August 28, 2010 – I am not sure where I left off on the blog……………I think we were at anchor waiting for Debbie to arrive in Ketchikan. Well she got in and we headed for downtown to see the sights. We did some shopping and ended the afternoon with ‘sloozies’ at a local bar. What is a ‘sloozie’ well the bartender/owner (from the Bronx) explained that they take a nice cut up watermelon and marinate it in some secret ingredients (rum, vodka, gin, schnapps, etc.). It was good and strong.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill after that! We ran into an alternator issue and went back to Ketchikan. Of course, anytime we need parts or service it is the weekend. Well one ‘fu….’ job ran into another. Debbie said the boaters she knows judged the type of ‘issue’ by how many times this well known word was used. Apparently, this alternator issue has been a black cloud over the Volvo Engine, but American Tug was there to help.
After Debbie left we did manage to take the boat out and cruised to Clover Passage Resort, what a nice fishing camp. They had several sized boats available and the young men on the docks were extremely attentive. They made sure your (rental) boat was ready, gassed, baited, iced, etc. and when you returned they were right there with the wheel barrels, yes wheel barrels to carry your fish and process it for you.
When we were finally on our way we went up to Marguerite Bay. Just as we were ready to get underway a gale was predicted……….we needed groceries anyway so we went back to Ketchikan. It rained sideway and blew 40 knots as predicted. Three days later all was clear and Jerry was ready to do some fishing and that didn’t take long. We went to where the Clover Passage and Boehm Canal come together. Jerry caught one King and one Silver Salmon while trolling. We moved over to ‘Halibut Hole’ and caught a nice sized Halibut and then a much larger Halibut.
We moved on to Thorne Bay where we literally ran into a whale…….there were fishing boats all around and we could see several whales in the area. We continued on our way and all of a sudden I saw the ‘spew’ from the whale right in front of the bow. At the same time Jerry (who was driving) stood up and saw the whale surface. We were stunned and then heard the thump. It wasn’t very hard but certainly gave us pause.
There was not much to the town of Thorne Bay – nice grocery store. We only spent one night and headed to Exchange Cove. Jerry has become addicted to the Dungeness Crabs and put out another pot. The Cove was extremely peaceful and beautiful. We spent a very nice night
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
STILL HERE
According to my emails…….you have been wondering what is going with us. WELL, we spent several beautiful sunny days in Glacier Bay. Watched Humpback Whales put on a show in the Icy Passage, caught prawns in Swanson Harbor, trolled for salmon, caught halibut.
We went into Auke Harbor – there is a great Thai Restaurant where we had a nice dinner. We stocked up on groceries and such and headed to Juneau’s Harris Harbor.
Jeff and Bevil came in on July 2nd and we headed for the Mendenhal Glacier. The weather was pleasant so we walked the 2.5 miles to the bus stop……….we stopped at the Alaskan Brewery for refreshments and back to the boat. We did the tourist walk through downtown Juneau in the drizzle. The fireworks were cancelled because of rain!
Jeff was anxious to get fishing so Jerry headed the Jade Princess to all of his favorite spots. The wild life cooperated; we saw eagles, whales, sea lions, and sea otters. We caught crabs in Taku Harbor and Bevil even tasted them. (she does not eat seafood). Next, we stayed in No Name Bay overnight and headed for the Tracy Arm Glacier. It is always a nice trip through the ‘burgets’. And we lifted enough of the small ones to fill the coolers.
Not much luck in the fishing department, so we went into Pack Creek and headed for bear watching. There is a large clearing near a creek that feeds into the River. Along with a ‘packing’ guide we were able to watch a momma bear with her cub for an extended period of time. The ‘sowl’ even caught the first salmon of the season. At anchor in Fools Bay they fed a lot of fish and picked up some ‘double uglies’, no keepers.
