Alaska 2018 Blog Post 9 - Petersburg to Takatz

May 19, 2018

Saturday was a lazy day in Petersburg; Patrick replaced engine zincs and cleaned sea strainers.  We made our final grocery trips.  The day was still sunny, but cool once out of the direct sun.  The morning was livened by the kid’s fishing derby, with the docks lined with kids and parents trying their luck.

May 20, 2018

Spirit was underway at 0646, riding the ebb tide out of Wrangell Narrows and then west in Frederick Sound.  We left in rain, which lifted briefly, then started again heavier as we approached Cannery Cove.  Winds remained less than 15 knots and seas were calm.  There was very little other traffic, just a couple of fishing boats and several pleasure craft.

There are usually lots of whales in Frederick Sound, but today we only spied two distant spouts. 

We arrived and had the anchor down in Cannery Cove at 1256, just behind a large sailing yacht that beat us in by 10 minutes.  Our first choice of locations was too close to the other boat for our comfort, given the prediction of a SE gale overnight and, so we moved and re-anchored in 50 feet of water on one of our other 2016 anchor marks further out in the cove.  Then the rain really started.  When the low clouds lifted, we could see snow down to below 500 feet on the hills surrounding the head of the bay.  The rain was so heavy we decided to keep the Apex inflatable on-board and forgo prawning, especially with the weather prediction.

We will spend 2 nights here due to predicted inclement weather for a crossing of Chatham Strait tomorrow, with winds in excess of 40 knots and 8-foot seas.

Heading west in Frederick Sound in light rain

Cannery Cove before the deluge began

May 21, 2018

Overnight we had lots of motion as the wind swirled into Pybus Bay.  The bay is not nearly as protected from SE winds as the cruising guides indicate.  We believe the wind reflects off the hills and changes direction by nearly 90 degrees coming into the bay.  Also, the waves coming up West Channel wrap around the point and into Cannery Cove.  So, instead of protection from the SE, the winds and waves were coming directly into the bay from the NE.  The rain was torrential, never letting up, just getting blown sideways as the wind gusted to 30 knots.  The air temperature hit a high of 49 degrees; no wonder the snow is still so low on the hillsides.  We were glad we did not have to go and pull prawn pots or even go outside on the deck.

Cannery Cove where SE winds and Waves wrap around into the bay

In the afternoon, the crew of the sailing yacht “Delphina” anchored near us, brought over excess crab, which we will cook later this evening.  Their pots were full, more than their limits.

As the afternoon wore on, the waves entering the bay continued to increase and the combination of wind and current kept us broadside to the waves, very uncomfortable.  The heavy rains have increased the outflow from the streams and turned the surface water muddy brown over most of the cove.

With the heavy rains and low temperatures, soup sounded good for dinner, so even with the rolling motions we prepared a big pot of split pea with ham soup and watched a couple of episodes of “Blue Planet II”, a series we started watching at home and then purchased the Blu-ray DVD to take with us.  The wind and seas gradually decreased and by 2100 we were back to calm seas and moderate winds.

May 22, 2018

The weather front passed over during the night, so the seas were calm, just some residual wind and continued cool temperatures, in the upper 40’s.

We pulled the anchor and 260 feet of chain from the sticky mud in Cannery Cove at 0700 and headed to Henry’s Arm to investigate it as an alternate anchorage in a SE gale.  The entrance is easy to negotiate, and the water was still inside, with virtually no wind, even though it was blowing 15 knots outside.  There is room for several boats to anchor in 50 feet of water.  The barge shown on all our charts is gone, just a floating log sticking out from shore.

Heading down West Channel we re-entered Frederick Sound, riding the ebb tide to Yasha Island.  The expected ebb current in Chatham Strait was not present, probably due to the 20-knot southerly wind and residual swell from the previous day’s storm.

We entered Red Bluff Bay at 1215, quickly out of the wind and waves in Chatham, and by 1300 we were anchored at the head of the bay, the only boat for the present.

The red bluffs at the entrance to the bay

Anchor location in Red Bluff Bay

Anchored with a great view of the falls

Our neighbors on Luck Dragon

 After a lunch of leftover soup from last night, Patrick took the prawn traps to our favorite location.  Returning to Spirit, the sun alternated with the rain as we enjoyed the view of the waterfall from our anchorage.  We looked for bears on the river delta where we had seen them before, but, alas, none were to be seen.  Later in the afternoon, the Diesel Duck “Luck Dragon” anchored near us.  We have met them several times over the last few years and they are headed the same direction as us in the morning, although they intend to leave at 0500.  We hope we are still asleep, although it will have been light for several hours.

Also disappointing was the evening check of the prawn traps.  Other than 2 small fish, there were only 10 prawns between three traps.  We did see sea otters today, they may have already devastated the prawns and crab.

May 23, 2018

Obviously, our favorite location for prawns must change.  After pulling the anchor, Patrick headed to the traps and Miriam brought Spirit down and drifted as Patrick hauled the traps.  There were only 2 dozen large prawns, hardly enough for an appetizer.

Morning in Red Bluff Bay

Heading out of Red Bluff Bay shortly after 0800 we encountered moderate North winds and 1-2 foot chop.  Just off Nelson Bay stood a bank of fog, with visibility of less than ¼ mile.  The fog persisted until just south of Warm Springs Bay.  Entering the bay, we found an open spot on the new dock, which now charges for moorage.  The dock seems to be in the same location as before but constructed well with a new gangway.  The reef off the end is still there, and at higher tides the current makes docking a challenge.

New dock in Warm Springs Bay

New Ramp - much better

The public bathhouse is unchanged, and Patrick enjoyed a leisurely soak in one of the three tubs; each one in its own room.

May 24, 2018

The weather report calls for another front to come in from the SE on Friday and Saturday, with winds to 30 knots and 6-8 foot seas in Chatham..  Since we have a few days before we need to be in Sitka, we have decided to fish a little in the open fishery near Hidden Falls and then anchor in Takatz Bay for several days.

We fished for several hours and only hooked one black rockfish, enough for fish tacos.

By 1015 we were anchored in Takatz Bay with two other boats, both of whom were in Warm Springs with us the night before.

Our anchorage in Takatz Bay