When I was in the Navy we used to call the time of really early morning activities zero dark thirty. Today zero dark thirty was 4:30 in the morning so we could leave at sunrise for our crossing of Dixon Entrance; the second open ocean stretch we had to negotiate on our way to Alaska. Fortunately the wind was light and combined seas (swell plus wind waves) were reported to be 1 meter. Spectacular scenery wasn’t available as the sky was overcast. Nevertheless, we did find the mixture of islands and fog shrouded mountains captivating.
Early Morning View Just Outside Brundige Inlet, Dundas Island, BC
The weather report was right on. The main difficulty was that the ocean swells were right on our beam. When we hit the worst part, about 15 miles into the crossing, Hobbit was typically rolling 15 – 20 degrees with an occasional roll to 30 degrees. Fortunately that only lasted for half an hour, but it was certainly uncomfortable. Next time we cross I may tack in order to get the swells on our bow or stern quarter.
One enjoyable sight as we finally got to calm water was a solitary male Orca which we stopped and viewed for a few minutes. The rest of the trip was uneventful except for the constant dodging of logs. I’m glad we don’t have such a major problem with large debris in the water in Puget Sound.
As we entered Ketchikan Harbor we were greeted by FOUR cruise ships: one each from Disney, Holland America, Celebrity, and Carnival. That many ships must double the size of the town’s population. In addition to these four, there are many more ships at different ports of call in the Inside Passage. It’s amazing to me that there is enough demand to support such a large number of major ships.
We called ahead for a slip then called Customs to let them know where we would be. Customs was at our slip before we were and helped us with Hobbit’s lines. Really cordial and friendly as we went through the paperwork. It’s nice to see government representatives be so helpful.
Male Orca on North Side of Dixon Entrance
Downtown Ketchikan
May 30, 2011, Monday, Memorial Day
After going and going and going, Linda and I were just tourists today. We took a bus to see the worlds largest collection of totem poles at the Tlingit Indian Totem Park. While there we heard a discussion of the making and meaning of totem poles along with how the paint was made. The bus driver was a real character who gave a non-stop dissertation on eagles, totem poles, where to get fish and chips, her five sons and two husbands. It was worth the bus ride just to hear her talk.
We arrived back in town in time to see a parade and ceremony put on by the VFW and American Legion to honor those lost serving our country.
The rest of the day was spent joining the thousands of tourists from the four cruise ships in port. These were not the same four as were in port yesterday; we’ve been here 24 hours and there have been eight cruise ships. I asked about how many ships included Ketchikan in their route. Believe it or not, there are 27 different ships scheduled to stop here during any given week. It’s no wonder towns like Ketchikan are heavily impacted by tourism.
Given that a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll just show a bunch of pictures rather than detail what we did.
Waiting for the Bus
Tlingit Totem Pole
Getting Her Hand Bit for Misbehaving
Bald Eagle Sitting on Nest
Enjoying Fish (Halibut) and Chips on the Waterfront
Ketchikan, Salmon Capital of the World
Downtown Ketchikan
Linda Needs a Haircut
Having a Chat with Sarah Palin
May 31, 2011, Tuesday
Heading north out of Ketchikan we were greeted with an enormous body of water, Chatham Strait, and distant snow capped mountains that were obscured by haze. Haze is the down side of sunny weather and lack of rain. Would you believe it reached 80 degrees today?
During the early afternoon we decided to stop and fish. I managed to catch my first octopus. It was a large one that I estimate weighed about 25 pounds and had a tentacle spread of approximately 6 feet. After taking a few pictures, we netted it so I could remove the hooks and released it. No sooner was this task accomplished than I heard the loud “whoosh” of a blowing whale not far away. Turning around I saw a humpback whale heading north. After a couple of breaths it did the dive with its tail fluke up in the air and disappeared. Unfortunately we were too far away for good pictures.
25 Pound, 6 Foot (Estimated) Octopus
Humpback Whale in Chatham Strait
Linda Hard at Work Reading the Book “Alaska”
We ended up in a place called Meyer’s Chuck. This has to be one of the smallest, most out of the way towns around. About 300 people. The U.S. mail drop box says that mail is picked up at 10:00 on Tuesdays. Boat and float plane are the only ways to get here. Meyer’s Chuck does have one interesting feature; a public dock for which there is no charge for moorage.
