Lazy Crazy Days in Juneau

The Motley Crew!

Swimming in Juneau Harbor??

Friday dawned sunny again (sorry Seattle) and the temperature quickly climbed into the 70's as we hopped into a taxi and headed for Costco to re-provision Spirit with fresh produce and meats for the next several weeks. We needed a van to hold everything, and several trips down the dock to get it all on-board. Our dock is in the middle of the tourist paths and just below the "Twisted Fish" restaurant and the Taku fish company, so Miriam guarded the pile of stuff while Patrick hauled carts of stuff through the tourists down to the boat. This will probably be our only stop in Juneau, and the only Costco we will see until we return to Anacortes.

The good weather means the pollen is still thick and the medications are not quite up to the task. However, we gladly will trade that for no rain and no wind.

The weather was so nice that a group of young people came down the dock and went swimming in the 50 degree water. They used our swim step to get out, so we have now verified that it works just fine. There were four cruise ships here yesterday, the last one leaving after 11PM.

Saturday morning was a repeat of Friday, with clear skies and pleasant temperatures as we waited for Julie and Kathleen to arrive. The town will be quiet compared to yesterday, with only one cruise ship planned. Julie and Kathleen arrived about 10 AM, and after unpacking we got in our "rent-a-wreck" rental and tried to find the Fedex office. They are closed on weekends! We compensated by stopping by Alaskan Brewing and sampling several varieties before completing grocery shopping at Costco and Safeway. Back to the boat for lunch in the sun, out on the bow and then Julie and Kathleen went up the aerial tram. We understand that the two ladies cut quite a path through downtown Juneau. Does the "Lucky Irish Lady" mean anything to anybody? We will edit the pictures and find out the truth. We go to the "Twisted Fish" at the head of the dock later tonight for dinner.

Patrick called the Yakutat weather station to decide on our itinerary. The weather is predicted to get rough on the outside (up to 14 foot waves plus a swell, 30 knot winds) and Yakutat recommended we stay inside, so we will retrace our steps to Tracy Arm Cove, look at Endicott Arm, Pybus Bay, Baronof Hot Springs, Tenakee Springs, through Peril Strait to Sitka. We do not expect either phone or email until we get close to Sitka in 5 days or so.

Tracy Arm to Juneau

Our first batch of glacial ice

The end of the line in Tracy Arm. Just ahead the ice is too thick for us!
Some of the spectacular scenery near the head of Tracy Arm

Even a cruise ship does not ruin the view!

Miriam carefully approaching the photo op berg

Our photo op with a berg - Tracy Arm

Miriam is driving Spirit around for each shot!

The weather could not have been much better, Sunny and Warm

At the top of the Juneau Aerial Tram

Our dockmate - we could be their tender, in fact, they might just have one stowed somewhere on board

The weather has continued to hold, and we left Petersburg for the relatively long dull run to Tracy Arm Cove, where we would spend the night before going as far up Tracy Arm as possible the next day. For most of the 74 nautical mile trip we had flat calm water and no wind. There was a little local wind for the last 5 miles before we rounded Harbor Island and crossed the bar into Holkam Bay, the beginning part of Tracy Arm.

We followed a cruise ship in, the "Norwegian Sun", but proceeded directly to "Tracy Arm Cove", just inside the entrance to the bay. We were the only occupants, and after anchoring, put the tender over and collected the first batch of glacial ice for drinks. It was not hard to fill the ice chest. We had leftover crab cakes under a nearly full moon and mostly clear skies.

May 26, 2010 dawned with clear skies, so we left early. Not early enough as it turned out. There were already two cruise ships ahead of us, turning Tracy Arm into a sea of "bergy bits". No problem for them, but a real hassle for us. With the amount of ice, we were only able to get within 2 miles of the island. Both cruise ships stopped at the island also due to the amount of ice. We decided that pictures from that island would be no different than we had taken three years ago, so we reluctantly turned back. Three years ago we not only made it to the island, but were able to "sail" much of the way back down Tracy Arm, also enjoying sunshine. The day was still spectacular, so we picked a "photogenic " berg on the way back and made a photo stop before returning to Tracy Arm Cove for the evening. We still cruised some 46 nautical miles up Tracy Arm and back to the cove.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the sun, bbq'ing some steaks and having drinks made with our glacial ice. BY sunset, we were joined at anchor by two other boats that had also travelled up the arm, but later in the day. All in all, a very good day, from both scenery and weather viewpoints.

