Wrangell – Riveted

Wrangell to Thoms Place

Laura Domela — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 21:21:43 +0000

We left Wrangell and headed down Zimovia Strait to Thoms Place. We hadn’t been to Thoms Place before, but heard there was good crabbing so we figured it was about time to get some more crab! (Plus, we had a day to kill between Wrangell and Anan Creek.)

I love this photo:

We fished for a while but didn’t catch anything, so eventually went in to Thoms Place and anchored, then got the crab traps ready to put out. It was high tide, so after setting the crab traps, we explored a bit in the dinghy. We were able to go way back in through and around all these little islands that aren’t islands except at high tide…it was so cool! We saw a black bear sow and her two cubs, but I didn’t have my camera with me, so no photos, boo.

Later in the afternoon Kevin went out in the dinghy with a beer and his fishing rod and fished around for a while, while I read a book. He caught a couple (okay four) too-small something or others…he hasn’t identified what kind of fish they were yet. Here he is, heading out (note the Xtratuf coozie on the seat next to him…nice!):

UPDATE: The fish were Slimy Sculpins.

Here’s what Thoms Place looks like:

Shoreline reflection totem, turned sideways (so many faces in this one!):

We had a permit for Anan Creek Bear Observatory for Friday morning, so we got up fairly early to check the crab traps (22 crabs!!! 6 keepers…the rest too small or females, but finally…some crab!)

Next up: bears catching fish!!

Totem Bay to Wrangell

Laura Domela — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 02:26:09 +0000

After coming through Rocky Pass and watching humpbacks yesterday afternoon, we anchored for the night at the head of Totem Bay. Totem Bay is a large, flat, fairly shallow bay, and if you wonder why they call it Totem Bay, I think it’s because of these very cool rock formations on the shore:

Lots of otters in here:

This one photobombed my postcard photo (and made it better):

It was a beautiful, calm evening in Totem Bay.

And then the almost full moon rose:

Not bad!

This morning was glassy calm and we could see it was a bit foggy out in Sumner Strait:

We left Totem Bay early (by 7am) and cruised in the fog with radar for most of the way to Wrangell. Like this:

Well, and also like this…but radar in combination with AIS is great for situations like these:

Nearer to Wrangell the fog started to lift:

We’re now at Reliance Harbor in Wrangell and it’s about 70 degrees Farenheit and gorgeous.

We walked up to the post office to mail a birthday present, got some groceries (yay fresh veggies! also, City Market is better than IGA for this, in our opinion), picked up a new raw water washdown pump (hose that uses salt water for washing down the deck, cleaning fish, washing of the anchor after you bring it up) because ours failed, again, and then grabbed some beer and wine at the liquor store. Once back at Airship, Kevin replaced the wash down pump (the new one is much better!), and then we pulled the dinghy up onto the dock so we could apply another patch to the tear we got in Klag Bay. The jury’s still out as to whether this patch-on-patch trick worked. Next we’ll grill some veggies and make some fresh salsa, probably grill something for dinner and sit up on the top deck with a beer or a glass of rosé (because it’s sunny and warm and why not, right?) and enjoy the weather. Last year around this time when we were here in Wrangell we saw the Aurora for the first time. The Aurora forecast doesn’t look that great for tonight though.

While we were working on the dinghy, we chatted a bit with a woman from the Alaska Vistas tour company, and she gave us a good tip about the Anan Bear Observatory, so I think tomorrow we may do some fishing on our way down to Thom’s Place, anchor there for the night, and then go over to Anan on Friday morning. Rumor is there are permits available that day.

Wrangell to Petersburg

Laura Domela — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:07:33 +0000

We left Wrangell early (6:30am) to take advantage of the current in Wrangell Narrows. Commercial crabbing season opened this morning so it was busy around here!

The current flows both ways in Wrangell Narrows, so we timed it to enter the south end on the end of a flood, using the current boost to get us to the middle of the narrows at slack, and then got a nice push the rest of the way to Petersburg. Efficient!

