Ell Cove to Baby Bear Bay

Laura Domela — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 01:57:00 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska

We left Ell Cove fairly early in the morning. The first hour or so of our cruise was in some fog, but we still had pretty good visibility. The National Geographic Sea Lion called us via VHF to let us know they were going to exit their cove and cross our stern, then pass to our starboard side.

Here they are passing us:

The fog cleared up before we turned into Peril Strait:

We cooked the last of our rockfish last night and I made rockfish cakes for lunch today (a little mayonnaise, an egg, spices, panko, cooked rockfish, sliced green onion). Deke put together a delicious tartar sauce, and we served the rockfish cakes over a bed of arugula while underway. They were really good!

Deke and Tiffani, scanning the shoreline for bears:

No bears, but we started seeing MANY spouts ahead of us and ended up passing by a very tight pod of about 10 humpback whales traveling east in Peril Strait::

We got to Baby Bear Bay and there were maybe 5 other boats anchored in there, but there was plenty of room. Tiffani and I put together a happy hour snack using the rest of the coho, some creme fraiche, and a little bit of caviar on top of some crackers:

It was a beautiful, quiet evening in Baby Bear Bay:

Tomorrow we'll head on to Sitka for a few provisions, and then we plan to explore a few nearby anchorages for the next couple days.

Today's track (50.7 nautical miles):

Warm Springs Bay to Ell Cove

Laura Domela — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 20:48:00 +0000

Airship Goes to Alaska

We trolled for salmon on the way from Warm Springs Bay to our next stop at Ell Cove, and guess what? Deke caught a 25-inch Coho. Guess what’s for dinner tonight?

Cleaning and filleting while under way:

We arrived in Ell Cove and anchored, then took turns kayaking around the corner looking for bears.

No bears, but otters and eagles:

This one looks like a totem pole:

Lots of fishing boats outside Ell Cove today:

After kayaking we all dinghied around the corner to get a closer look at Kasnyku Falls:

I love these reflections:

We grilled some fresh Coho for dinner, along with a side of penne with pesto and snap peas. Another fantastic day of exploring and adventure with great friends!

Today’s track from Warm Springs Bay to Ell Cove (9.5 nautical miles):

Ell Cove – Riveted

Ell Cove to Baby Bear Bay

Warm Springs Bay to Ell Cove