It was rainy and overcast as we left Wrangell for Petersburg. I tried halibut fishing at some nearby islands but gave up because currents were too strong. Cruise ships don’t call at Petersburg because, for them, it’s out of the way. They can’t negotiate the 20 mile long Wrangell Narrows which, not only is quite narrow and shallow in places, it has really high currents. For boats less than 100 feet or so, the Wrangell Narrows is the preferred route for heading north or south. Navigating the Wrangell Narrows requires that you pay attention to the direction of the current. We entered the south end midway into a flood cycle and had an enormous current pushing us most of the way. Sometimes we had 3 or more kts pushing us. This is the first time I ever saw Hobbit with a sustained speed greater than 10 kts (we usually cruise at about 7 ½ kts).
We had read in the cruise books about currents running through the marinas at Petersburg. The books are correct. We were assigned a fairly rickety spot between two walkways. The current was running about 2 kts and was pushing us into the dock. As a result, I misjudged my initial approach and had to back out for a second attempt. Fortunately one of the local fishermen observed our difficulty and was there to help with lines on the second attempt.
June 5, 2011, Sunday
Our 46th wedding anniversary and we haven’t even been able to find some decent Champagne to celebrate with. One of the grocery stores provides a driver to pick people up at the docks. Thus, we did restock our larder and got a tour of Petersburg as the driver had people to pick up on the other end of town. An interesting aspect of the grocery store is that you got a feeling of being in Costco as you entered – The first isle was filled with Kirkland (Costco) brand products.
Some PR brochures call Petersburg the prettiest and most photogenic city in SE Alaska. Linda and I didn’t see it that way. It is a major fishing port with over 700 slips which are mostly filled with commercial fishing boats. If you’re interested in taking pictures of old, run-down boats and buildings, this is your place.
It’s 100 miles as the raven (there’s lots of ravens in Petersburg) flies, but probably closer to 150 miles as we will go to get to Juneau. Between Petersburg and Juneau the AT&T coverage map shows that no cell phone is available and, with no towns along the way, we won’t have any Internet; we didn’t even have Internet in Petersburg. As a result, we started calling friends and family as we headed out. The next picture is to show mom why I had to say goodbye and get off the phone.
The “Pacific Titan” Overtaking Hobbit in the Wrangell Narrows at Petersburg
Upon exiting the Wrangell Narrows only a mile from Petersburg we entered Frederick Sound. It was sort of like we’ve been traveling for a month and this is what we came for. The view was breathtaking. We stopped at some nearby islands to fish for awhile then, in mid afternoon, went on to Thomas Bay which is about 12 miles from Petersburg. What a beautiful place to anchor.
Frederick Sound Looking North from Petersburg
The La Conte Glacier Looking East from Petersburg
View from Inside Hobbit at Our Thomas Bay Anchorage
Another View from Outside Hobbit at Thomas Bay Anchorage
June 6, 2011, Monday
Cold, blustery, and wet. Given that we no longer have an urgency to travel, we decided to just swing at anchor in Thomas Bay at the south end of Ruth Island. During a break in the rain I set a couple crab traps; caught my limit and OD’d on crab cocktail. This was also an excellent opportunity for me to work on the talk I will be giving at Glacier Bay National Park about plastic in the marine environment.
June 7, 2011, Tuesday
A much better day!! Sunny and warm. I picked up my crab traps and had another limit. After lifting the anchor, we headed down an arm of Thomas Bay that is home to the Baird glacier. The glacier is not what one envisions. It ends on dry land and doesn’t calve icebergs into the sea. It does, however, melt at a sufficient rate to create a stream full of glacial till that turns all of Thomas Bay into a nearly opaque shade of pale green. Under water visibility is no more than six inches.
Baird Glacier in Thomas Bay
Departing Thomas Bay we fished for halibut and, once again, caught nothing. Hopefully there is a halibut somewhere with my name on it.
Twenty miles from Thomas Bay we anchored in Portage Bay which has what looks like an extinct volcano at the end. A pretty and peaceful bay.
June 8, 2011, Wednesday
Melinda’s birthday. We called to wish her a happy as we were leaving Petersburg but would liked to have talked with her today, but we have no cell phone coverage. The weather forecast wasn’t particularly enticing and we weren’t particularly motivated to move, so after quite a bit of procrastination we decided to stay in Portage Bay to read, paint, and work on the computer.
Our View in Portage Bay (“Loon Mountain Cove”)
Loons in “Loon Mountain Cove”
June 9, 2011, Thursday
The number of hours of daylight is clearly increasing. Last night I read by daylight until about 10:00 when I went to bed. This morning I woke up at 3:00 and it was already daylight. The books say we have 18 hours of daylight this time of year, but they must be looking only at official sunrise and sunset. Total daylight hours are closer to 20.
