Sitka to Petersburg - Part 1

June 14-15, 2016

Sitka, no fishing

June 16, 2016

At 0805 we cast off the lines and headed for Kalinin Bay, just 25 nautical miles away.  We were anchored by 1136.

June 17, 2016

Fished twice, once in the morning catching a 33 inch King Salmon and once in the afternoon with a 34 inch King Salmon.

June 18, 2016

Fished for Halibut, but only donated snacks to the fish.

June 19, 2016

Hoisting the anchor from the sticky mud in Kalinin Bay we departed for the final time in 2016 and headed back to Sitka for fuel and fresh produce before departing the Sitka area for the season.

Memorial Crosses in Olga Strait

The wrecked tug continues to rust away near Olga Strait

June 21, 2016

At 0740 we cast off the lines for the last time in Sitka and headed back through Sergius Narrows.  We headed up Hoonah Sound and anchored in Douglass Bay.  Prawn pots were set and we enjoyed a calm evening as the only boat in the bay.  An evening check of the pots provided our limit of prawns.

June 22, 2016

The morning pull of the prawn pots again gave us our daily limit of prawns.  After processing the prawns we pulled the anchor at 0820 and headed back down Hoonah Sound into Peril Strait and out into Chatham Strait.  Heading north we entered Tenakee Inlet and tied up at the transient float in Tenakee Springs at 1645 after a 62 nautical mile day.  Patrick immediately set out our two crab traps in Kadashan Bay.

A section of Tenakee Springs

Tenakee Springs Yard Art

Baranof guarding the Tenakee Liquor Store

Well stocked general store Tenakee Springs

June 23, 2016

The morning check of the crab pots gave us our limit of three each.  We cooked them and had crab that evening.  The wind came up in the late afternoon and the breakwater provides no protection from westerly winds.  Mooring lines were doubled up and the Grady White was moved to a protected slip.  The stern was towards the wind and waves and we had waves coming over the transom platform until the winds died after dark.

June 24, 2016

The crab pots in Kadashan Bay had our limits once again and after bringing the crabs back to the boat we went to “The Bakery” for breakfast.  We left Tenakee Springs at 1050 and headed for Hoonah.  Both Chatham Strait and Icy Strait were calm and by 1635 we were moored at the transient pier in Hoonah Harbor after a 45 nautical mile transit.  There is water on the pier, but no power.

Pod of Humpbacks,Basket Bay

The most whales we have seen all season

June 25, 2016

A Holland America cruise ship was at Icy Strait Point Cannery, so the area was open to all.  We caught a shuttle bus and rode the two miles from Hoonah Harbor to the cannery, which has a museum, shops and several restaurants, as well as a six cable 1330 foot elevation change zip line.  The entire place is well done and seemed to be well received by the cruise ship passengers.

Icy Strait Pont Cannery

Well laid out exhibits

Museum has some interesting old sewing machines

Salon processing equipment in the cannery, this cuts the fish into segments

This machine puts the salmon into the cans and puts the lids on

The top of the zip line was in the fog and rain, but the viewing area provided a good view of the final few hundred feet.  Returning to town we looked at the cedar dugout canoes being built by the Alaska Natives for a new longhouse dedication in August in Glacier Bay and then had halibut and chips at the “Chipperfish”.  The afternoon was spent changing the main engine oil at 3402 hours.   Walking back into town to the Hoonah Trading Company for a few supplies, we stopped at the Hoonah Brewing Company, which was under construction last year.  Now open, they brew several craft beers and have a Thai food truck next door run by the owner’s wife to supply Thai snacks.  Dinner was a strange halibut pizza at the Icy Strait Lodge, which is about ¾ mile from the harbor.

Native dugout canoes under construction

Eagle surveying Hoonah Harbor

Native Graveyard on Pitt Island, Hoonah

June 26, 2016

We decided to investigate Neka Bay and left the harbor at 0900 for the short 8 nautical mile trip down Port Frederick.  The bay was full of commercial crab pots leaving little room to anchor.  Patrick tried to fish from the Grady White, but had to return an undersized ling cod before returning to Spirit as the rain and wind returned.  The wind finally calmed and we spent a peaceful evening at anchor with one other boat about ½ mile away.

Chimney Rock at Neka Bay

June 27, 2016

Even with the calm night, we did not sleep well for some reason and departed early, at 0635 under cloudy skies and calm winds.  As we retraced our path down Icy Strait to Chatham Strait the skies cleared and we had an uneventful trip into Pavlof Bay, a new stop for us.  Anchoring deep in the bay in 45 feet of water behind “Abysinnia”, a small cruise ship, we readied the Grady White for fishing. 

Putting poles out from the stern of Spirit netted us two large Quillback Rockfish, great for fish tacos.  Initially the winds and seas were a little choppy for the Grady White in Chatham, so after waiting for high slack tide, Patrick returned to North Passage Point and returned with a 40 inch, 30 pound halibut, caught on salmon trolling gear.  Since Patrick was alone, he gaffed the fish and flung it into the bow of the tender and bled it quickly before returning to Spirit.  After a dinner of Pork Chops and stuffing we cleaned the fish and now have nearly full freezers.  By 10:30 PM there were seven boats anchored in Pavlof Bay.

June 28, 2016

By the time we got up, most of the vessels had already departed.  We left shortly before 0900.  As we departed we remarked on the red/brown sand beaches from iron in the soil and wished we had investigated the waterfall, which seemed to be an attraction for the guests on the Wilderness Explorer which was anchored about 2 miles further up Freshwater Bay.

Waterfall in Pavlof Harbor

Brown/Red sand beaches in Pavlof Harbor

Chatham Strait was calm and nearly deserted as we headed south for Takatz Bay.  Unlike the day before we did not even see any whales or porpoises.