Close to Petersburg in Hobart Bay…..more fishing, no luck with Halibut but Jerry and Jeff did catch some yellow eyed rock fish. There are bright in color and very good eating. Next stop, good ole Cleveland Passage. No sooner did we anchor than the ‘boys’ dropped their fishing lines. About 10 pm Jeff said he was going to bed. About 10:15pm Jerry said to go get Jeff; he had a fish on the line. Sure enough Jeff grabbed his pants and reeled in a Halibut, boy were we relieved. Jeff decided to stay up a little longer and caught another, bigger Halibut. Whew!
After seeing the sights of Petersburg, Jeff and Bevil headed for home. The weather had not been great but I hope they had a fun time. We sure did.
I have finally figured out how to get the pictures on my Blog again. I had to put my computer in the ‘Geek Hospital’ again. Apparently, windows tried to do an update and when it failed it took my computer back to what it was 6 months ago. I was in a real panic about my Quicken Program but was able to get Intuit to allow me to download the latest version that I had put on my computer right before we left. I have spent a lot of time getting my programs back up to speed.
The weather has been 4 days of rain to 1 sunny day. Even our friends from Anchorage came in last night and said their weather has been no better. Oh well, today is cloudy but no drops.
This morning we decided NOT to head south this year. The cost of keeping the boat in Vancouver or Washington State was much more expensive than Petersburg. So, the latest is that we will come back next spring and immediately head south and take the boat down the California Coast.
July 16th we headed south of Petersburg through the Wrangell Narrows into Sumner Strait. We will explore the West side of Prince of Wales Island. Hopefully, by the time we get around the east side my friend Debbie will be in Ketchikan. She and I go way, way back and it would be great to spend some time with her.
Hallelujah, we have had 3 beautiful sunny days………….we even saw the moon………I have a picture. That is a rarity! The moon came up about 6 pm and was down by 10 pm. We went through the El Capitan Passage and were going to go see the caves that had recently been discovered. However, when we read that the walk was uphill 370 steps (and I knew I would not go in a cave) we decided just to enjoy the scenery. And it has been beautiful.
We stopped last night in Devilfish Bay and Jerry saw that another boat had put out a couple of crab pots, so he did too. Well this morning, he pulled it up and was very excited by the weight of the pot. Well, no wonder, he had a huge star fish, and about 5 tiny Halibut.(picture).
Last night was Kaguk Bay, we saw whales, sea otters, sea lions, eagles, and bear. The anchorage was ours alone, the day (day 4) sunny and mild. This morning we are on our way to Craig where I hope we get cell service and I can put all of this b.s. on the blog.
We went into Auke Harbor – there is a great Thai Restaurant where we had a nice dinner. We stocked up on groceries and such and headed to Juneau’s Harris Harbor.
Jeff and Bevil came in on July 2nd and we headed for the Mendenhal Glacier. The weather was pleasant so we walked the 2.5 miles to the bus stop……….we stopped at the Alaskan Brewery for refreshments and back to the boat. We did the tourist walk through downtown Juneau in the drizzle. The fireworks were cancelled because of rain!
Jeff was anxious to get fishing so Jerry headed the Jade Princess to all of his favorite spots. The wild life cooperated; we saw eagles, whales, sea lions, and sea otters. We caught crabs in Taku Harbor and Bevil even tasted them. (she does not eat seafood). Next, we stayed in No Name Bay overnight and headed for the Tracy Arm Glacier. It is always a nice trip through the ‘burgets’. And we lifted enough of the small ones to fill the coolers.
Not much luck in the fishing department, so we went into Pack Creek and headed for bear watching. There is a large clearing near a creek that feeds into the River. Along with a ‘packing’ guide we were able to watch a momma bear with her cub for an extended period of time. The ‘sowl’ even caught the first salmon of the season. At anchor in Fools Bay they fed a lot of fish and picked up some ‘double uglies’, no keepers.
Close to Petersburg in Hobart Bay…..more fishing, no luck with Halibut but Jerry and Jeff did catch some yellow eyed rock fish. There are bright in color and very good eating. Next stop, good ole Cleveland Passage. No sooner did we anchor than the ‘boys’ dropped their fishing lines. About 10 pm Jeff said he was going to bed. About 10:15pm Jerry said to go get Jeff; he had a fish on the line. Sure enough Jeff grabbed his pants and reeled in a Halibut, boy were we relieved. Jeff decided to stay up a little longer and caught another, bigger Halibut. Whew!
