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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Nov 02 2007 : 22:09:06
O.K.
Our peerless, fearless, leader, OARLOX, has announced his retirement, in the "Charts" thread, and I just KNOW he's working on plans for Summer 2008. At the very least he's taking notes while The Lady Anne is telling him what HER plans are for Summer 2008.
It's time to start the thread where we all join in to do our wishful thinking for 2008.
You're up, Rob! Please tell me you will be out on the water for the best part of the Summer, and you might just make it as far South as, say Sitka! I'll come that far North to spill some beer with ya'!
Old_Salt |
| 50 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| kennster |
Posted - Feb 03 2009 : 03:52:28
Etienne,
I messed up... I meant to post my message on the Circumnavigate Vancouver Island thread... Sorry! I am reposting the message on that thread!
Ken |
| Kuredu |
Posted - Feb 02 2009 : 18:22:51
Ken,
There is another thread on this forum dealing with circumnavigation of the Island. Why don't you join the discussion, share ideas and consider joining - it'll be fun to plan together.
The 490 will be an excellent vessel for the cruise. |
| kennster |
Posted - Feb 02 2009 : 15:58:15
I am considering taking about 4 weeks this summer to travel around Vancouver Island. Thats about as much time as I can take. Fist let me tell you the boat I have, and what I have in it:
2005 Meridian 490 Pilothouse
Dual 330 Cummins (440 Gallons fuel)
Cruise Speed 18KTS (about 300MN Range at cruise) Hull Speed around 8 KTS (about 800NM range at hull speed)
Electronics: Raymarine Upper/Lower 48 Mile Radar, Chartplotter, Depth/Fish Finder, ST7001 Autopilot, VHF with DSC, Laptop with Nobeltec Software tied into the raymarine setup
Comforts: Raymarine ST45 HD Directv Satellite, TV's in Pilothouse, Master, Salon, etc. Serius Satellite Radio with very upgraded stereo system providing surround sound for Directv system. Washer/Dryer, 14GPH Watermaker, 11.5KW Generator, Webasto Diesel Hydronic furnace, 50HP 12FT Center Console RIB with Downriggers for fishing/crabbing.
That about somes up the noteables. I would be coming out of Lake Union in Seattle, and I have been up to desolation sound from Seattle several times and to the San/Jauns, Victoria, Gulf Islands, MANY, MANY times. The questions that I have are, is this a good setup for doing this in 4 weeks? Is this a good boat for a trip like this? I cant really get more than about 4 weeks away from work so I would need to be able to do it, and enjoy it in 4 weeks. Clockwise/counterclockwise makes no real difference to me. I havent got into the planning stages yet.
Ken
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| shepdog |
Posted - Jan 30 2009 : 09:57:48
Thanks....I'm rethinking the southbound trip due to the nature of constantly running and may look to just bareback charter for a couple of weeks either up around Juneau or down around Vancouver (Vancouver/Bellingham/Anacortes seem to be the best as far as available boats) to be able to go where we want to go, when we want to go! I'll definitely hit you with questions as I do. |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Jan 30 2009 : 02:44:29
Shep:
The timing information which may be of some use to you is contained in the posts dated Sept. 11, 2008 on page 2.
My trip on the IP was Northbound this past year, and sort of fits your time schedule of 17 days for your Southbound trip. I lucked out and got weather that allowed me to travel every day. You cannot count on being able to do that.
You need to travel on the good weather days. You can do your sightseeing on your next trip up here if you think one is warranted.
I'll attempt to answer any questions you may have.
Enjoy your trip.
OS |
| shepdog |
Posted - Jan 29 2009 : 17:19:18
OS,
Just seeing this thread and it's a great one for the admiral and I as we're considering three weeks of charter this summer either in BC or Alaska. Thanks for sharing the photos and details...great stuff!
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Jan 08 2009 : 19:26:17
The POWI trip was a pleasant surprise on the East side, Bill, and everything I expected on the West side.
