Petersburg to Sitka

May 25, 2016 – Petersburg to Cannery Cove

The rain overnight was followed by low clouds and mist as Spirit left Petersburg Harbor and rode the ebb tide out North Wrangell Narrows into Frederick Sound.  

Derelict Fishing Boat in Wrangell Narrows

Periods of mist alternated with glimpses of sun on snowy peaks in the distance on Admiralty Island, our destination for the evening.  The wind remained light as we passed Cape Strait and altered course almost due west.  Unlike later in the summer season Frederick Sound was nearly devoid of both whales and other marine traffic.

Passing Cape Fanshawe well to the south we spotted our first humpback spouts of the season, but they were too far away for photos.  The cell phone repeater at Five Fingers Island Lighthouse is still working and so we had 1 hour of coverage as we passed within 5 miles of the lighthouse, now a whale research station.  We set a direct course for the northerly approach to Cannery Cove (apparently named from an old cannery, now gone without a trace) and entered as the rain began to fall.  Anchoring in 55 feet of water deep in the cove we avoided the views of Pybus Point Lodge fishing resort, seemingly deserted this early in the season.  We had covered 54 nautical miles when we shut down the main engine at 1430.  We have now logged 901 nautical miles since Anacortes.

Rainbow in Pybus Bay

Approaching Cannery Cove in the rain

The skies cleared briefly in Cannery Cove

Our First Cannery Cove Crabs

Patrick set out one crab pot and two prawn pots.  The non-resident limit for crab is three per day, so one pot should be sufficient.  Our first Dungeness crab of the season was in the pot after only 1 hour.  The torrential rain showers we had after arriving were replaced by partly sunny skies and light winds.  That was also short-lived as the rain showers continued to pass through the cove.  After watching half of a movie, about 2030 we checked the crab pot and brought back 4 more nice legal crab, almost completing our limit for the day.  The crabs were cooked while we watched the rest of the movie.  Spirit was joined in Cannery Cove by a mega-yacht, “Talos”, which anchored about 500 yards further out in the cove.  As the sky finally darkened about 2230, what little wind there was faded entirely.

May 26, 2016 - Cannery Cove to Warm Springs Bay

The morning check of the single crab pot had two legal crabs and the two prawn pots yielded our limit of spot prawns, which is three quarts per license per day.  After steaming the two crabs and cooking the prawns we pulled the anchor from the sticky mud in Cannery Cove at 0805 and headed down West Passage and into Frederick Sound where we then set a course for Point Gardner on the tip of Admiralty Island.  Aside from one cruise ship and a few fishing boats we had the route to ourselves until we reached Point Gardner where we saw the R/V Kestrel doing some sort of work in Surprise Harbor.

The snowy peaks of Baranof Island from Chatham Strait

Arriving in Warm Springs Bay the public dock appeared full so we turned around and anchored at 1330 in the south arm of the bay where we had anchored before.  This arm is prone to winds and today was no exception, with the wind gusting to 20 knots.  The bottom is hard with poor holding so we knew we would have to watch Spirit all night.  Patrick took the tender to the dock for a soak in the public baths fed by the hot springs and discovered there was just enough room on the inside of the dock for Spirit to fit.

The buildings that slid down the hill are still there

The waterfall from Baranof Lake

Returning to Spirit, the anchor was quickly raised and we headed the one half mile back to the dock and by 1530 we were secured to the dock.  By evening there were boats rafted out from the dock, a mixture of commercial trollers, sailboats, powerboats and a 90-foot charter vessel, Alaska Song.  The sunny weather continued and Patrick went out at high slack tide hunting for the elusive halibut.  After a number of bites, something too big to get on board hooked up.  Patrick could get it perhaps 20 feet off the bottom and then it would go back down.  Looking at the chartplotter on the tender Patrick realized he was now hundreds of yards from where he had hooked up.  Knowing that even if he got it to the surface it would be too big to land or be good eating, after an hour he just cut the line.

Public Bathhouse at Warm Springs Bay

The three tubs in the bathhouse

May 27, 2016 – Warm Springs Bay to Saook Bay

The public dock emptied out by 0900 except for Spirit and one other pleasure craft.  We waited until low slack tide so we could take advantage of the flood tide northbound in Chatham.  As the tide continued to go out we could see the extent of the underwater rock off the end of the dock.  We would have to be careful leaving.  After a final soak in the hot springs, Spirit departed at 1210.  The water depth went down to 5 feet under the keel just off the end of the dock and remained shallow for several hundred feet before dropping off.

