August 2008 Cruise News

Another month has gone by. It seems like summer is flying by. August was the month for family guests. We started the month with my sister, Carleen, and her husband, Terry. The goal was to catch fish and stay near Sitka. We succeeded with the staying close to Sitka part but the fishing could have been better. My sister loves rockfish so she was a happy camper. Terry wanted to catch a halibut but we never found one.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D63A.jpg$

Here is my sister watching a grizzly on shore in Readout Bay which is on the west side of Baranof Island south of Sitka .

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D64B.jpg$

Here's a closeup of the young bear from our skiff.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D66B.jpg$

We spent a lovely night anchored at Biorka Island. The weather was beautiful day and night.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D68B.jpg$

My sister couldn't even change out of her slippers before getting her hands on a fishing rod and getting into a fish.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D69C.jpg$

The jellyfish were plentiful. This one looks like a flower.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D6AC.jpg$

We anchored one night in Nakwasina and it was picture perfect.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D6CD.jpg$

Our summer has been wet but it sure held off while my sister and Terry were here.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D6DD.jpg$

Terry caught a nice salmon.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D6FD.jpg$

And, of course, they couldn't leave Sitka without a trip to the Raptor Center.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D70E.jpg$

A few days after my sister and Terry left, my brother Steve and his wife, Betsy, arrived. The itinerary for their 10-day visit was to go siteseeing and do some fishing. The weather was mixed during their trip but we sure had a nice day at this anchorage.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D72E.jpg$

When Steve said he wanted to catch a fish, we don't think this is exactly what he was looking for. Is this the infamous Kelp Bass?

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D74E.jpg$

But the next day we caught 3 nice coho in Chatham Strait.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D75F.jpg$

This yelloweye was a treat for Steve especially in this flat, calm weather in Chatham.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D77F.jpg$

A trip to Warmsprings Bay and Red Bluff were a few highlights for these folks from Colorado. Steve and Betsy sure are photogenic in front of this Red Bluff waterfall.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D790.jpg$

We woke up to fog in Red Bluff Bay but it was beautiful.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D7B0.jpg$

Hanus Bay brought some excitement first with this brown bear sow and two first-year cubs....

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D7C1.jpg$

Then with a nice crab catch (and a visit by the Alaska State Troopers checking crab pots). We passed with flying colors....

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D7D1.jpg$

And then a VERY up close encounter with a whale. This photo was taken when the whale was at its farthest distance away. I was too excited to take a photo when he got closer. In a way, we were too close for a photo. The whale just rose to the surface and blew about 30 feet from our skiff. He just layed at the surface for several minutes before submerging. Then at a reasonable distance away, he did a breach. Steve was awstruck (as were we). Of course, I didn't get a picture of the breaching whale.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D7F1.jpg$

After our guests left, we left again with the hopes of refilling our freezer with enough fish to get us through the winter. On the way out, we couldn't resist taking several photos of some seiners at work. With their nets out, they are truly a work of art.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D812.jpg$

We went out to the lower end of Nakwasina to see if we could catch some pinks for fun. We didn't catch any pinks but caught this photo of a lone swan out on the marshes.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D822.jpg$

The summer brought very little sunshine so we were delighted to see this beautiful sunset on our last cruise night of August.

$C:\Users\THEPRI~1\AppData\Local\Temp\D842.jpg$

The gorgeous sunsets continued while in the harbor.

At this point, we are leaving Sitka again after sitting out what was supposed to be several storms that were predicted to march through. The weatherman blew the predictions. Until next month...

Chris and Chuck