You can hear "more to the story", Bill, the minute that bottle of 15 year old hits the galley table. All good maintenance starts with you turning your basball cap around so it's on backwards. It's all downhill from there.
I have run into some problems that may prevent me from getting down to the Seattle Boat Show this year, but we will try to work something out before boating gets serious this year. I'll PM you when I know more.
OS |
| BillV |
Posted - Jan 08 2009 : 19:05:50
Great write up OS. I know there must be "more to the story" about "stopping to replace the impeller on the starboard engine". Or is this some part of maintenance that I'm missing out in? Was good to read something about boating after all the cold, wind, snow and rain we've had these past weeks. Looking forward to summer.
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Jan 08 2009 : 18:37:55
I hope the write-up is useful to you, Brad. I know you would like to get up this way one day.
Your home is far enough up the hill that it won't be threatened by the flood IIRC from a past photo posted here.
Let me know if you want to take a run up into rapids country this summer after you have tested out your engine repairs.
OS |
| navman |
Posted - Jan 08 2009 : 11:13:06
What a cool trip to have made, thanks for sharing more OS, takes my mind away from the current flooding we are experiencing down here.
By the way, I just got a call from a BC Boater yesterday who has the same motors I have and had the exact same breakdown in November on the starboard side.
Brad |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Jan 07 2009 : 14:30:53
The overnight stops on the South Coast were at Miles Inlet, Blunden Harbour,
Claydon Bay, Nimmo Bay after Sullivan Bay for fuel and water, groceries and Scotch, Stopford bay, Caution Cove as a hidey hole from a forecasted SE 35-45 knot all night howler, Boughey Bay, Blind Channel at the floats for 2 nights, after one-lunging it through Johnstone Strait and 2 sets of rapids, stopping to replace the impeller on the starboard engine, Anchorage Lagoon for 2 nights, Campbell River for 3 nights visiting my Aunt while waiting for Strait of Georgia to be nice, then back North to Waiatt Bay, after giving up on the Strait of Georgia, and finally Squirrel Cove with the Yacht Club, 55nm from Secret Cove where we landed at home on the following day.
3 pic pan of the anchorage at the “T” in Miles Inlet in the fog.
Black bear on the beach in Claydon Bay.
The head of Nimmo Bay, a great kayaking anchorage for getting “up close” with the bears on the beach.
I accomplished my goal of traveling a good bit of the shoreline of Prince of Wales Island, traveling back home over a nice month long trip showing my wife some scenery and anchorages that were new to her, and without undue stress because of the boat problems or a tight schedule. A nice summer, singlehanding for 2 months over some new-to-me waterways surrounding POWI, and a pleasant relaxing trip home over 1 month, with my good first mate, and meeting some boating friends along the way.
Thanks to those on the forum who kept me company on this past summer’s trip.
Old_Salt
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Jan 06 2009 : 10:27:14
The overnight stops on the Central Coast were at the Five Meter Hole at Don Peninsula, Wigham Cove, Kwakume Inlet after a fuel, water and grocery stop at New Bella Bella, Pierce Bay Islands, Five Windows Cove, and Takush Harbour.
The weather repeater station atop Calvert Island allows for pretty good reception in the vicinity of the anchorage in Kwakume Inlet.
Foggust outside Takush Harbour as we prepare to head South around Cape Caution on August 14. Nice in the anchorage, though!
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Jan 04 2009 : 16:01:19
Port Edward to Secret Cove from Aug.1 to Aug.30.
708 nm in 119.4 engine hours at 5.93 knots average speed. 23.6 nm per day for 30 days and 28.3 nm per day for 25 traveling days.
The overnight stops on the North Coast were at Captain Cove, Ire Inlet in the Anger Islands, Cameron Cove in Barnard Harbour, Alston Cove in Laredo Inlet for 2 nights, Alexander Inlet, and Rescue Bay after a fuel and water stop at Klemtu.
A visitor in Ire Inlet
The exit at Ire Inlet. This is narrow.