Spirit all alone at Warm Springs Bay

Wrecked Seiner on the beach entering Peril Strait

Chatham Strait had northerly winds to 24 knots and a flood tide so the ride was not as comfortable as we had hoped, once again covering the wheelhouse windows in spray from the 3-5 foot seas on the bow.  Turning into Peril Strait at Point Thatcher the wind and seas quickly subsided as we used Thatcher Passage to shorten the trip by a mile or so.  Peril Strait had flat seas and 5 knot winds.  Entering Saaok bay the winds increased slightly as we anchored in 110 feet of water off the drying flats called “Paradise Flats”.  Patrick set one crab pot and a halibut pole off the stern.  Miriam and Patrick made up crab cakes for dinner, along with a crab leg cocktail as an appetizer and also some crab mac & cheese, definitely a
“crabby” dinner.

Paradise Flats in Saook Bay

The winds died and we spent the evening watching a movie, “The Walk”.  There was still enough light at 1130 to navigate by if we had to be underway.

May 28, 2016 – Saook Bay to Douglass Bay

After a still night at anchor, with dawn twilight beginning at 0245 we finally got up at 0730 and checked the one pot for crab.  We had 5 large (7 ½-8 ½ inches) Dungeness crab which were quickly killed, cleaned and cooked by 0930.  Our non-resident limit is 3 per person per day, so two pots would have been too many.  The temperature started out at 50 degrees and by 0930 it was 60 degrees and sunny.  After a breakfast of crab and cheese omelets we pulled in the halibut pole and raised the anchor, setting a course up Peril Strait into Hoonah Sound to South Arm alongside Moser Island.

Even though it is Memorial Day Weekend, there is little traffic on the water, an occasional troller, one or two pleasure craft and the AIS display is empty.  Entering Hoonah Sound we passed by Emmons Island and then anchored in Douglass Bay on Chichagof Island.  The bay is a nice alternative to anchoring off of the tip of Moser Island by the USFS cabin.

After setting the anchor Patrick took the tender and placed one crab pot and 3 prawn pots in places we have done well in before.

The evening check of the prawn pots yielded a few, and the crab pot was empty so it was moved.

May 29, 2015 – Douglass Bay to Kalinin Bay

The morning pull of the prawn pots yielded our limit and we gathered one additional Dungeness Crab.  By 0845 Spirit was underway and after an uneventful transit of Sergius Narrows in Peril Strait we anchored in an empty Kalinin Bay at 1245.  After lunch we took the tender fishing and after losing two fish, finally landed a 21 pound King Salmon, which when cleaned turned out to be a white king prized for the extra oil in the flesh compared to a normal king salmon.  The rain was torrential while Patrick was fileting and portioning the salmon, but at least the rain kept the no-see-um’s tolerable.

Our White King Salmon in Kalinin Bay

The empty bay gradually filled with fishermen returning and by 2100 there were 14 boats anchored.

May 30, 2016 – Kalinin Bay to Sitka

The first fishing boats started to depart the bay at 0430 and we followed at 0545.  The light rain and no wind kept the seas flat in the Shark Hole, but we had no luck fishing.  We returned to Spirit and pulled the anchor at 0900, heading for Sitka.  We were docked in Eliason Harbor on Float 2, Stall 9 at 1245 under cloudy skies with occasional rain showers.

After changing the oil on the generator and removing a faulty raw water washdown pump we relaxed and called home to family.  We logged 1058 nautical miles getting to Sitka.

We plan on attending a number of the Sitka Summer Music Festival and the Cypress String Quartet over the next few days, along with fishing if the weather permits.

May 31,2016 – Sitka

A trip to Murray Pacific confirmed that 24VDC washdown pumps are not available in Sitka, so we got on the phone and by noon one was ordered and on its way.  A phone call to Jason Chynoweth at Sunburst Boat Co., who is the watermaker expert, helped us troubleshoot a high pressure pump shutdown issue with the watermaker.  By afternoon, parts were on order to be shipped to Sitka.  In the middle of these phone calls we were moved twice to new slips in Eliason Harbor during this time, finally ending up Float 10, Stall 6.  A number of the Float 10 stalls have only 100 Amp three phase power or 30 Amp 110 VAC power, neither ideal for Spirit, so we will just run the generator when we need to run the washer and dryer, which require 240 VAC.

The main navigation computer intermittent shutdowns continue, so with an internet connection in the harbor we updated the Windows software, which had not been updated in three years.  Just the downloading process took several hours since there was nearly a gigabyte of updates to install.

That evening we went to the first performance of the Sitka Summer Music Festival performed by the Cypress String Quartet, who will be playing all 16 Beethoven String Quartets over the course of the next 11 days.  They have gone fishing with us on prior trips and after the performance we connected to see what dates will work for them with their performance schedule.  Centennial Hall, the site of the weekend performances, is closed for renovation, so this season many of the venues are in restaurants or in the Performing Arts Center at Sitka High School.

After the performance we walked the two miles back to Eliason Harbor, stopping for dinner at the Bayview Pub downtown.  The Bayview Pub has both pub food and a more traditional menu, all of it excellent, with a view of Crescent Harbor out the windows.  The rain picked up as we continued our walk back to Spirit.