Jade Princess

AUGUST 28, 2010

2010-09-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

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

STILL HERE

2010-07-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

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.

BACK TO SITKA

2010-06-13T16:05:00.000-07:00

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!

Welcome to Jade Princess in Alaska, Phase III!

2010-06-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-09-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-07-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

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.

Red Bluff Bay

2009-06-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-05-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

JADE PRINCESS 2009

2009-05-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

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.

Petersburg, Alaska

2008-08-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

We have been here for a few days now. A very friendly Norwegian City of 3500 people including a lot of fisherman. I think there are 5 processors of fish in town, good restaurants and cute shops in town. This will be where we leave the boat for the winter. We have met the 'boat sitter' and are pleased to learn we do not have to do much winterzing of the boat. There is good, consistent power and the little heaters we boat for the lower compartments should be all we need. Apparently, they do get a good bit of snow here but the temperatures do not stay below freezing for long periods of time.The city has 800 boat slips and is active all year. There are pleasure boats of all sizes up to 200 feet that stay here.We had dinner on a 62' steel boat 'Sonata' with an 18' beam. This boat had the very latest in marine technology and even had a piano and a pot belly stove in the main salon. The Sonata will stay here all winter.We are having some halibut processed that we caught on the way here and will leave tomorrow for more fishing. Jerry is out on the end of the dock catching bait. Yes, catching bait. Herring. They are about 9 inches long and the halibut love them. Hopefully, we will catch more fish to ship home. The weather seems to finally be clearing up today after nearly continuous rain for the last week. There is not much wind so even though the temperatures are in the mid 60s, it is not very cold. Out trip is coming to a close - we have reservations to leave on the 21st of Sept.

Still No Sunshine

2008-08-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

August 13, 2008 - We got a message today that Mary Thompson and Tom Russell will be coming in on the ferry tomorrow. We have planned to get together for dinner.
August 14, 2008 – Well they got here and we in fact had drinks on the boat and then went to dinner. It was fun being with folks we knew. They are using the ferry system to get around to all the high spots in Alaska, staying in B & B’s. Renting cars when they need to – a very unique way to see the countryside.
August 19, 2008 We are here in Wrangell AK.: A small town of 1200 people and 4 hardware stores, all a ‘true value’. This is our second night here, tomorrow we move on the Petersburg.

Still Cruisin'

2008-08-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

August 6, 2008 – Well we headed out for Ketchikan knowing that the weather was predicted to get nasty, but we stayed fairly close to land and had several anchorages available along the way.
We got as far as Foggy Bay and stayed for 3 days. The weather was cold, foggy, raining and high winds still out in the open waters. Jerry was getting a little ‘antsy’ so we left and headed across the Revillagigedo Channel. UGHLY! We needed to turn to the West to get on the other side of the Channel but the wind and waves were blowing from the South. We had to tack our way across and as soon as we got the protection of the high mountain things were a lot better.
We pulled into Ketchikan only to be surrounded by boaters who had been sitting out the weather for almost a week. The next day just on ‘cue’ the skies opened up and the sun came out. Jerry and I walked around the city and had a nice afternoon.
August 1, 2008 – Byron got into town and we had a nice dinner of Bouillabaisse and caught up on family gossip.
August 2, 2008 – Another beautiful day for the Blueberry Festival. We had a nice day together. Stocked up on ‘booze’ and will head out tomorrow.
August 3, 2008 – We have decided to circle around the Revillagigedo Island on the Behm Canal. We didn’t get very far today – after filling up the diesel tanks @$4.58 a gallon we spent several hours trolling with no luck. We spent the night at the Dogfish Bay on a Ranger Dock – Jerry and Byron went out in the dinghy and caught a mess of small rock fish.
August 4, 2008 – More trolling today – Byron caught a beautiful 8 pound Sockeye Salmon. We spent the night on another Forest Service Dock in Traitor’s Cove. The weather has continued to be sunny and in the low 80s. And this morning we walked up to the bear watching platform built over a waterfalls area where there are salmon ladders and lots of bear trying to catch them. After that little 3 mile hike we were all tired but ready to move on just a bit further up the Canal to Yes Bay. A truly striking area where the fish are plentiful and the waters protected. There is a Yes Bay Lodge where we stopped for bait and fishing info. This is the place you want to come to for that ‘male bonding’ www.yesbay.com.
August 5, 2008 – We continued along the Behm Canal through the Misty Fjords staying at Fitzgibbon, Walker and Punchbowl Coves, Each one more beautiful than the next. Finally we came back to Ketchikan for Byron to catch an early morning flight on Sunday. Unfortunately a weather low closed in and we are still here with rain, fog, rain, wind, and rain. The forecast has been and continues for 35 knot winds and 7 foot seas. We have kept ourselves busy with visits to the marine store and walking around Ketchikan. It is now Wednesday and the harbor here is full of boats like us waiting to get back on the water.

