Sunday, June 17, 2012

Entering Popular Cruising Area

Wednesday June 13 - Sunday June 17

Wednesday, we successfully crossed "The Summit", the last part of Rocky Passage. There was at least 6 feet of water under Raven Song the whole time -- Urs said that would have been enough for us to walk under the boat!

We tied up at the harbor in Kake, a small Native fishing town. The docks were brand new; there was even a covered ramp from the docks to the road! However, the docks were pretty empty and someone said the town is having economic difficulties since the cannery closed. We walked 20 minutes to the store to resupply fresh veggies and fruit -- nice selection probably because the town has ferry service. We had hoped there might be internet access in town but no luck.
Tour Boat coming out of Red Bluff Bay

Thursday, we crossed Chatham Strait; no wind, flat water. Baranof Island was in front of us; wonderful picture of snow-covered mountains for as far as we could see left and right. As we approached the entrance to Red Bluff Bay, we saw a medium-sized, upscale tour boat (Safari Enterprises) coming out. The ruins of a cannery were near the entrance. There were lots of waterfalls cascading down the sheer rock walls. We could see the spray of one waterfall a long time before we saw the astonishing waterfall itself. At the end of the long inlet was an estuary covered with sedge for bears coming out of hibernation. We anchored on a narrow ledge formed by the river silt. Within 2 hours, three other boats had anchored near us and a National Geographic tour boat stopped at the mouth of the river for about 15 minutes. We were now apparently in the more popular cruising area!
Grizzly Bear 40 Feet from Raven Song

We saw lots of grizzlies in the estuary (there are no black bears on Baranof); one was either running away from something or frolicking in the mud. Saw a shy mom with two cubs. And we had our own private show 50 feet behind Raven Song: a mother with an older cub and a male who grazed for about 20 minutes while Urs was photographing him from the dinghy.

Just after the entrance to Red Bluff Bay, we put down the prawn traps. Over two days, we caught close to 350 prawns! With much sorrow, I emptied the freezer of crab bait to make room.
Prawns for dinner

Friday, it rained buckets, so we caught up on chores. All the waterfalls were pouring out more water.
Warm Springs Harbor

Saturday, we headed back to Chatham Strait. Wind was 20-30 knots and water was choppy with waves from all directions. Books and fruit slid onto the floor. Magpie disappeared into her favorite hidey hole behind the cockpit cushions. After we put out the jib, Raven Song settled a bit. Urs turned off the motor and we were sailing! But I still had 178 prawns to prepare for freezing, a job that could not wait. I probably looked like an ungraceful dancer or skater as Raven Song rolled on the larger waves.
Warm Springs

We came into the protected waters of Warm Springs Bay and anchored the boat in a side cove across from a spectacular waterfall. We took the dinghy to a dock at the foot of the waterfall and hiked up to Baranof Lake, the source of the water for the waterfall. Enjoyed the bog plants. We passed about 15 people on the trail -- more people than we'd seen for a long time. Then we went to the hot springs for a pleasant soak in the hot water. There were a series of pools: too hot at the top; too cool at the edge of the water fall. Yes, soaked right next to the roaring river and waterfall. It was raining steadily while we were wet getting dressed and hiking back and taking the dinghy back to the boat. But that's what we expect in Alaska.
Entering Sitka Harbor

Sunday, we went from Chatham Strait to Peril Strait on our way to Sitka. We had enough wind to sail and the sea was pretty flat! Had a pod Dall's porpoises playing at the bow for about 5 minutes. Later we came across a humpback whale who displayed his flukes while setting up for a deep dive. Anchored in Appleton Cove. We'll be in Sitka probably Tuesday and will stay there for several days to reprovision and sightsee and go to the internet --- to upload pictures to the blog.






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