Two Trees Island, still with just two trees (and some shrubs):

The weather was gorgeous, and the arrival into Petersburg was just about as perfect as it can be, scenery-wise:

North Marina:

We walked into town and stopped in a few shops and then bought a couple things I needed for dinner. This is a fantastic bookstore/gift shop…Sing Lee Alley Books:

Sons of Norway Hall:

The Valhalla viking ship:

And here’s the story of the Valhalla:

We cooked dinner on Airship (spot prawns with roasted tomatoes, wilted spinach, in a white wine/garlic/shallot reduction over pasta). Tomorrow we’ll take Kevin’s mom into Le Conte Glacier to see some ice!! Weather should continue to be nice…we’re really lucking out for her visit!

Today’s route from Wrangell to Petersburg (43.7 nautical miles, 5 hours 38 minutes):

Meyers Chuck to Wrangell

Laura Domela — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 00:10:05 +0000

We left Meyers Chuck right after Cassy brought us warm cinnamon rolls. This is the first time we’ve ever lucked out on the cinnamon roll thing (worth it!). The first time in Meyers Chuck, we called but Cassy’s husband said she was out of town and we definitely didn’t want him to make ’em for us. The second time we were here, we were one of two pleasure boats on the dock, but the other boat didn’t want any and so we’d have had to order 8, so we passed. Anyway, yay, they were great!

Our cruise to Wrangell was nice and uneventful. Clarence Strait was a little choppy but we weren’t in it for very long.

I called the Harbormaster in Wrangell when we were just outside of Heritage Harbor (hoping to get a spot in Reliance, closer to town). He was on the dock and his handheld battery had just died, so he had to scramble to get a new one and then when we finally reached him, he said he was standing on the dock with a couple who told him to “Say hi to Laura, and ask how Kevin’s wrist is doing.” So funny! Turns out it was Dan and Pat on their Northern Pacific called “Rogue” … they follow the blog and we’ve corresponded via email in the past, so it was nice to finally meet in person!

Reliance Harbor in Wrangell:

After we got settled, we walked over to Shakes Island and looked at the covered totems and the exterior of the tribal house.

Our friends Jeff & Wendy (we met them in Ketchikan…M/V Daybreak, a gorgeous 58′ Fleming) were also in Wrangell and they invited us all to come by for a glass of wine before we went into town for dinner. Super fun visit! We walked up to the Stikine Inn for dinner and made it an early night.

Off to Petersburg tomorrow!

Here’s today’s route: Meyers Chuck to Wrangell – 51.9 nautical miles, 7 hours 6 minutes:

Berg Bay, Santa Anna Inlet, Meyers Chuck

Laura Domela — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 20:50:03 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska

We left Wrangell on Friday morning and headed around the back of Wrangell island toward Berg Bay.

It was pretty windy (okay, very windy). Berg Bay was about 22 miles from Wrangell and we figured we could stay there for a night or two before moving on toward Clarence Strait and to Ketchikan (though, no rush since Clarence was not looking good until about Tuesday).

Wonder what happened here:

Wrangell to Berg Bay (about 20 nautical miles):

Berg Bay:

Berg Bay was pretty and we caught a bunch of Dungeness crabs (6 the first day, 5 the second day). Here’s our tiniest catch (of course we released him…so cute!):

Also, Kevin caught a shark!

The weather at Berg Bay was super rainy and windy and we spent the first night at the unoccupied Forest Service float (intended for cabin occupants only, but there were none) and the second night at anchor. Promptly at 5am this morning the wind came up dramatically and we got our weather forecast early (right about 5am our time, when we woke to the wind) from our NY connection (Hi Larra! Thanks again SO MUCH) since we couldn't get any of the VHF weather channels in Berg Bay. (XM weather is on the list to have for next summer.) Forecast was for 50kt winds and 11ft seas in Clarence Strait. Yikes!

