 cubs.
Tomorrow with head for Warm Springs and a soaking.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
JADE PRINCESS 2009
May 18,2009
Okay I know we have been here in Petersburg for over a week and I haven’t even started this year’s blog. But I was busy. We were very pleased with the condition of the boat. There was no mildew inside and once Jerry power washed the outside Jade Princess still looks like new. We turned on the water, got groceries, put away the clothes and suitcases, Jerry is busy changing the oil, air filters and zincs, and whatever else men do in the engine room.
The weather has been very nice here. Still a bit cool but we have had some sunshine nearly every day. In fact we have taken pictures of mountains we never even knew were here. Apparently, winter here in Petersburg was pretty cold with over 90 inches of snow, but that is pretty normal.
This weekend was the annual Norweigan Festival. Men, women and children were all dressed in native costumes. The Vikings were the best. They closed off the main street, had a parade, beer garden, all you can eat shrimp dinner, etc. etc.
The diver is coming this morning to replace the zincs that are under water. We will make another trip to the grocery store and then we will go out for a few days.
We will have some company coming up from the ‘lower 48’ this year and we are really looking forward to them. Our first visitors will be our friends and neighbors, Bill and Judy Lord in mid June.
May 23, 2009
We finally left the dock………everything on the boat seems to be working fine. It is great to be out on the water again. The weather has been sunny and clear. We saw a pod of whales yesterday in the distance and today we saw more very close up. The King Salmon Derby started a few days ago and Jerry entered for just the day today. We trolled a little yesterday and then trolled all day today. We could hear on the radio that only 43 Kings were caught all day yesterday. Usually there are hundreds………we only had one good bite and he ate the herring and ran.
We finally gave up and got to the anchorage about 5pm. Jerry decided to put a line in the water just to see what is 60ft below us and he caught an Alaskan King Crab. Yes, just like on the ‘Dangerous Catch’. This thing is huge……..of course I took pictures. We have a 45 quart Igloo ice chest and the crab fills up the bottom of it. So now Jerry is still out there, determined to get another one. We do not have a crab pot for the big crabs so he is doing it the hard way with his fishing rod, herring and a large hook.
Well it is nearly 10pm and Jerry is still outside………instead of catching another King Crab, he managed to catch a 30lb Halibut, which he is cleaning. It is getting cold and I am going to bed.
Okay I know we have been here in Petersburg for over a week and I haven’t even started this year’s blog. But I was busy. We were very pleased with the condition of the boat. There was no mildew inside and once Jerry power washed the outside Jade Princess still looks like new. We turned on the water, got groceries, put away the clothes and suitcases, Jerry is busy changing the oil, air filters and zincs, and whatever else men do in the engine room.
The weather has been very nice here. Still a bit cool but we have had some sunshine nearly every day. In fact we have taken pictures of mountains we never even knew were here. Apparently, winter here in Petersburg was pretty cold with over 90 inches of snow, but that is pretty normal.
This weekend was the annual Norweigan Festival. Men, women and children were all dressed in native costumes. The Vikings were the best. They closed off the main street, had a parade, beer garden, all you can eat shrimp dinner, etc. etc.
The diver is coming this morning to replace the zincs that are under water. We will make another trip to the grocery store and then we will go out for a few days.
We will have some company coming up from the ‘lower 48’ this year and we are really looking forward to them. Our first visitors will be our friends and neighbors, Bill and Judy Lord in mid June.
May 23, 2009
We finally left the dock………everything on the boat seems to be working fine. It is great to be out on the water again. The weather has been sunny and clear. We saw a pod of whales yesterday in the distance and today we saw more very close up. The King Salmon Derby started a few days ago and Jerry entered for just the day today. We trolled a little yesterday and then trolled all day today. We could hear on the radio that only 43 Kings were caught all day yesterday. Usually there are hundreds………we only had one good bite and he ate the herring and ran.
We finally gave up and got to the anchorage about 5pm. Jerry decided to put a line in the water just to see what is 60ft below us and he caught an Alaskan King Crab. Yes, just like on the ‘Dangerous Catch’. This thing is huge……..of course I took pictures. We have a 45 quart Igloo ice chest and the crab fills up the bottom of it. So now Jerry is still out there, determined to get another one. We do not have a crab pot for the big crabs so he is doing it the hard way with his fishing rod, herring and a large hook.
Well it is nearly 10pm and Jerry is still outside………instead of catching another King Crab, he managed to catch a 30lb Halibut, which he is cleaning. It is getting cold and I am going to bed.
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