Meyers Chuck Community Center: Bulletin Board, Phone Booth, Mail Box
June 1, 2011, Wednesday
June already!! We are in a spring tide cycle so there are minus tides which are good for tide pooling and beach combing which is what I did first thing this morning. We have now adopted a leisurely pace and continued our journey towards Wrangell. Would you believe it only got into the lower 70s today. The scenery continues to be beautiful and the country huge.
We ended up anchoring in a pretty lagoon named “Thoms Place”. First order of business was to set out crab pots while Linda worked on her watercolors. The wind has picked up considerably and, as I write this, is blowing 20 kts gusting 30 kts with white caps and waves in the lagoon. It’s enough so that I stayed up late making sure that the anchor was holding given that the chain was stretched tight as the proverbial violin string.
View of Snow Capped Mountains Along Ernest Sound
Linda Painting
June 2, 2011, Thursday
Hobbit’s anchor didn’t budge during the night and the rocking caused me to get a great night’s sleep. Given that we had another minus tide, I got up early and went to shore to do my naturalist thing. Just before I got to the beach I spotted a pair of mink cavorting and searching for food. Naturally I had the wrong lens on when one of them came to within 25 feet of me. After getting the dinghy to shore and putting on my telephoto lens, I walked down the beach looking for the mink. I managed to locate one of them and got a series of long shots which are a little blurry, but they’re the best I could get. Maybe next Christmas I’ll treat myself to a high quality telephoto lens.
Mink with a Mouth Full of Food (Thoms Place Inlet)
After wondering around the beach and up a tidal stream, I dropped my camera gear off at Hobbit and picked up the crab traps. Two of the four traps were empty and the other two had about 15 Dungeness crabs each. Quite a few were over 7 inches (back in Washington the size limit is 6 ¼ inches while the size limit is 6 ½ inches in Alaska). One thing I have learned about Alaska is that they charge nonresidents exorbitant license fees and give them meager limits compared to residents. A resident could keep 20 crabs while we could only keep 3. It was hard throwing back so many keepers.
This afternoon we reached Wrangell, the second of SE Alaska’s Inside Passage cities going up the Inside Passage. The big water and snow capped peaks continued to grace our view.
A Bunch of Crabs from Thoms Place
Southerly View Behind Us as We Approached Wrangell
Approaching Wrangell
June 3, 2011, Friday
Right before leaving on this journey to Alaska, I purchased from West Marine a new 9.9 HP outboard for the dinghy. It probably has 4 hours on it and has been steadily becoming more difficult to start and keep running. Today’s first order of business was to load the outboard into a dock cart and wheel it two blocks down the street to the Mercury dealer.
The dealer’s reaction was interesting. He is really unhappy with Mercury for allowing West Marine, Cabella’s, and other big retailers to sell outboards without being set up as required by the factory. As a result, he has numerous people every year stop on their way north to get brand new motors working properly. I talked with Mercury customer service and was told that when we buy from these large retailers we get a lower price but are supposed to take the motor to a shop for setup. Of course the dealers don’t tell you that.
While waiting on the outboard, Linda and I had an opportunity to walk around Wrangell. We found the National Park Service museum really great. We also found an art gallery where the specialty was watercolor paintings of marine scenes on old navigation charts. Linda purchased a beautiful print for her collection.
Wrangell isn’t on the regular cruise ship agenda and clearly isn’t a town set up for the benefit of tourists. While talking with one of the locals, we learned that some cruise ship companies tried to purchase the entire town. They wanted to then bring in their own people and convert the town to what they believed would be liked by tourists. Wrangell, once known as the most lawless town in Alaska—so lawless that Wyatt Earp, acting as temporary sheriff, refused to stay more than a few days--is now a very friendly town where many, possibly most, of the business are family owned and operated. The town folks rejected the offer. Wrangell is a town we will stop by in the future given an opportunity – we like it.
Walking on the dock back to Hobbit we encountered a group of 4 men who had come to Wrangell to fish for halibut. Over the past several days they had caught 27 and were feeling really good. Linda started quizzing them and the man doing the cleaning cut off half of a side of a 15 – 20 pound halibut and gave it to her. Linda concocted a recipe using orange marmalade, sour cream, and “mystery” spices that was out of this world.
Back at the Mercury dealer, we found out that all he needed to do was make some adjustments and instruct me on the nuances of how to use the motor. Fortunately all was covered by warranty. I give this dealer an A+ for customer service and low marks to both Mercury and West Marine for the way they market the motors.
Right in the middle of the waterfront is the tribal house of a former Tlingit chief, Chief Shakes. There is a beautiful cedar house and half a dozen totem poles.
Chief Shakes Tribal House and One of His Totem Poles
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