We decided to go back to sleep and stay in Berg Bay one more day (since we had a few to kill, it appeared). We got up and around later in the morning and made coffee and breakfast, showered and then decided we might try heading down Blake Channel and out to Santa Anna Inlet (25 miles or so…and that much closer to Ketchikan). Worst case we’d get out of Blake Channel and it would suck and we’d just turn around and come back. We looked at the current though and it was 3.4kts against us until about 2:30pm, so we read for a bit to kill some time and then pulled anchor and headed out at around 1:30pm.

The weather was gray and windy and rainy (and a little foggy at times) but not bad at all.

Many waterfalls were visible, flowing rapidly down the hillsides and through the forests…it’s been pretty wet the last week or so in SE AK!

We pulled into Santa Anna Inlet and there was one other boat there. This anchorage is beautiful…there are several waterfalls nearby and we hear there's good crabbin' in here. We anchored in 35 feet (give or take 20 feet with the tide change).

Berg Bay to Santa Anna Inlet (about 25 nautical miles):

We put the crab traps out and made dinner to the sound of the rushing waterfall out the galley window.

Dinner last night: Alaskan sockeye salmon tacos with homemade corn relish (corn, jalapeno, lime juice, tomato, garlic), avocado, salsa, sour cream, with half of a baked sweet potato topped with lime juice, sea salt, and cilantro. Super yummy (and colorful!)

This morning we retrieved the crab traps (5 more Dungeness!) and left our anchorage. Our plan was to go over to Vixen Inlet and see how conditions were in Ernest Sound along the way. We checked out Vixen Inlet and it seemed like an okay anchorage, but the weather was looking fine so we decided to try our luck getting to Meyers Chuck. Seas for Clarence Strait were forecast to be 6ft, but the tiny bit of it we saw as we got to Meyers Chuck was only about 2ft.

Aside from several (maybe six??) giant LOGS blocking most of the narrow entrance to Meyers Chuck (Kevin did a fancy avoidance maneuver and didn't even graze one), it was an easy cruise.

Today's track from Santa Anna Inlet to Vixen Inlet and on to Meyers Chuck (about 28 nautical miles total):

The public dock at Meyers Chuck (with room for us…bonus)!

We cooked our crab while under way and then finished picking the crab meat after we got to the dock. Freezer = restocked!

Tomorrow we plan to head across Clarence Strait (Tuesday: N wind 15 kt. seas 3 ft.) to Prince of Wales Island to visit the Haida village of Kasaan, and then we'll probably head to Ketchikan on Wednesday (Wednesday: NW wind 10 kt. seas 2 ft. or less). Info about Kasaan here and here.

We are seeing fewer and fewer pleasure boats in SE Alaska these days. It kinda feels like we're still in the amusement park after it's closed.

Hanging in Wrangell, AK

Laura Domela — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 12:57:00 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska

We left Petersburg on Wednesday morning, timing our departure so we could arrive at the middle of Wrangell Narrows at slack tide, thus riding a favorable current in and a favorable current back out. The weather was gorgeous and clear and it was a smooth and lovely cruise to Wrangell.

Passing Two Tree Island again (last time we came through here was June 14):

Arriving in Wrangell:

The last time we were in Wrangell we stayed in Reliance Harbor, closer to town, but this time the harbormaster put us in the newer Heritage Harbor, about a mile and half from town. We got a spot on the transient dock right in front of S/V Delphina.

We met Richard and Tracy on S/V Delphina when we were in Taku Harbor the very first time, and they were super cool, so it was fun to meet up with them again. We've passed them a few times and seen them on AIS, but never managed to be in the same place at the same time until now.

We took the dinghy over to Reliance and made a quick stop at the market for a few things we forgot or couldn't find in Petersburg (salsa, green onions, rosemary, wine).