Still Going North

2008-07-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

July 21, 2008 – We did make it to the town of Kitimat (10,000 people), staying 3 days. We took another bus ride to the grocery store and a little shopping. I was able to take care of our bills and read some messages. It was rainy and cloudy the last day so we were not anxious to leave.
On Saturday we did leave for an anchorage called Kiskosh. Another boater told Jerry it was a great place for crabs. So we anchored and he threw the crab trap right off the back of the boat. He didn’t want to get the dinghy down since it was raining all day. We were all alone in the anchorage shrouded with fog and had a quiet evening. Sunday morning before I even got up, Jerry had pulled up the crab trap, it was just about full. These are the Dungeness Crabs and I think some of them must have weighed 5 lbs. We spent the better part of Sunday cooking and picking crab meat. They were huge! We now have plenty of crab meat in the freezer. In fact our freezer is just as full as when we left LaConner. Other than fresh produce and dairy we still have a lot of meats, prawns and now crab.
It is Monday and we left our beautiful anchorage and are now headed up the Greenville Channel. The Channel is 45 miles long but we will only travel part of the way to another anchorage. We should be in Prince Rupert in a few days and that will be from where I send this message.
July 22, 2008 Another very beautiful anchorage. There is a waterfall that has ‘burgettes’ coming down from the tops of the mountains. We have seen salmon jumping up to the falls – brown bear and black bear on the shore, and ducks with wide orange bills. We stayed 2 nights.
July 23, 2008 Could this anchorage be more magnificent than the others?!?!?!?!??!!? We had to cross a very narrow passage with some rapids but once we got in the inlet opened up and again we had a very peaceful evening.
July 24, 2008 – Prince Rupert – the last big city of British Columbia.

Has it been that long

2008-07-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

July 11th - It has been so long since I have updated the blog it is hard to know where to begin. Since we left Kwatsi Bay we have anchored out in pleasant, quiet bays. There are few and far between marinas and some do not have power, some do not have water The Shearwater Marina we are in right now has some power, no water, and the internet is very sporatic. Sometimes we are just as well on the ‘hook’. We have a watermaker and the generator works fine. We still have meat in the freezer, food in the cupboard, booze in the cabinet. We can stay out for weeks!
Jerry has gotten his downrigger all rigged and we have been trolling for a few hours the last couple of days, but no fish yet.

July 15th - Last night we stayed in one of the most beautiful anchorages off the Princess Royal Channel which is on the East side of the Princess Royal Island. The anchorage was called the Bottle Neck Cove and the pictures show the narrow entrance. We were once again surprised to find an American Tug in the Cove, owned by a couple that we had met at the seminar. They live in Port Orchard, WA and said this is as far as they have ever been North and they were turning back today.
We tried to leave out early (before 8am) this morning but there was a heavy layer of fog over the area. We waited and finally left when the sun came out and started to burn it off. The weather is supposed to get ugly in the next 2 days…….there is a front sitting over the Alaskan Gulf so we are headed to Kitamaat at the top of this channel. There is supposed to be a modern marina and fairly large town where we can ‘hole up’ if we need to. I also need to get a handle on our finances. I have everything set up in my trusty ole Quicken. I just need to make sure the money came in and the bills get paid. What did we do before INTERNET?
We have taken many pictures of the beautiful islands and mountains but I am sure they do not do justice to the scenic environment we are in. The mountains are mostly rock with a shallow layer of soil and many different varieties of conifers growing all over them. Some of the mountains are sill snow capped, the water is hundreds of feet deep, sometimes over a thousand, and there are many, many waterfalls coming down the mountains.