We plan on getting to Juneau sometime on Thursday, May 27. It is about 45 nautical miles away. Our log now stands at 1078 nautical miles since leaving Anacortes.

May 27, 2010

The day dawned clear and already warm as we hoisted the anchor and set our course for Juneau. The wind stayed out of the north and at times created enough chop to coat the windows with spray. At least the salt spray washed off the pollen which has coated everything with yellow dust. We are not ready to wish for rain, but the pollen is really exacerbating our allergies. We arrived at the Intermediate Vessel Facility in Juneau (right between two cruise ship docks) shortly before 1400 under sunny skies, with a temperature of 81 degrees. Hard to Believe! The crew at the IVF was really helpful, handling lines and giving us passes to the Aerial Tram. Later that afternoon, we were joined by a very large (250 foot) nearly new 4 deck Feadship named "Ocean Victory". They dwarfed us, and blocked our sun, so with the help of the Juneau port crew, we slid back a few hundred feet so we could enjoy the fine weather and not listen to their generator run all day and night. There is one other vessel slated to arrive tomorrow. This facility is a convenient alternative to Auke Bay or Douglas Basin since it is so close to the center of town.

The ride up the tram was interesting, but the pollen made breathing a chore.

Tomorrow we plan a major Costco run to stock up for the next month, with three sets of guests slated to arrive.

Julie Gill (Patrick's sister) and Kathleen Bullock (longtime friend) arrive via Alaska Airlines on Saturday morning. The current weather is slated to hold through Saturday evening.

The log now stands at 1120 nautical miles!

Petersburg

Leaving Wrangell in sunshine, we motored out to a reputed halibut hostspot near Vank Island on the way to Wrangell Narrows. We baited the hooks, wet the lines, and managed to catch two miniature rockfish, which we released.
Heading up Wrangell Narrows we were the only boat in sight, so it was a uneventful trip to Petersburg. After docking at the North Floats, we discovered that the boat next to us was owned by Kurt Wohlheuter, whose parents Miriam's family had known when she was younger. We also met up with Marj Oines, also a long time "Lavik" family friend.
We met both of them on board Spirit for appetizers and eventually dinner, which included fresh King Salmon courtesy of Marj and Dungeness Crab Cakes (the special "Patrick" recipe), as well as pickled king salmon courtesy of Kurt.
Tomorrow we leave for Tracy Arm, then Juneau, so no posts for a few days.

Wrangell – Part 2

Shakes Island Long House

Shakes Island via footbridge

Longhouse Entrance

Downtown Wrangell Totem in park

Today, Sunday is a day of rest in Wrangell. Most stores are closed and the streets are deserted as Miriam and I walk up town. We explore "Shakes Island" with the longhouse, graves and totems and then continue our walk. The first stop is the hardware store for some more fishing gear, instructions and frozen herring so we can go for halibut tomorrow. We wander through several other hardware and clothing stores (all the grocery stores are closed), and end up at the "Diamond C" café for brunch. It is the only place open, and packed. The food is good, and we enjoy a Sunday Brunch in a place right out of "Northern Exposure".

The rest of the day is spent relaxing, cleaning the boat, and then joining our dock mates for cocktails on "DX", whom we had seen at Meyers Chuck. Ernie (DX) was travelling with the Sundowner 36 tug "To Polo" captained by Jean Hart. We really admire two solo travellers here in Alaska.

Later we joined the crew of a Nordic Tug 42 "Salty Dawg" for more cocktails and sea stories. Salty Dawg has been to Alaska numerous times, and the crew has been very successful at fishing. We got a lot of hopefully accurate tips on catching the elusive halibut and salmon while in Alaska. We will just have to wait and see!

The sky is clearing at 10 PM ( it is still light), the seas are calm, let's hope it holds for the morning.