That evening, Richard and Tracy came over and we had a little top deck party with wine and snacks: ikura we made from some sockeye roe and some good cheese and crackers.

View from the top deck:

We had a great evening catching up and telling stories about our respective summers in Alaska. We made a plan to meet up for dinner over at the Stikine Inn the next night and said goodnight at around 10:30pm. The sky was nice and clear so we kept checking to see if we could see any Northern Lights and it turns out that at about 11pm, we could! We sat out on the bow and watched for a bit, and I texted Tracy so we all got to see 'em. This is the only photo I got (with my iPhone) but trust me, it was pretty dang cool!

Yesterday afternoon we did a jet boat tour up the Stikine River, but I'll post about that separately. I took a ton of photos and a fun video so I'll give it its own post.

Dinner at the Stikine Inn last night was quite good. Kevin and I shared some seared ahi tacos (delicious), a caesar salad, and the most popular thing on the menu, the Crispy Chicken Chop. The Crispy Chicken Chop is a tenderized chicken breast, coated with Panko and fried 'til crispy, served over a bacon cream gravy and some mashed Yukon Gold potatoes. It was very good, and we brought about half of it home with us.

The weather forecast for Clarence Strait (our next bigger body of water) through Tuesday is as follows, as of yesterday at 4pm:

CLARENCE STRAIT-
400 PM AKDT THU AUG 27 2015 

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY...
.TONIGHT...S WIND 20 KT INCREASING TO 25 KT LATE. SEAS 5 FT. RAIN.
.FRI...S WIND 30 KT. SEAS 6 FT. RAIN.
.FRI NIGHT...SE WIND 25 KT DIMINISHING TO 20 KT LATE. 
SEAS 7 FT. RAIN.
.SAT...SE WIND 15 KT. SEAS 4 FT. SHOWERS.
.SAT NIGHT...SE WIND 20 KT. SEAS 4 FT. SHOWERS.
.SUN...SE WIND 30 KT. SEAS 8 FT. 
.MON...SE WIND 20 KT. SEAS 6 FT. 
.TUE...NW WIND 10 KT. SEAS 2 FT OR LESS.

I think we'll be hanging out around Wrangell Island until things calm down a bit…it's looking like Tuesday is a good day to be in the strait. We may head over to Berg Bay (back side of Wrangell Island) and also check out Thom's Place (south west corner of Wrangell Island). Both bays have good crabbing, so maybe we can replenish our Dungeness supply.

Here's the Petersburg to Wrangell track (about 41 nautical miles):

Wrangell to Petersburg

Laura Domela — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 01:11:15 +0000

Last night's sunset in Wrangell:

Nice view just outside the breakwater this morning:

We left Wrangell this morning at 8am, allowing three hours to get to the south entrance of Wrangell Narrows. The tide enters Wrangell Narrows from both ends, so you want to enter from the south at the end of a flood tide so you can ride it in, arrive in the middle around slack tide, and then ride the ebb up to Petersburg. We texted back and forth with our friends on Cabernet, who were staying the night…somewhere else…I forgot…(Hi Lanette and Ron!) and decided to meet them at 11am near Point Alexander and Midway Rock.

More nice view:

While we were passing between Vank Island and Sokolof Island, we noticed a ton of bait fish jumping, so we turned on the sonar and whoa there were a lot of fish showing up down there. We did a little turn around and decided to drag a line through 'em, but no luck. (We didn't give it that long, since we had an 11am meeting to make.)

The aptly named Two Tree Island. (What happens if more trees grow??):

Hey, it's Cabernet!

We both followed this fish boat through the narrows, and noticed one of the crew members riding an exercise bike. Nice! I think he was on that bike for almost the whole 22 miles! (I noticed when he slowed down, the fish boat slowed down though….hmmmmmm, curious.)

Eagle on Marker 14 with snowy backdrop:

The scenery just keeps getting better!

