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Thomas Bay to Pybus Bay

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We got up early and were moving by 6am. Today is a 50 mile day to Cannery Cove at Pybus Bay and we figured we’d make miles while it was relatively calm. The forecast for Frederick Sound was 3 foot seas, but it was only like that for the last hour or so…the rest was pretty calm.

We saw several humpbacks from a pretty good distance as we were in the open part of Frederick Sound:

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Just off of the Brothers Islands, there were some even closer (and HUGE):

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Pybus Bay is at the southern tip of Admiralty Island, and the entrance is dotted with rocky islands. It’s gorgeous! (And the weather continued to be so nice!)

Entering Cannery Cove:

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Our new anchorage:

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There are some huge cool-looking jellyfish in here!

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We put out some crab traps and dropped two more halibut lines and then took the dinghy out to look for bears. Almost immediately we spotted a sow and two cubs:

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One of the cubs, noticing us:

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We ventured around the corner into a small bay and surprised a young male (I think) as he was loping toward the water. As soon as he saw us he took off running for the woods.

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Eagle on a stump:

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When we returned there was a gorgeous boat anchored near us…the M/V Discovery, on a cruise from Juneau to Sitka:

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The Discovery is an 87 foot Classic Yacht and was built in 1931 in San Pedro, CA for William Morris of the William Morris Agency. Alaska Charters! Check 'em out. This looks like the only kind of official "cruise" we'd ever be interested in doing…they are opportunistic rather than scheduled, they go kayaking, hiking, crabbing, have beach barbecues, go to hot springs. It's not all about all-you-can-eat and casino shows. Love it!

Also, while the kayakers from M/V Discovery were exploring, there was a brown bear on the shore behind them that I'm not sure they ever saw (see kayaker, middle left):

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I made crab and asparagus enchiladas for dinner with our fresh crab from Thomas Bay.

For filling, I put a little butter in a sauce pan, added some light sour cream, a little milk, the crab meat, grated pepper jack, salt and pepper, and chopped asparagus. Fill tortillas in a glass dish, cover with more grated pepper jack, tomatillo salsa, and top with thinly sliced fresh jalapeño. Bake at 375 or so until done (when cheese is bubbly). SUPER yum.

Here's today's track (53.5 nautical miles, 7 hours 14 minutes):

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2 Comments

  1. Janna Clark Janna Clark

    Don’t you love meeting people such as the San Dollar folks! I will look forward to your impressions of Mendenhall Glacier–we were there last spring during our Alaskan Ferry hopping cruise.

    • Absolutely!
      Mendelhall was super pretty…I could see spending a bit more time doing the hikes around there and such…we were just on a tight schedule to take off for more remote locations.
      Next time! 🙂

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