Spirit Log June 1-5, 2021
Departing Saook Bay after a disappointing encounter with crabs, we continued our voyage through Peril Strait and into Hoonah Sound, going up South Arm to Douglass Bay. Unlike the day before, the winds were light and the seas flat, just a one knot adverse current from the ebb tide.
Anchoring in 55 feet of water in the otherwise empty bay we watched a brown bear on the beach and set crab pots. After setting the crab pots, we launched the inflatable and the tender. Prawning is still closed in this area of Hoonah Inlet so the prawn pots stayed on board. Late in the afternoon, our crab pots yielded a disappointing small number of crabs, so Harry and Teri placed them in different locations to see if we could improve our catch.
June 2, 2021
Our planned departure from Douglass Bay was 0830 in order to hit low slack water at Sergius Narrows. That meant we were up and in the inflatable tender and Teri’s Mink at 0630 to pull the crab traps. The crab traps yielded our limit of nice Dungeness crabs. We actually did not make the 0830 departure, leaving at 0850, but with the help of the ebb current in Peril Strait we still made it through Sergius Narrows before the current reversed to flood.
Heading out into Salisbury Sound, it was surprisingly calm given the weather report. The short run to Kalinin Bay on Kruzof Island took only 30 minutes and we entered to find only one boat anchored, and it left after several hours, leaving Spirit the only occupant of the bay.
Harry and Teri took the Mink to the shark hole, but were unsuccessful catching anything. Patrick and Miriam cooked, picked and vacuum sealed their crab except retaining enough to make crab cakes the next day. We all relaxed on-board after fishing and enjoyed Spot Prawn Piccata with wild rice prepared by Teri for dinner before watching a movie.
June 3, 2021
At 0300 the anchor alarm went off, waking us all up. The wind had shifted, gusting to 35 knots and we were the opposite direction from when we had anchored and set the alarm. After a few minutes it was clear the anchor was still well set and we all went back to sleep.
The rain continued all night.
Today is a fishing (Harry and Teri) and rest day (Patrick and Miriam). We continue to be the only boat anchored in Kalinin Bay, although three double kayaks spent the night camping on the beach and then hiked over to Sea Lion Cove on the west side of Kruzof Island. Patrick prepared crab cakes which mostly went into the freezer for later appetizers.
June 4, 2021
After a relaxed morning on board, we pulled the anchor from the mud in Kalinin Bay, timing our departure in between winds gusts to 31 knots. Heading out into Salisbury Sound we looked at the shark hole, where 7 boats were circling, looking for King Salmon. We arrived in Sitka Harbor at 1305. Spirit is on an end tie in Thomson Harbor, with room for Teri’s Mink ahead of the bow.
We have now covered nearly 1200 nautical miles since leaving Anacortes.
June 5, 2018
Today is the first day of the Sitka Summer Music Festival and we have tickets to both the 50th anniversary concert as well as the celebration of the opening of Stevenson Hall after an extensive remodel.
There were neither car rentals available, nor taxis, so Miriam was unable to attend the concert. Watching dozens of Bald Eagles soaring outside the windows against the backdrop of snow covered mountains behind the performers during the concert reinforced the notion that Sitka is an unique venue for classical music.
June 6, 2021
At 0457 we departed the harbor for a day of fishing near Biorka Island, which turned into only fishing, not catching. We spent 9 hours underway and caught only one small halibut which became dinner. We also released one small King Salmon. We saw very few salmon being caught.
Dinner was delicious fresh halibut skewers prepared Caprese style by Teri from the halibut caught today. After the long day everyone retired early to prepare for another day of fishing tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.