After seeing the sights of Petersburg, Jeff and Bevil headed for home. The weather had not been great but I hope they had a fun time. We sure did.
I have finally figured out how to get the pictures on my Blog again. I had to put my computer in the ‘Geek Hospital’ again. Apparently, windows tried to do an update and when it failed it took my computer back to what it was 6 months ago. I was in a real panic about my Quicken Program but was able to get Intuit to allow me to download the latest version that I had put on my computer right before we left. I have spent a lot of time getting my programs back up to speed.
The weather has been 4 days of rain to 1 sunny day. Even our friends from Anchorage came in last night and said their weather has been no better. Oh well, today is cloudy but no drops.
This morning we decided NOT to head south this year. The cost of keeping the boat in Vancouver or Washington State was much more expensive than Petersburg. So, the latest is that we will come back next spring and immediately head south and take the boat down the California Coast.
July 16th we headed south of Petersburg through the Wrangell Narrows into Sumner Strait. We will explore the West side of Prince of Wales Island. Hopefully, by the time we get around the east side my friend Debbie will be in Ketchikan. She and I go way, way back and it would be great to spend some time with her.
Hallelujah, we have had 3 beautiful sunny days………….we even saw the moon………I have a picture. That is a rarity! The moon came up about 6 pm and was down by 10 pm. We went through the El Capitan Passage and were going to go see the caves that had recently been discovered. However, when we read that the walk was uphill 370 steps (and I knew I would not go in a cave) we decided just to enjoy the scenery. And it has been beautiful.
We stopped last night in Devilfish Bay and Jerry saw that another boat had put out a couple of crab pots, so he did too. Well this morning, he pulled it up and was very excited by the weight of the pot. Well, no wonder, he had a huge star fish, and about 5 tiny Halibut.(picture).
Last night was Kaguk Bay, we saw whales, sea otters, sea lions, eagles, and bear. The anchorage was ours alone, the day (day 4) sunny and mild. This morning we are on our way to Craig where I hope we get cell service and I can put all of this b.s. on the blog.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
BACK TO SITKA
We left Sitka last Sunday (June 6) for the west side of Baranof Island (that is the Gulf of Alaska side). The weather was predicted with a NW wind of 15 kts. There was only a short distance where we were totally exposed to the Gulf which was a little rough with some swells. Mostly, there are enough rocky islands that you can get behind to knock down the fetch. We went into Goddard Springs along with several boaters and fishing vessels. Apparently the hot tubs are a big hit. We took a dinghy ride to a beach in front of a beautiful ‘cabin’ that is rented out by the city of Sitka for $50 a night. The setting was just beautiful. While walking the beach we could see a lot of washed up baby crabs and decided maybe we should put out our crab trap.
Next day we went up to the hot tubs. There were 2 buildings with tubs in them and very very hot water. After Jerry did a ‘soak’ we did a little exploring in the dinghy. Next morning we decided to move on down the coast …………..not so fast. We both seemed to be in a ‘testy’ mood and Jerry did not like the way I was pointing the boat for him to get the anchor up. Then we were retrieving the crab pot and I rode over the float. WWWEEEELLLL, we knew we had a ‘cutter’ on the shaft but Jerry did not want to loose the crab pot. After much discussion and several hours of laying on the swim platform trying to see the line and the pot under the boat we decided to ‘go for it’. Sure enough the cutter cut us loose from the pot. We called it a day and planned on heading out the next morning.
In the meantime the weather reports were not looking so good and we had an open area we needed to cross to get to Still Bay. Well 20kt was ‘ugly’. When the swells would lift the boat it was very scary. We thought we had everything secure but we missed a few doors and drawers. We made it to the protection of some rocky islands and into Still Bay.