While at Portage Bay we have frequently heard the sound of the loon and seen many loons off in the distance. This morning we saw many loons. To us, Portage Bay will always be known as “Loon Mountain Cove.”
Loons in “Loon Mountain Cove”The Douglasses in their book Exploring Southeast Alaska mention kelp as an impediment to anchoring. The following picture clearly demonstrates the problem.
Pulling the Anchor in “Loon Mountain Cove” (Note all the kelp under water)
On our way across Frederick Sound to tonight’s anchorage, Cannery Cove in Pybus Bay which is part of Admiralty Island National Monument, we encountered two humpback whales. One of them kept pacing us only a hundred yards or so off the boat as we tried to get away from it to take a plastic sample. Eventually it dived and we managed to take our sample. Unfortunately we didn’t get a picture of the tail fluke up in the air as it went down for a long period.
As we entered Cannery Cove we set the shrimp pots using the last of my “100% Alaskan Fish Fertilizer.” This fertilizer that I bought at a garden store is actually pellets of dried herring and, unfortunately, is no longer manufactured. We anchored in an incredibly beautiful spot. The only anchorage I can think of that is possibly more majestic than Cannery Cove is Princess Louisa. In addition to the snow filled mountain bowl, there are many cascading waterfalls which are wonderful to listen to and grouse are constantly sounding their mating calls. After anchoring I set the crab traps.
Snug Harbor, Gambier Bay Anchorage
Fishing in Pybus Bay
View in Cannery Cove Anchorage
Man on a Mission to Set Crab Traps
June 10, 2011, Friday After sleeping in, I took the dinghy out to fish and check the shrimp and crab pots. While fishing, a harbor seal took up residence 50 or so feet from me and just kept watching. That kind of behavior means they have learned to associate a fisherman with fish. If I were to catch a fish, the seal would take it away from me. As I was debating whether or not to leave, rain started so my decision was made and I left the seal to check the shrimp pots.
I have caught more shrimp/prawns in traps than I did today, but I don’t think I ever caught bigger ones. Most of them were 7 – 8”. I reset the pots with a new bait recipe but am really lamenting the lack of availability of my fish fertilizer.
In addition to the prawns, I also caught a couple of Dungeness crabs. Not spectacular, but shrimp and crab cocktails for lunch was marvelous.
When the rain stopped in the late afternoon, Linda and I took the dinghy to shore for some beachcombing. Below are a few pictures.
Prawns Caught Just Outside Cannery Cove, Pybus Bay
Fresh Prawns are M-M-Good
Beach Combing in Cannery Cove
"Shooting Star" Wildflowers in Cannery Cove
June 11, 2011, Saturday
Leaving Cannery Cove was almost a melancholy experience. Linda and I love that place!! We picked up the shrimp pots on the way out and again caught a batch of really large prawns.
Cannery Cove One More Time
Prawns from Cannery Cove
It was a short trip, only about 25 miles to our next anchorage: Snug Harbor in Gambier Bay. As we entered there was a cloudburst which was followed by rain most of the Day. We set the shrimp and crab pots then settled down to an afternoon of relaxation. It’s a beautiful place, but can’t compare with Cannery Cove. The setting sun on the clouds which then reflected into the still water did provide a period of singular beauty that the photograph can’t really do justice.
June 12, 2011, Sunday
I picked up the crab pots and only had one keeper. We had planned on picking up the anchor and going fishing, but there was a little rain and wind which made the thought of trying to fish not too appealing. When the weather calmed down, I went ashore to study the local vegetation. Sitka spruce and western hemlock dominate the canopy. Exploitation of these two trees by the logging industry is what caused one of the economic and population booms in SE Alaska. Red alder is the most common of the deciduous trees. Last night we had this large bay to ourselves; today it seems like a really popular place as five more boats have anchored nearby.
Picture of the Day: View from Snug Harbor, Gambier Bay
June 11, 2011, Animal Day (Monday)
As we headed out early today the trip odometer on the GPS rolled over 1,000 miles. Hard to believe we’ve been that far. We picked up the shrimp pots and got a few - nothing to brag about although the prawns were large - then headed out with every intention of crossing Stephens Passage on our way north to Juneau.. As soon as we left Gambier bay we had unexpected cell phone coverage and made a lot of calls. While we were both on the phone, Hobbit was surrounded by Dahl’s porpoises which look like miniature killer whales. They were jumping and playing all around the boat – awesome. Unfortunately, I had the wrong lens on the camera and was deeply involved in a business conversation so couldn’t get pictures.
Then we ran across the first sea otter (Enhydra lutra) we’ve seen in the wild since we lived in California.