Finally temperatures in the 80's

2008-06-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

Well we made it through all of the rapids zones. The Arran , the Dent, Greene Point and Whirlpool. The ‘rapids’ are areas where the current is very strong, sometimes 10 knots, and it is converging with the flow of current from the other direction. This causes a heavy chop in the water as well as strong whirlpools. And sometimes that is complicated by a very narrow area between islands. So the trick to going through these areas is to plan on a high water slack. And since the zones we needed to get through were several miles apart we stayed overnight at the Cordero Lodge.
Yesterday we stopped here at the Lagoon Cove Marina where we were surprised to see 2 other American Tugs that we had met at the cruising seminar back in March. The owner of the marina here sponsors a pot luck cocktail hour with fresh shrimp and crab legs. We got to meet some other folks from Alaska who keep their boat in Petersburg AK during the winter so that was good to here since we are planning to keep Jade Princess there as well.
We are now in an area called the Broughtons. This is a series of islands, inlets and rivers north of the Queen Charlotte Straits. Jerry finally put out his crab pot and has been checking every few hours. Final count was 8. The other night we had 2 and the Dungeness Crabs are so much bigger than the Blue Crab that we had plenty. The smallest crab you can harvest is 7 inches along the top shell.
We moved again! Only 18 miles up the Tribune Channel to the Kwatsi Bay Marina. There are 2 other American Tugs here as well.
Tomorrow is the Canada Independence Day but you would hardly know it. We did not see another boat until we got here. The cost of fuel and the dooming economy have really hurt the boating industry. The cost of diesel here is $5.00 a gal the last time we checked. We have not had to buy any since we started moving. We had filled up in LaConner right before we left. Our tanks hold 640 gallons and we are not in a hurry to use it up.

Desolation Sound

2008-06-26T12:26:00.000-07:00

Wow has it been that long since I updated the blog?!?!? We have been having a great time………the scenery is beautiful, the people friendly and no problems. What more could we ask for! Oh yes, nice weather……………..even that has cooperated. I think it might be 78 degrees today. That is as warm as we have had. As long as it stays sunny, I can deal with this temperature.
So we stayed in Sidney Harbor and took a bus down to the Butchart Gardens for the day. Misty wasn’t happy about riding in the bus in her little carrier but she did fine. After several hours of the Gardens we took another bus down to Victoria. The weather is so harsh on the Juan De Fuca that cruising to Victoria can be a real challenge, the bus was easier. We had dinner at a French Bistro and caught the bus back to Sidney………Misty didn’t mind this time; she was as exhausted as we were.
After we left Sidney we stayed at Nanaimo, and then crossed the Strait of Georgia to Texada Island (Sturt Harbor), and on to Pender Harbor. Then we decided to take a detour. We cruised up the Jervis Inlet about 46 miles through the Malibu Rapids and into Princess Louisa Cove. The entire trip we were surrounded by tall rocky cliffs and waters over a 1000 feet deep. The Cove itself was spectacular. About 2 miles wide, there were waterfalls coming down the mountains on all sides and of course we sent pictures of the main Falls, Chatterbox. We stayed there the maximum time of 72hrs. The water was very deep to anchor and the one dock stayed full. As soon as the Malibu Rapids were at‘ebb’ another group of boats would come or go. It was a fascinating place.
After a night in Egmont we headed for Westview Harbor for provisioning. There was a pizza/bakery with internet connection and I tried to catch up on all of my ‘online’ issues, but wasn’t able to take care of everything. I did download some pictures and hope that now they make some sense.
We decided to take the bus to the Safeway for groceries and of course with Jerry along, we bought much more than our cart could hold. The bus driver was very patient as we loaded and unloaded on to the bus. It was a good thing the last 2 blocks to the boat were downhill. Speaking of hills…………we have not had a chance to ride our bikes at all in a while because all of the cities are ‘up the road’.
So, today, June 25th, we headed north again to the Desolation Sound area, more islands and coves. We are holed up in Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island for at least the night, maybe longer if the weather gets ugly…….a front is coming through tonight.

Canada here we come

2008-06-13T22:18:00.000-07:00

All right so we finally have experienced some nice weather the last two days. I know you guys were thinking I was exaggerating but when the ski resorts in Washington decided to reopen because of all the new snow I felt justified.

We had to go back to La Conner because of a bad mascerating pump. For those of you ‘nonboaters’……….the mascerator pump empties the waste tank. Once you get into the Canadian waters it is imperative to have a working pump since there are not too many ‘pumpout’ stations available. The waters are 2 to 600 feet deep and the currents run so fast that dumpng the tank is standard procedure for most boats.

So once that was done we headed for British Columbia. After one night at anchor, we came into the Port of Sidney Marina on the Island of Vancouver. We were able to clear customs with just a phone call and took a slip in the Marina. The downtown area of Sidney is right here on the harbor with everything you could need or want. Last night was a closed street farmer’s market and we had dinner at an excellent Thai Restaurant.

Today we walked around town again and have decided to take a bus to the Butchart Gardens in Victoria. We were hoping to take the boat but the winds on the Strait of Juan De Fuca have been blowing a gale, literally.