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Jan 03 2009 : 12:31:58
Back South to Canader, eh?
Thursday July 24. Left Thomas Basin in Ketchikan at 8:47 a.m. intending to spend several days getting to Prince Rupert. The forecast for Dixon Entrance East was “Gale Warning; Winds light, becoming S 10-15 this aft.and SE 15-25 this eve. Increasing to SE 30-40 knots after midnight diminishing to S15 Fri. eve.” At each potential anchorage on the way South, I made the decision to keep going and reported to Canada Customs at the Fairview floats in Prince Rupert by 5:32 p.m. Anchored out in Russell Arm. Ketchikan to Rupert 82 nm in 6.8 hrs. Friday July 25. Fuel, water, and oil change at Prince Rupert Petrocan, before moving South to Port Edward. 6 overnights at the floats in rotten weather at Port Edwards waiting to meet my wife’s flight from Vancouver on July 31.
Grey Islet and Green Island weather reporting Stations in Northern Chatham Sound.
Russell Arm Sea Monster knocking on the hull during the night.
My Port Edwards SE wind protection.
OS
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| rduhon |
Posted - Jan 03 2009 : 11:36:45
Absolutely beautiful photos. Thanks, keep 'em coming. |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Jan 01 2009 : 19:33:11
The run from Craig to Ketchikan
Rain and wind kept me at the floats at Craig an extra day, and I started off for Ketchikan on July 19, with o/n stops at Kassa Inlet and Hessa Inlet, both really nice anchorages. I needed a lunch hook stop at Nichols Bay on July 21 to recoup from the run around Pt. Marsh, into Dixon Entrance, which was pretty ugly.
Then from Nichols Bay all the way around Cape Chacon to Gardner Bay for the o/n, and one last stop at the North Arm of Ingraham Bay o/n before beating my way back across Clarence Strait and up Nichols Passage to Ketchikan on July 23.
See NOAA Chart 17433 for the southern portion of the POWI circumnavigation. Point Marsh to Cape Chacon is 12 nm of the potentially roughest stretch of open water that you will ever travel. On the ebb, there is a lot of water on the move from Cape Chacon to Point Marsh. Before attempting it, the skipper should have a serious talk with a half-dozen commercial fisherman in Ketchikan, and the same in Craig. I have completed this Craig to Ketchikan run twice now. The next time I am touring the west side of POWI, which is a super boating area, I may just take an alternate route back to Craig, and return to Ketchikan around the North end of POWI.
I had stayed in Hessa Inlet on July 12, during the first trip South from Craig, and really liked it. The forecast for July 20 was S to SW 25 knots in Dixon Entrance, and I chose to go back here for the night, and wait for Dixon Entrance to be nice before heading to Cape Chacon. I got out of the wind and anchored just before noon with the view below to the South. Note the little valley, running N/S, to the left of center.
Excerpts from the log, July 20:
“1206 The wind gusts are getting down to water level now. The bay to the N is calmer.”
“1455 The wind and rain are assaulting our little boat now.”
“1532 The wind gusts are truly awesome. The head of Brownson Bay is 1 nm due S of this nook in Hessa Inlet. The nook to the N is not in the ‘funnel’” DUMMY! Learn to read a chart!
“1620 I made a bad choice of location.” NO SH$T, SHERLOCK!
“1636 We now have 250’ out in 44’ of water. >5:1 scope” Mixman, if you are reading this, I will say it for you : The 3:1 idiot caves in!
There follows a page and a half headed “NOTE TO SELF” which no one will ever see.
Too zoon oldt, undt too late schmart!
WX4 forecasted SE 30 knots overnight.
WX4 forecasted Dixon Entrance W15, decreasing in the afternoon, at 4 am the following morning. Got away shortly after 6 am with the idea of rounding Cape Chacon on the start of the flood about 9:30 am and heading N on the East side of POWI.
This is the North end of Buschmann Pass, a “shortcut” to Pt. Marsh from Hessa Inlet.
I didn’t go this way.