Well Still Bay was not as ‘still’ with a NW wind so after one night we decided to go to Kitoi Bay. This Bay has a narrow 70 foot opening into beautiful calm waters. Looking at the weather again, the winds were increasing in the Gulf as well as the swells. We were anticipating staying put for a few days.
Friday June 11 Jerry got up early as is his custom and checked again on the weather. The winds were shifting to the SE for a short time and then gale force winds would begin in the afternoon. The prediction was for 25kt winds and 12ft seas, very ugly. We decided to take advantage of the SE winds and head back to Sitka. We got to sheltered waters as the weather changed. The Sitka Harbormaster was obviously in a very challenging situation trying to get every boat into a slip. There are a lot of fishing vessels here as well as summertime cruisers. We were given a slip assignment and it was actually a double wide space. The wind was blowing the rain was starting, my phone was ringing, Jerry’s phone had a message and we were trying to keep the boat from slamming the dock. Whew! We made it!
Next day we went up to the hot tubs. There were 2 buildings with tubs in them and very very hot water. After Jerry did a ‘soak’ we did a little exploring in the dinghy. Next morning we decided to move on down the coast …………..not so fast. We both seemed to be in a ‘testy’ mood and Jerry did not like the way I was pointing the boat for him to get the anchor up. Then we were retrieving the crab pot and I rode over the float. WWWEEEELLLL, we knew we had a ‘cutter’ on the shaft but Jerry did not want to loose the crab pot. After much discussion and several hours of laying on the swim platform trying to see the line and the pot under the boat we decided to ‘go for it’. Sure enough the cutter cut us loose from the pot. We called it a day and planned on heading out the next morning.
In the meantime the weather reports were not looking so good and we had an open area we needed to cross to get to Still Bay. Well 20kt was ‘ugly’. When the swells would lift the boat it was very scary. We thought we had everything secure but we missed a few doors and drawers. We made it to the protection of some rocky islands and into Still Bay.
Well Still Bay was not as ‘still’ with a NW wind so after one night we decided to go to Kitoi Bay. This Bay has a narrow 70 foot opening into beautiful calm waters. Looking at the weather again, the winds were increasing in the Gulf as well as the swells. We were anticipating staying put for a few days.
Friday June 11 Jerry got up early as is his custom and checked again on the weather. The winds were shifting to the SE for a short time and then gale force winds would begin in the afternoon. The prediction was for 25kt winds and 12ft seas, very ugly. We decided to take advantage of the SE winds and head back to Sitka. We got to sheltered waters as the weather changed. The Sitka Harbormaster was obviously in a very challenging situation trying to get every boat into a slip. There are a lot of fishing vessels here as well as summertime cruisers. We were given a slip assignment and it was actually a double wide space. The wind was blowing the rain was starting, my phone was ringing, Jerry’s phone had a message and we were trying to keep the boat from slamming the dock. Whew! We made it!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Welcome to Jade Princess in Alaska, Phase III!
Jerry and I (along with our trusty ‘boat dog’ Misty) arrived in Petersburg on May 7th. Lee and Diane from Sonata and Susie (and Dan) from Pacifica also came in that day. Lee and Ellen from invited all of us for dinner. It was great to see everyone again. We all exchanged our winter woes and plans for the summer. Sonata is also going to be heading south to Washington late this summer. In fact, Lee is putting Sonata up for sale at a fantastic price (62 ft. steel trawler with a skiff and dinghy and all the bells and whistles an engineer can think of to put on a boat).
Once again we were in time for the annual Petersburg Viking Festival. The day of the parade was beautiful and sunny all day………..the Vikings and Valkyrees were out in force and everyone seemed to have a great time.
Finally we got the boat all clean and the gear checked out, stocked up on groceries and headed for Sitka. We stopped at Red Bluff Bay……… That has got to be the most protected and beautiful bay anywhere. Next we spent the night at . We put out 2 crab pots last night and nice big Dungeness were waiting for us this morning…………..can’t wait for dinner.
We took a little detour today out in the ocean from so Jerry could get his fishing line wet. There were several boats trolling through the rollers but we did not see anyone catch anything today. We turned south to continue on closer to Sitka and found a nice quiet cove for the night.
