August 2005 Cruise News
Part
1
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Hi
Everyone:
We started August off with a newly-repaired outboard motor and, as a result, w= ere looking forward to many dinghy excursions during this next cruising adventure. We thought we would head up toward Glacier Bay (Icy Strait--north end of Chichagof Island) sin= ce our trip up that way in May was cut short due to boat malfunctions. As we left Sitka and headed north toward Peril Strait, we heard a boater call the Coast Guard and then the Fish and Game Department on the VHF radio. He had seen a sea lion with fishing lures hooked in its mouth and was concerned that the animal would die since it had beached itself and apparently wasn't going anywhere to feed. Well, we didn't hear the Coast Guard's answer= but the guy on the Fish and Game boat said there was nothing they could do.&nbs= p; "No one is going to get close to a sea lion to try and unhook a fishing lure from its mouth". Since we were heading right past the spot = the sea lion was reported to be we looked for him.
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Here is
the poor guy. We stayed far away so as not to spook him so the phot=
o is
not very clear. But, that is not a fishing lure but a flasher. What=
is
interesting is flashers don't have hooks attached directly to them.
Either there is a hook stuck in his mouth and then some line and then
the flasher hanging out or the line on the flasher is wound around h=
is
mouth. Whatever the case, it doesn't look good. A flasher is
about 12 inches long. Ouch!!!! We never did hear whether anything w=
as
done for the animal. |
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We
anchored in Kalinin Bay and it poured rain.&n=
bsp;
Then the sun came out and a very bright rainbow appeared. |
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The
next morning in bright sunshine we made our way to S=
ergius
Narrows and were greeted with thick fog. There is no way we wa=
nted
to go through these narrows in the fog with a 4.2 knot current pushing us
through. We waited for a few minutes and the fog lifted so we could
make it in and around the markers safely. However, another bank of
fog (ahead in this photo) held us up for awhile. We just pull=
ed over
and anchored. That was OK since two ferries and a bunch of boats cam=
e by
shortly thereafter. |
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We
continued on through Peril Strait and passed this interesting combo.
Our guess is that the helicopter is used as a spotter for fish. We =
are
familiar with spotter planes looking for large schools of herring but we
aren't sure what this helicopter is used for. This is not a yacht by
any means. |
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We
continued out Peril Strait. We saw humpbacks but not anywhere as ma=
ny
as we have in the past. I did see one breach. Chuck caught the
splash. We turned left and headed north up Chatham Strait. Al=
ong
the way, we came upon this beautiful granite mountain. Normally the
terrain is dense trees so it was a surprise to turn a corner and see this
bald spot. |
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We
anchored in Crab Bay in Tenakee Inlet.
Considering the name of the bay and the number of commercial crab pot buo=
ys
in here you'd think there was a crab or two. Nope! But, we did
see our bear on the beach at cocktail hour. |
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We paid
a visit to the little community of Tenakee Hot
Springs and sat out some strong winds. This is the Harbormaster's
residence. Tenakee is made up of about =
50
homes mostly built on the water on stilts. Cute place. |
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We then
continued on north to Pavlof Harbor. Ch=
uck
and I will admit that we are afraid of bears. Some people, however,=
are
not afraid and will go on hikes or walk the beaches. Locals will te=
ll
you not to go walking in the woods without your large bore pistol or
rifle. This gentleman (in waders up to his chest in the water doing
some fly fishing), apparently isn't afraid of bears. I took this photo fr=
om Lucretia Belle at anchor. |
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Well,
the next morning we got brave. Brave only because there were three big me=
n (a
guide and his two guests) standing on the beach fishing. We dinghied over, tied the dinghy to shore and walked =
over
to chat. We were talking and out from the bushes across the creek c=
omes
this teenage grizzly bear. OK. We figure he'll see all these
people and leave. Nope! He kept coming. We slowly walked
toward our dinghies, he crossed the creek, we walked faster to our dinghi=
es,
he came toward us, we jumped in our dinghies and got away from shore.&nbs=
p; |
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He just
kept sauntering along keeping a close eye on us. He wasn't afraid o=
f us
but all five of us humans were afraid of him. Thus the reason we do=
n't
walk in the woods or on beaches. The bears were coming out of
everywhere at all times of the day to catch fish at the waterfall.
While we were there, we saw two sows and their four cubs, and at least 5
other males and females of all ages. |
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Here is
one of the bears with a fish in his mouth climbing the waterfall. He trip=
ped
and lost his fish by the way. |
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They
say grizzly bears look just like cuddly teddy bears. You decide. |
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As we
rounded the top of Chichagof Island the weath=
er
started getting really nice. For over a week, this part of Alaska h=
ad
record setting high temperatures. We continued across the top of |
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We
anchored in a cove east of Taylor Bay called Fern Harbor. This is t=
he
head of the Harbor. The view of the mountains and part of Brady Gla=
cier
from this anchorage was terrific. This area is within just a few mi=
les
of our northern most navigational limit imposed by our boat insurance pol=
icy. |
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Here is
Lucretia Belle anchored in Fern Harbor. =
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One of
the things we liked most about Fern Harbor was the sea life. When
anchored, we watched sea lions, sea otters, and dolphins cavorting
around. Salmon were jumping like wild. |
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Just
around the corner from the anchorage were sea otters gathering within the
kelp. We watched them for a long time. |
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And
they were really curious about us. |
*= **End Part 1***
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