Approaching Petersburg (that tall spire mountain is called Devil's Thumb):

Petersburg:

We're here at the North Marina for the night, just past the cannery:

We wandered around town a bit, but it's mostly closed up because it's Sunday. We stopped for a late lunch at El Rincon. I know, Mexican food in Alaska, but (1) it was pretty much the only place open, and (2) it was fantastic! We had the rockfish tacos and the tacos locos (chorizo, cilantro, grilled jalapeno). The salsas are spicy and delicious. Definitely a sweet little spot…and busy! They were about to run out of food at 4…so go early!

There are several boats from our flotilla here in Petersburg today and we randomly met up outside of El Rincon just as we were heading out. Everyone seems to be having a great time! We thought we might stay here two nights, but I think we may head over to Thomas Bay in the morning to do some fishing and some glacier viewing, and then anchor over there for the night. Oh yeah, the WEATHER! It's 70-something here and sunny. What the heck, Alaska?

Here's today's track (40 miles, about five and a half hours):

And here's a map of our whole voyage from May 17 in Anacortes, WA until today in Petersburg, AK (click to enlarge):

We’re in Wrangell!

Laura Domela — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 00:55:02 +0000

This morning we awoke briefly at 3:30am to what seemed like a bright and sunny day. Problem was, it was 3:30am. We went back to sleep and woke up some time after 6 and decided to get an early start. Meyers Chuck at 7am when we pulled out:

Nice and calm at Meyers Chuck, but pretty snotty out in Clarence Strait. Probably 3-4 foot seas…luckily, we were only in a for a little bit before we headed back inside to take the scenic route to Wrangell.

We saw a couple humpbacks on our way. We actually still slowed (we aren't so jaded yet) but didn't follow them to get any better photos than this:

We took the inside Zimovia Strait route. Gorgeous scenery along the way:

Approaching Wrangell:

We got a spot on the long dock at Reliance Harbor (the older docks, closest to town) and headed into town to explore. We took a walk around Shakes Island first. Shakes Island is a very small island reached by a pedestrian bridge right here near the docks at Reliance. There's a replica of the Chief Shakes tribal house, and a bunch of old totems under cover. It's hard to find any good information about any of this stuff online, strangely, but here's the website for the place. Chief Shakes was the title of a Tlinget chief, and there have been maybe nine different "Chief Shakes" (kinda like the pope!)

Tribal house entrance:

The Civilian Conservation Corps built the original house in 1940 with help from members of the community in Wrangell. A dedication ceremony was held after the project was complate and Chief Shakes VII (Charlie Jones), and his family used the house intermittently until his death in 1944.

The original house had weathered a few too many Wrangell winters, and was restored and reopened in 2013.

Here are a bunch of shots of the totems under cover. I wish I could find more information about these!

Orca:

Seal/sea lion:

You can get a good feel for how these totems are covered on the island in this shot:

I'll keep researching and let you know what I find out. I assume since Chief Shakes was Tlinget that these totems are also Tlinget…but I've yet to find that out officially.

We are back on Airship now doing a little work and cooking dinner. Tomorrow we'll meet up with our flotilla friends Lanette and Ron (from the Krogen 48, Cabernet) at the entrance to Wrangell Narrows around 11am and maybe go through together to Petersburg.

There's a ton of "fish action" going on around here…salmon and halibut coming back from the charter boats and being cleaned here on the dock's fish cleaning table. We stopped at the marine store in town and picked up some halibut tackle. We happened upon a guy shopping in there today (the checker connected us when we asked about what to use for halibut fishing). He was an older gentleman named Harold Bailey, who seriously seemed to know his shit. He helped us get outfitted (aka took pity on the newbies) so now we are equipped to fish for salmon AND halibut. Thank you Harold!!

Dinner tonight is going to be pappardelle carbonara with an arugula salad. Weather's lovely and we'll get an 8am start tomorrow morning.

Here's today's track (52 nautical miles, 7 hours 23 minutes):