0717 High temp alarm. Hard reverse blew the kelp all over the landscape to the rear. I reached Pt. Marsh at 8 am. There are no log entries until 1006 when I shut down in Nichols Bay. The S swells were hanging around and I needed a break. Slept until noon.
Mixman : 100’ out in 34’ depth.
Underway by 1400. A couple of shots approaching Cape Chacon from the West.
Stopped in the NW corner of Gardner Bay for the night.
The early morning sunrise against the mountains to the West gave Gardner Bay a kind of “Lord of the Rings/Land of the Dwarves” feel.
The seine fishing fleet was out at the entrance to Kendrick Bay,
Bear on the Beach in the North Arm of Ingraham Bay, the last stop before arriving back at Ketchikan the following day.
See Chart 17432for the Southeast side of POWI and the return run back to Ketchikan via Nichols Passage.
OS
Edit for typo |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Dec 22 2008 : 16:55:10
Stayed at the South floats in Craig July 15, and then took a 2 day side trip to Nagasay Cove, a very special place in the Maurelle Islands, and then refueled at Craig. See “Special Places in Southeast Alaska” in the IP forum for Nagasay Cove pics.
The fuel fill was 130.1 USG or 492.5 L for 342 nm traveled, the greatest distance I have ever made on a tank. 1.44 L per nm. (0.38 USG per nm, best fuel economy ever) 5.0 knots. (slowest average speed ever) 68.2 hours (longest running time on one fill-up ever).
The 130.1 L was only 66% of the 745 L tank capacity. If I could get 80% useage in quiet inside waters, at the same consumption rate, I would be close to 413 nm on the tank.
OS |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Dec 19 2008 : 17:35:35
South from Craig
I agonized a bit over the return around the south end of POWI to Ketchikan from Craig. If I wanted to continue following the shoreline and seeing as much as I could of POWI, I knew I would have to return to Craig for fuel and then take a straight run back to my furthest point of travel and continue around Pt. Marsh and Cape Chacon before turning north up the east side of POWI as far as Rip Pt. If I didn’t go far enough before refilling, I might have to return to Craig for a second refill. If I went too far … well there is no fuel dock south of Craig, and Ketchikan is a half-full tank away from Pt. Marsh. On July 8 I started out following the coastline with o/n stops at Trocadero Bay, Nazuhini Bay, near Hydaburg, where I was interrogated by a curious Haida crabber at 5 a.m., Mabel Bay, Hunter Bay, Hessa Inlet, then back to Craig, via Eek Inlet, for the planned refueling.
The morning of July 8 was a little ugly, with heavy rain very early. I caught a break and went to the library to e-mail my wife and upload some of the photos above to Photobucket. Got back to the boat soaked. Change of pants and socks #1. Got a break after lunch and headed to the fuel dock to top it right up. Got soaked. Change of pants and socks #2. I rounded the city to the South side, hugged the shoreline, and started my tour. Port St. Nicholas, Trocadero Bay, Port Caldera, and Port Estrella are shown on Chart 17405, South of Craig.
Fell into the trap (again) of using my camera to try and capture what my eyes were seeing. Humpback whale in Port Estrella.
This was a Minke in Port Estrella.
The largest fishing resort I have seen is the Waterfall complex on Ulloa Channel, Southwest of Craig, Northwest of Hydaburg.
Sunrise, Mabel Bay 4:52 am, July 11
Some more d$mn fish! Off Pt. Webster, Cordova Bay. The orangy stuff on top is kelp.
Bear on the beach at the head of Kassa Inlet. Big hump at the front shoulders, looks like a brownie.
The other end of the fishing resort spectrum. Abalone Island. But check out the satellite dish! “I’d like to get away from it all for a couple of weeks fishing, but I don’t want to miss Oprah and Jeopardy!”
3 pics from the anchorage in Eek Inlet, on the way back to Craig for fuel.
The NW corner with the creek.
The NE corner which Douglass touts as “The inner basin on the east side is the best anchorage.”, but finishes “with fair holding”.