Tomorrow we head for Petersburg via Wrangell Narrows, with the 65 navigational markers in 20 miles.

Wrangell – Part 1

We tied up at Reliance Float in the old harbor at Wrangell shortly after 1400. There are no other pleasure boats to be seen, although some may be in the other harbor.

The sun is out in full force, we are down to shorts and t-shirts as we remove the battery from the tender. The Napa auto parts store is about ½ mile away and "Monty", who was waiting for his son to arrive back from fishing (Monty is also the principal at the school), ran me and the battery down to the store. The battery tested "bad" and I purchased a replacement, along with another float switch for the bilge pump. By 1630 we had replaced the battery and checked out the old switch, which had not failed after all, just poor contacts on the battery post.

We found out we had missed the "movie" night in the community center, but hope the museum will be open tomorrow.

Monty, his wife and son came down the docks later and visited for quite a while. We think we may have a contact to watch our boat while it is in Wrangell in July.

Santa Anna Inlet

Our Dall Porpoise Escort

After an uneventful, flat calm passage up Ernest Sound and Seward Passage, under overcast skies, we anchored in Santa Anna Inlet. Again, we were the only boat present. We launched the tender, which had a dead battery (we have discovered that the case is bulging and suspect it froze over the winter), we set the crab pots and hung a fishing line on the stern, in the unlikely event a bottom fish actually comes along and wants to eat the lure.

Most of the way up Ernest Sound we actually had cell phone coverage (2-4 bars). The satellite TV reception is getting sporadic, with the local channels on DirectTV Satellite 119 fading at Foggy Bay and the cable channels on Satellite 101 still working, but much more subject to blockage.

The crab pots were a complete bust. No crabs, just filled with large starfish munching on the chicken legs. The night was calm, with the sound of the waterfall the only noise, and the winds stayed below 5 knots all night.

We departed Santa Anna Inlet about 0930 and were treated to a number of Dall porpoise weaving back and forth in front of the bow. The weather continued to improve as we headed up Zimovia Strait to Wrangell.

Meyers Chuck

Main Street Meyers Chuck
Miriam in front of the Gallery - Beautiful Stuff but expensive

Oh what tangled webs we weave...
This sculpture was in the woods with a metal spider on the web.



A quiet evening after the wind coming up Clarence Strait

Meyers Chuck Post Office, also the source of the cinnamon rolls!

This morning was quite a change weather-wise from yesterday. We woke up to a brisk cool SE wind, but the satellite weather indicated the trend was for light and variable winds and minimal seas in Clarence Strait, so we decided to head over to the fuel dock and then to Meyers Chuck.

We put on a total of 600 gallons of fuel, close to our original estimate, and could perhaps have squeezed on another 30 gallons. Dodging cruise ships coming down Tongass Narrows, we headed north. The winds eventually peaked in the low 20's, but the swells in Clarence Strait were building and on our port quarter, which even with stabilizers made for a substantial corkscrew motion until we passed Ship Island, where the swells were now directly astern. As we approached the entrance to Meyers Chuck, we waited for an opening between swell sets and made a hard right turn into the narrow entrance, making sure we avoided the submerged rock. We entered at near low tide into a millpond, even though windy and sloppy outside. By evening, the wind advisory had been upgraded to small craft warnings and seas to 7 feet.

Meyers Chuck has changed in the three years since we were last here. The tumbledown but photogenic Meyers Chuck Marine Service building has been torn down and several of the homes were for sale. Like many of the small settlements on our way north, Meyers Chuck is fading away as the older residents pass on and the younger people leave for jobs in the larger cities. Mail service is two days per week, there is sporadic cell phone service (there is a land line) and only about 4-5 year-round residents.

We ordered cinnamon rolls for breakfast from Cassie (one of the residents who is also the post mistress, an artist, and whatever else needs doing). She delivered them the next morning right to the boat, still warm from the oven. Just before she arrived, two more cruisers arrived, both cruising alone, who had experienced a rough night with dragging anchors in Lyman Anchorage on Prince of Wales Island. For the gentleman, it was his 14^th trip to Alaska.

The weather forecast looked favorable, so we headed out about 1100 for our next stop.