Cruising the San Juans

2008-06-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

We have been cruising and anchoring out in the San Juan Islands which was described in one of our books as cruising among the peaks of a majestic sunken mountain range. There are no bridges to connect the islands just ferries and float planes.
After staying in Blind Bay on Shaw Island we were ready for a little civilization. We come over to the San Juan Island to Friday Harbor described as one of the busiest ports in the San Juans. This is also a customs clearing port when coming back from the Canadian Islands. We arranged to have our mail come here so we will stick around until that is delivered.
The town is very quaint with rolling hills and unique shops and restaurants overlooking the harbor. The weather is another thing………….temperatures still in the low 60s and today there is a steady rain. How I long for sunny and warm! Even the locals are complaining how cold it still is!

Still Getting Ready

2008-05-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

Would you believe we are still shopping and buying things for this boat?! Every time I think we have everything we could possibly need we find out that a longer dinghy line would be a good thing. A 300 foot stern line is a necessity in some of the 'coves'. Yes, I said 300 feet........the tides up here are so high that in addition to a good anchor hold on the bow......sometimes you will need to take the dinghy 'Lil Jade' to the coastline with a 'line' and wrap it around a strong tree or something similar. With the water being 100 feet deep or more, it is just impossible to have enough scope and swing, so the stern tie keeps you in place. Oh, and we should really have a 'claw' anchor for the dinghy and 300' of painter line.............in case you leave your dinghy on the coastline and go for a walk, the tide could come in and now your dinghy is anchored hundreds of feet from the shore and somebody has to get in the cold, cold, water to retrieve it. More line seemed a better choice.

We have been attending the Anacortes Trawler Fest.........going to seminars for the last 3 days........Cruising the BC/AK Coast, Getting the Most From Your Marine Radar, Weather in the Inside Passage, Situational Awareness, Queen Charlotte Sound, Charging and Electrical System and Diesel Engine Basics (Jerry took that one alone). And of course all the speakers have either written a book or reference a book or two or three in their talk and I think we now have a book for every possible situation or to avoid one. My brain is about to explore with all the additional 'boat knowledge' I have been trying to absorb. I am ready to put this knowledge to work!

Now, of course you know that we bought a very intensive electronics package with this boat. Lots of upgrades and latest technologies. WELL, the Canadian Coast Guard equivalent REQUIRES every boat in their waters to carry 'paper charts'. The paper charts are very large and therefore only cover a small area at a time. So with all of the islands, coves, channels, inlets, sounds, etc., it was necessary for us to buy a stack of charts 6 inches high $$$$.

We thought we would be ready to leave on Tuesday but it is looking more like Thursday.

We're on the boat!

2008-05-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

Is it Sunday already??? We have been working constantly to get this Tug ready for cruising.
We arrived on Wednesday at the Seattle Airport about 10 pm ‘body time’. Everything went smoothly on the flight……Misty is a real trooper. She stayed under the seat in front of us with no problems. Add another first for our little Havanese. We were so hungry when we got off the airplane, even in First Class there was just enough food served to keep you from starving. As soon as we got our rental car, we punched in Asian Food on our Garmin and stopped at a Thai Restaurant with ** ambience and **** food. By the time we got to La Conner and on the boat we were very tired.
Fully expecting the weather to be cool and damp, we were pleasantly surprised with sunshine and record high temperatures for the next 3 days. Yesterday it was 88 degrees on our boat. Jerry was able to do the work he wanted on the dinghy and securing the life raft. Today it is a little cooler but still sunny. YES!
Surprisingly, we were able to empty all the suitcases on the boat as well as all the stuff we had ordered on line and had shipped here to Tomco Marine – of course the boat does sit a little lower in the water. The bedspread we had made in Greenville fit our bed perfectly.
We have not done any grocery shopping yet, just the necessities. I did insist on stopping at one of the garden centers here and bought myself one of the most beautiful hanging Fuchsias I have seen in a long time. Of course the neighbor boat here at the docks said I can’t take it in to Canada but we’ll see!

Packing for LaConner

2008-04-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

Well we are only a few weeks away from flying out to LaConner, Washington (where the boat is). Oh, the boat!!!!! We have a beautiful deep green American Tug 41 that we named "Jade Princess". It is 45 feet long and 15 feet wide. It has 2 full cabins and heads, a full width pilot house, main salon and generous covered stern. Our dinghy "Lil Jade" sits on the full size overhead deck.

We are still trying to make sure we have everything we will need to cruise the remote islands of British Columbia. Apparently, there will be times when there are no other boaters around and will be strictly on our own. We plan on being on the boat until late September when we hope to be in Petersburg Alaska. We are hoping to leave the boat there at a Marina until next Spring when we will continue on in Alaska.