I parked in the center at the North end and had this nice view of the entrance, plus the two coves above, and the holding was satisfactory, although I was able to break the anchor loose by hand, in the morning.
Nice, quiet, pretty, strategically located anchorage where Sukkwan Strait joins Hetta Inlet and leads to all kinds of great pleasure boating country to the South.
OS
See the top LH corner for Eek Pt. and Eek Inlet.
http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/17431.shtml
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| BillV |
Posted - Dec 08 2008 : 16:13:31
I'm running 3" spacer blocks already and have new flappers on the exhaust. Risers are about 3" higher then was stock on the original 228hp Mercruisers. Still trying to figure out what went wrong. |
| Wingspar |
Posted - Dec 07 2008 : 11:30:26
Great pics Salt :-)
BillV... I remember a dock neighbor with a similat boat having the same problem as you. They ended up having to "raise" the riser to keep salt water from back feeding into the engine.
Good luck
Dave |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Dec 01 2008 : 20:58:08
Sorry about the expense and frustration involved in replacing that engine, Bill.
Let me know about your time available for that Port Hardy run in the Summer. We can make it a practice run for the North Pole trip. It's on the way, y' know?
OS |
| BillV |
Posted - Dec 01 2008 : 18:56:48
Some very nice pictures OS. Makes me want to be there more then ever. Someday. Right now I'm suffering thru a case of salt water injestion (sp) on my starboard engine. Less the 200 hours and engines out and tore apart on the shop floor. All 8 cylinders have rust, badly worn walls and every indication that they were burning salt water for a long time. Still trying to determine cause. New engine ordered and on it's way. Hope this resolves it and I can again really start planning my north pole trip! At least to Port Hardy this year. |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Dec 01 2008 : 18:17:52
Lots of classy (expensive) fishing resorts of the West side of POWI. This one at Sarkar Cove, near the South entrance to El Capitan, is especially nice.
South of Sarkar Cove, I had a traveling companion for a short stretch.
She crossed in front of the boat just North of Tuxekan Narrows.
Didn’t know anything about Rules of the Road – she cut me off. She looks like a sailboat, too – two masts with sails sticking up.
She had two buddies waiting for her on the east shore. They said hello and started the luncheon.
The North Harbor floats at Craig. The fuel dock is to the North on the East side.
The South Harbor Floats at Craig. It’s about 1.5 nm around the peninsula between the two harbors.
Chart 17405 shows Craig located in the center, with an inset at the RHS.
Klawock, and the only land-based airport on POWI, is located about 7 nm North
of Craig. The Harbourmaster and staff here were terrific. Boating on the waters of 17405 was great.
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Nov 30 2008 : 20:50:31
South to Craig from Port Protection
I was in familiar territory now, having spent a few days on the west side of POWI on a previous trip, and had an opportunity to o/n at Hole in the Wall.
Chart 17378 , shows Hole in the wall south of Port Protection, my o/n anchorage for July 2.
The view is NE into the entrance of Hole in the Wall on the west side of POWI just south of Port Protection. There’s a little bit of SW blowing into the flooding entrance.
Doesn’t look too tough, does it?
A little closer, it looks a little tougher.
Once inside, I became aware that the entrance was funneling the wind over my desired anchoring location, and moving me back into the shallows pretty quickly. The chart shows where you don’t wanna’ be at low water.
I gave up and continued South and East into El Capitan Passage for the night. See Chart 17387 for El Capitan and the insert at the top for Dry Pass.
Dry Pass in El Capitan is like a slightly deeper, slightly wider, and shorter version of Keku Strait. Lots of nav aids.
The east entrance to my anchorage, just south of the island with G9 on it's North side, in Dry Pass.
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Nov 28 2008 : 17:42:13
I have not been able to get NOAA’s Chart 17372 of Keku Strait from their website. I will post the Keku Strait sidetrip here and continue with the POWI trip in this thread.