ARRIVED IN SITKA
We got here pretty early today and took a slip at Eliason Harbor. We contacted Skookum Canvas Works and Donna will be here tomorrow to install the canvas on the cockpit (aft) of the boat. We took a long walk and ordered some Chinese food for dinner.
Well it took more time than we thought but Donna finally finished the canvas and strataglass and what a difference it made. We feel like we have gained another room. We were immediately able to open the door and enjoy the warmth. Warmth you say, yes warmth…..the weather for the last three days has been in the mid 70s SUNNY all day.
The locals are loving this weather, talking about going to the beach (and yes they get in the water – 50 degree water) and with a Holiday Weekend, the Salmon Derby and 4 cruise ships in town………….things are really hopping in Sitka.
We left the harbor this morning Friday the 28th for the ‘haul out’. We are now high and dry. We are having the zincs on the bottom of the boat replaced and the bottom painted. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the bottom was still in really good shape – I guess the cold water is not as hard on the boat bottoms here.
We are planning on renting a car and seeing more of the sights of Sitka this weekend.
Well we didn’t rent a car but waxed the boat instead……………it looks like new! We were put back in the water on Saturday afternoon and headed for a small cove for the evening and night. Sunday, May 30th Jerry tried his hand at fishing while I did the trolling. I say lots of fish on the fish sounder but he decided just to feed them instead.
Back in Sitka we got a car and went for a drive south of town until the road turned to gravel and finally ended in Silver Bay. We drove up the mountain to Blue Lake which is damned and used for electricity but we could not see much because of the shape of the mountains and the lake itself.
Once again we were in time for the annual Petersburg Viking Festival. The day of the parade was beautiful and sunny all day………..the Vikings and Valkyrees were out in force and everyone seemed to have a great time.
Finally we got the boat all clean and the gear checked out, stocked up on groceries and headed for Sitka. We stopped at Red Bluff Bay……… That has got to be the most protected and beautiful bay anywhere. Next we spent the night at . We put out 2 crab pots last night and nice big Dungeness were waiting for us this morning…………..can’t wait for dinner.
We took a little detour today out in the ocean from so Jerry could get his fishing line wet. There were several boats trolling through the rollers but we did not see anyone catch anything today. We turned south to continue on closer to Sitka and found a nice quiet cove for the night.
ARRIVED IN SITKA
We got here pretty early today and took a slip at Eliason Harbor. We contacted Skookum Canvas Works and Donna will be here tomorrow to install the canvas on the cockpit (aft) of the boat. We took a long walk and ordered some Chinese food for dinner.
Well it took more time than we thought but Donna finally finished the canvas and strataglass and what a difference it made. We feel like we have gained another room. We were immediately able to open the door and enjoy the warmth. Warmth you say, yes warmth…..the weather for the last three days has been in the mid 70s SUNNY all day.
The locals are loving this weather, talking about going to the beach (and yes they get in the water – 50 degree water) and with a Holiday Weekend, the Salmon Derby and 4 cruise ships in town………….things are really hopping in Sitka.
We left the harbor this morning Friday the 28th for the ‘haul out’. We are now high and dry. We are having the zincs on the bottom of the boat replaced and the bottom painted. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the bottom was still in really good shape – I guess the cold water is not as hard on the boat bottoms here.
We are planning on renting a car and seeing more of the sights of Sitka this weekend.
Well we didn’t rent a car but waxed the boat instead……………it looks like new! We were put back in the water on Saturday afternoon and headed for a small cove for the evening and night. Sunday, May 30th Jerry tried his hand at fishing while I did the trolling. I say lots of fish on the fish sounder but he decided just to feed them instead.
Back in Sitka we got a car and went for a drive south of town until the road turned to gravel and finally ended in Silver Bay. We drove up the mountain to Blue Lake which is damned and used for electricity but we could not see much because of the shape of the mountains and the lake itself.
Monday, September 14, 2009
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.
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.
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