Stephen’s passage was totally flat calm so we stopped to do some fishing. I managed to catch a 10 lb halibut and two very large (15 inch, 4 lb) quill back rockfish. Rockfish are Linda’s favorite and she swears she likes them better than halibut – to each his/her own. By the time I’d run out of bait it was 3:00 in the afternoon and we decided to go back into Gambier Cove for the night.
On the way back, we came across three humpback whales that were feeding, the pod of Dahl’s porpoise who wanted to play again, and another sea otter. The Dahl’s porpoise are incredibly fastand throw up a rooster tail as the swim close to the surface; they love to ride the bow waves of passing boats. The action was so fast that I just put my camera on continuous shooting and pointed towards what I thought would be a good shot. The idea of looking through the viewfinder or focusing was out of the question.
Sea Otter Relaxing
Wally’s Halibut
Thar She Blows (Humpback Whale)
Deep Dive
Dahl’s Porpoise off Hobbit’s Bow
June 14, 2011, Tuesday
We set the alarm so we could get an early start across Stephen’s Passage on our way to Juneau. We awakened to a soaking rain and fog. Given the radar, GPS, and chart plot er the weather didn’t phase us and we headed out with the NOAA weather radio in Juneau saying the winds were calm and seas less than 2 feet – the same observation we had yesterday when Stephen’s Passage was glassy calm.
Unfortunately, Stephen’s Passage wasn’t glassy calm today. As we were leaving Gambier Bay we were greeted with 3 – 4 foot short period swells that sent water over our bow. Discretion being the greater part of valor, we turned around and went back to our anchorage. Later in the day we noticed that things seemed to be calming so we called for “any vessel in Stephens’s Passage and talked with several about current conditions. Initially the conditions weren’t good, but by mid afternoon people were reporting the waves were acceptable.
We headed out and found 2 – 3 foot swells which, when we turned north, were on our stern quarter and not too bothersome. On the way we encountered several humpback whales and were joined for 15 – 20 minutes by a pod of Dahl’s porpoise. I went out with my camera and leaned over the bow. The porpoises repeatedly rolled over on their sides to look at me and frequently did complete rolls while riding on the bow wave. With my point and shoot technique, I took over 200 photographs. Most are not too good, but a couple are worth saving. I think Dahl’s porpoises may be our favorite animal as they interact with us while cruising.
As we approached Tracy Arm we observed our third glacier since leaving Petersburg, the Sumdum. We also to begin dodging icebergs which were everywhere. We made it to Tracy Arm and dropped the anchor about 7:00 just as the soaking rain resumed.
Dahl’s Porpoise Cruising Beside Hobbit
Sumdum Glacier, Tracy Arm
Linda and I both became interested in the rock formations along the shore. One was left with the impression that the roots of the trees were rock. I kept thinking that this type of setting would have provided ideas for people like J.R.R. Tolkien when visualizing a world different than our own.
Iceberg in Tracy Arm
June 15, 2011, Wednesday
We woke up to fog and drizzle and decided this wouldn’t be a good day to view the Sawyer Glacier in Tracy Arm. Given what we want to accomplish in Juneau and the fact that we will have a second opportunity to go up Tracy Arm on the way home, we decided to go on to Juneau.
The big icebergs were easy to dodge. The dangerous ones were only a few hundred pounds as they barely stick up above the surface. As we exited Tracy Arm I almost ran into one of these little bergs. Fortunately I wasn’t emulating the Titanic in iceberg strewn water and was only going at idle speed. Icebergs continued to be present in Stephens Passage for many miles.
Linda and I both became interested in the rock formations along the shore. One was left with the impression that the roots of the trees were rock. I kept thinking that this type of setting would have provided ideas for people like J.R.R. Tolkien when visualizing a world different than our own.
Viewing whales has now become common place. Linda and I now just shout “thar she blows” when we see one and we don’t grab the cameras and turn Hobbit to investigate. As we approached Juneau, however, a humpback came out of the water with its mouth open only a hundred yards or so off Hobbit’s bow. That site was awesome. The whale promptly rolled over and put its tail in the air signifying a deep dive. Hopefully we will get to see that type of activity again.
Coming up right behind us as we entered the waterway to Juneau was a Carnival cruise ship. Even at only 8 - 10 knots it threw up quite a wake as it passed us. There were already 4 cruise ships present at the dock. When I asked how a city as small city as Juneau (only about 30,000 people including suburbs) could support 6 cab companies, I learned that over a million tourists come each year by cruise ship and that all cabs are really busy for the 5 month cruising season.
Our Passage to Juneau (the name of a best selling book) registered 1111 miles on the GPS.
Iceberg in the Mist
The Little Berg that Almost Got Us
Fantasy Land Along Stephens Passage
Hobbit Being Passed by a Cruise Ship
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