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Oct 11 2008 : 20:21:03
Keku Strait and the West side of POWI
Restocking the fuel and water and “Oh Henry” bars were my excuses for taking the run from Port Protection 50 nm north to Kake and back the same 50 nm the next day. The thinly veiled real purpose of the side trip was the chance to drive Keku Strait both ways, on successive days. IMHO, taking on the challenge of Rocky Pass (that would be where the rocks are), followed by The Summit (that would be where the flood from Frederick Sound on the north meets the flood from Sumner Strait on the south with about 4 feet of water under the hull), followed by Devil’s Elbow (that would be the shallow fast moving right angled bend where God invented kelp and the guy with the horns fed it whale manure to see how fast and how big it would grow), is about as much fun as a skippy can have driving a boat.
I overnighted at Entrance Island at the north end and back at Port Protection at the south end. I intended to overnight next at Hole in the Wall, but the wind was so strong coming through the gap, that by the time I got to the foredeck to drop the hook, the wind had taken me way back into the shallow water. The anchoring depths were surrounded by drying mud and so required a short rode, and the wind was forecast to get up o/n, so I pulled the Bruce back in and went all the way to Dry Pass in El Capitan Passage overnight. The very a.m. experience of having a tug with barge come steaming through my anchorage next morning was a little unnerving. Then a long day of 11.9 hrs. and 60 nm ended with a super anchorage i/s Salt Lake Bay, and July 5 saw the first o/n at the North floats in Craig. Took on groceries, water and fuel at Craig and got a few things fixed up on the boat, while I sat out 2 days of bad weather, at the floats. WIFI was available at the Craig public library. Peanut Butter Pie is the dessert of choice at the Dockside Café.
OS |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Oct 10 2008 : 16:47:01
June 30
The extended weather forecast gave me a gift of 3 days of light winds enabling me to get west on Sumner Strait to the NW corner of POWI, and then to Kake and Back. Photos from the exit at Red Bay.
“Quaint” Point Baker, for OARLOX. Nothing has changed. Same bag of garbage on the float!
From the anchorage deep into the south end at Port Protection.
The East side of POWI
I covered the June 17-22 portion of the trip around POWI on a post per traveling day format for those 6 days. I presented it this way so that anyone interested in making the trip from WA or B.C. waters can appreciate that you can do a lot of boating in the vicinity of Ketchikan in only a week’s time. It took 14 days for the journey from Ketchikan to Point Baker/Port Protection via Rip Pt., covering pretty much the entire navigable coastline. Ketchikan to Point Baker is only about 100 nm. Overnight stops at the floats in Thorne Bay, Coffman Cove, and Point Baker, or Port Protection, Whale Passage and Myer’s Chuck on the return trip only require 6 short traveling days, so that round trip is very manageable in 2 weeks, even including a sidetrip to Wrangell and/or Petersburg, (and maybe Kake?).
Seattle/Vancouver to Ketchikan and back in 4 weeks is a bit of a chore, and you certainly would not be seeing much of Southeast Alaska. 6 weeks is better, allowing you to fit in a 1 or 2 week sidetrip as above, if time permits. 8 weeks is the minimum time I would require before setting out to Southeast from Secret Cove. That part of the trip, from Secret Cove to Ketchikan, and then Ketchikan to Secret Cove took me 52 days this year, with a 6 day wait in Port Edward.
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Oct 09 2008 : 17:47:38
June 29
I got this pic on exiting Exchange Cove in the morning. The cold air dropping into the valley on Zarembo Island gave an interesting cloud formation.
Entrance to Red Bay. This was one of the really nice surprises on the east side portion of the trip. I could have cheerfully hung out here for a few days.
See Chart 17381.
The chart shows Red Bay is about 4 nm NS from Pine Point to Big Creek. You could put the whole yacht club in here.
View of the Head of Red Bay from my anchorage on the southeast side. You could put the whole yacht club into the south end of this baby.
