August 2009
Cruise News
We
are behind sending out the cruise news. We are down in California buying
a new home. Our computer is dying and we don't have internet access so
the next cruise news will be a combination of September and October.
Early
in August, we had more warm, sunshine days but the visibility was reduced
because of smoke. It seemed like all of Alaska was on fire but in reality
it was only around the Fairbanks area and across into Canada's Yukon
Territory. Last we heard, there was about 2.5 million acres
involved. As the month progressed, the weather changed to rain but we
were still able to clean the boat inside and out in preparation for selling
down in Bellingham.
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In
this photo, you can see the haze created by the smoke. Believe it or
not, there are mountains in the background. |
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The
warm weather brought brown bears down from the mountains in droves.
They are always looking for food. This sow and quadruplets created
havoc all over town because wherever they went so did half the town to
watch. At one point the crowd was so thick around someone's yard that
the police had to come. The dumb looky loos had the bears penned
in. All kinds of nasty things could have happened. By the way, we
did not take these photos and we were not there. |
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Here
is a sow and cub looking for goodies in someone's boat. |
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Whoops.
One in and one falling out. |
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We
were ready to leave Sitka in early August but had to wait for the boat cover
to be finished. At her word, the canvasmaker brought it over on the
15th for a test fit. Fit like a glove. We then had to take it
down and find a place to stow the 3 sections and 74 sandbags before we took
off the next day. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worse
and we had to hunker down for two days only 70 miles from Sitka until the weather
cleared enough to truck on. |
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On
the morning of our departure from Sitka, the fog was laying low in the
harbor. We traveled 70+ miles the first day but had to find a secure
anchorage for the predicted gale force winds. We ended up in Kelp Bay
for two days venturing out once to give it a go but turned around. Good
thing. Boats outside reported 45 knot winds. |
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After
spending two days in Kelp Bay, we left early enough to see the sun rise. |
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As
is the case in "Fogust", we ran into dense fog running down
Chatham. This is a cruise ship believe it or not, passing us close by. |
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A
beautiful day traveling down Clarence Strait. Since we had to put the
boat cover up in the rain, it got wet so we took this opportunity to dry it
out. |
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We
were able to travel for the next two days and spend the night in Meyers Chuck.
As usual, the sunset in Meyers Chuck was pretty nice. |
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This
is "quaint" little Ketchikan in 2009. We sure won't miss
these floating cities. In the height of a good season (which 2009
isn't) each of these four ships will have 2,500-3,000 passengers.
Imagine dumping 12,000 people onto the streets of your community each morning
for four months. |
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The
weather went to pot after our beautiful day in Clarence Strait. We had
to use radar most of the way down Grenville Channel, "the ditch" as
we call it. As you can see, it is straight and 83 miles long. |
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Narrow
and boring except when cruise ships passed. What a wake! And they
were going slow (for them). |
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This
Beaver is not landing. The bush pilots use the waterways as highways or
maps during inclement weather. He is following the ditch to Prince
Rupert. Exciting way to fly! |
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In
July 2003, on our way north we stopped in Buttedale and toured the old
abandoned cannery. |
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Although
the weather was not as nice as in July 2003, the place is still falling
down. There is a sign though announcing moorage available. |
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We
try to get off the beaten path for the night. This is a beautiful
little bay behind another abandoned cannery, Namu. |
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This
is Namu. The only people here are the caretakers--a man, wife and
teenage daughter. The building with Namu on it is a café. During
some summers, they serve ice cream but no food. |
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Canada
still has manned lighthouses. The light keeper is home, the door on the
house to the right is half open. |
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We
got to Campbell River and anchored in Gowland Harbor where we had a beautiful
sunset. |
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One
of the very few calm mornings on our trip south. |
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As
we got closer to Bellingham we noticed that we were having to share
anchorages (which we are not used to) and share the waterways with all
kinds of vessels such as this BC Ferry. The VHF radio was so busy that
we finally just had to turn it off. Welcome back to the big city! |
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As
we were approaching Bellingham, this sailboat tacked in front of us forcing
us to fall off to keep from hitting it. Turns out it was our friends
from Bellingham, Jon and Dorene. They were out for a sail and had
recognized Lucretia B from a distance and wanted to be the first to welcome
us back. Good to see them out on the water! |
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We
arrived in Bellingham 19 days after leaving Sitka. This must be some
kind of record on the longest trip south. We made it safe and sound and
immediately hung up the FOR SALE sign. |
We
spent a week in Bellingham unloading all of our stuff and spiffing up the boat
for sale. Then we flew to Sitka, got in the truck/camper, took the ferry
to Prince Rupert, BC and drove back to Bellingham and then down to
California.
Hope
all is well with everyone.
Chris
and Chuck