OS |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Oct 08 2008 : 12:49:46
June 28
Underway by 6:42 a.m., but because I revisited the south end of Thorne Bay, the entrance to Thorne Bay and Snug Anchorage it was 9:03 before I hit Clarence Strait.
The Area from Luck Pt. to Pt. Colpoys is only covered by Chart 17382 at 1:80,000 and it doesn’t want to come up here.
Heading into Whale Passage I encountered a couple of Orcas in the narrow passage and again was tempted to try for a photo instead of just driving the boat. Terrible photos because … rock infested channel … uh-huh … kelp lined shore … uh-huh … gotta’ drive the boat … but they did get pretty close.
Exiting Whale Passage at the North end. The Nav aids left a little guesswork for the boat driver. From the center of the photo to the left side, the pilings were topped by a green marker, no marker, green marker, and red marker. “let the Chart be your guide?” I treated the unmarked one as though it were green, and made it home o.k.
Anchorage at Exchange Cove after a 10 hr. day.
OS
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| Weekender |
Posted - Oct 08 2008 : 11:24:04
From the link for IFA from OS:
"The Prince of Wales Island communities of Craig, Klawock, Thorne Bay and Coffman Cove joined in a coalition with Wrangell and Petersburg to create the IFA, which is a public corporation organized under Alaska's Municipal Port Authority Act." Just an FYI. |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Oct 07 2008 : 17:17:55
OARLOX:
IFA, the Inter-Island Ferry, runs 2 routes to POWI. I caught the "Stikine" replacing the sister-ship "Prince of Wales" on the Hollis run. Normally it does the Craig run. You can even get to Petersburg on the IFA!!
See
http://www.interislandferry.com/
I'll put you on my mailing list for all the Alaska info ... 
OS |
| OARLOX |
Posted - Oct 07 2008 : 15:48:59
OS- I still enjoy hearing about you travels. Tell ya the truth I may have learned something from your last posting. I didn't know that we had ferrys operating in Alaska that weren't painted "Blue" and run by the state. Looks like the state might be outsourcing the marine hiway.
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Oct 07 2008 : 12:22:40
June 23-27
June 24
After sitting out a bad weather day in Ketchikan, (SE 30 and rain), I picked up where I left off at Kasaan Pt. at the south entrance to Kasaan Bay. The ferry from Hollis on POWI passed me on it’s way to Ketchikan.
I checked out Kina Cove and went to the south end of Twelvemile Arm, before returning to Hollis to take these photos of the Hollis ferry terminal especially for Etienne, and in memory of Kuredu. The floats for pleasure boats are on the other side of a little peninsula, and I know that on his first visit to Hollis, that will make Etienne happy and he will probably get a good night’s sleep without counting ferry boats.
Went back to Kina Cove for the o/n anchorage.
June 25
Caught the Hollis ferry (in the photo) heading for Ketchikan in the morning.
Had a look at Karta Bay, Brown’s Bay, Mills Bay along the north shore, and through Grindall Passage, up the east side to Tolstoi Bay … before tying up at the floats in Thorne Bay.
Stayed 3 nights in Thorne Bay because of the winds in Clarence Strait, and specifically, the report from Lincoln Rock.
See Chart 17423 top center for Thorne Bay.
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Oct 05 2008 : 15:56:09
June 22
First Log entry at 3:49 a.m. “Light enough to travel.” This photo taken at 4:01 a.m. from the anchorage. Under way at 5:01 a.m. with Ketchikan as the goal.
This 3 photo panorama is from the southernmost anchorage in Polk Inlet, in Skowl Arm, at 8 a.m..
This is a huge anchorage. It was a 6’ tide, with 2 hours of ebb left, and I was taking 17-25’ soundings at what the NOAA chart 17436 showed to be a large area with passages over the bottom. Douglass goes on about how tricky the passages are to get to the south end, but “the chart shows the way” as the Coastal Pilot 8 says.
Back in Ketchikan with the pink building housing US Customs & Border Patrol in the background at Thomas Basin.
I could have easily enjoyed a month between Rip Pt. and Kasaan Pt. and I think I could have done it with the single tank of fuel as I did this time from June 17 –22. In those 6 days I did cover the shoreline pretty completely, and if I had stretched it out to a month, I would not have covered that many more miles. So … if your vessel has a range of 273 nm or better, you might be able to do this tour of the east side of POWI starting from Ketchikan, and either returning to Ketchikan to refuel or heading on to Thorne Bay for fuel and good water. At this time, I was not 100% certain I could get diesel and water for the tank in Thorne Bay, so I returned to Ketchikan.
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Oct 02 2008 : 16:47:41
June 21
Leaving the South Arm of Cholmondeley Sound in the morning, I toured the West Arm and then Sunny Cove on the North Side before exiting into Clarence Strait. The forecast was for SE 20 knots with 4’ seas, but the 5 a.m. report from Lincoln Rock to the north was S31 gusting 40 knots. By 10 a.m. things had settled down to a SE25 Small Craft Warning for Clarence Strait and Lincoln Rock was S32 gusting 38 knots. I hugged the east side of POWI and headed for Skowl Pt. without visiting all the neat little nooks and crannies along the way.
Saltery Cove is a small community on the south side of Skowl Arm not too far from Clarence Strait (About 3-4 nm, just far enough for Skowl Arm to be hospitable). Principally, it is a sportsfishing resort area.
The entrance has a small island smack dab in the middle and is the site of the local’s tribute to folks in boats.
A close-up … could be you or me up there on the rock. The “Retired Mariner” in his rocking chair.
A little further east, I found the very nice McKenzie Inlet and chose to stay in the west cove.
View of the east cove from the anchorage, The east cove is entered from the north.
Next time.
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Oct 01 2008 : 09:15:52
June 20
Watched the deer and bear on the beach, and spent some serious time preparing for my Keku Strait side trip in the a.m.
Broke anchor loose using the boat 3 days in a row. Heading for the exit at H.W. at 1:30 pm. Exiting Kitkun Bay narrows at north end, showing the overfall 1 hour before HW.
South Arm, Cholmondeley Sound.
South Arm, Cholmondeley Sound, west cove, where I anchored for the night.
These first 4 days on the east side of POWI made me feel pretty good about the decision to do this side of the island as well as the west side, which I had experienced and really enjoyed in 2002. All pretty anchorages with great views, and with great holding, and the weather had been pretty nice.
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Sep 29 2008 : 22:32:36
Radioactive:
"Those ARE fine pix."
Thanks for lying.
"sidebar question: I can pronounce TANSTAAFL and TANJ but how the dickens do you pronounce Fabexcrufof?"
Go See
What's Ole Miss doing reading about the IP?
I enjoy reading your posts, Bill. You know more than I do, so I'm WAY up as a result.
OS |
| BillV |
Posted - Sep 29 2008 : 22:20:19
Probably takes a couple shots of OS's special scotch to be able to say Fabexcrufof, and if it doesn't come out correct just tell everyone it's the scotch's fault!
Oh yes, I truly hope to be headed up that way some day soon. Still planning on a trip to your neck of the woods as well to discuss trips and the such. Finished installing a new transducer and fairing block in the hull the past weekend. Now working on the windlass pulpit install for the new electric windlass.
Slow but surely I'm knocking the jobs off my "to do" list. |
| Radioactive |
Posted - Sep 29 2008 : 21:26:59
Those ARE fine pix.Thanks for sharing.
--
sidebar question: I can pronounce TANSTAAFL and TANJ but how the dickens do you pronounce Fabexcrufof?  |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Sep 29 2008 : 20:49:49
"Nice photography OS! Makes me feel like I've been there myself. I'll bet it's very peaceful in those overnight spots. "
Thank You, Bill. The photography should include the statement "with apologies to OBX ..." with each pic. He's good. I point and click, and I am pleasd that some of the pics appeal to you and that you always seem to find time to comment on them.
You will get there to see them for Yourself within a few years (2010 to the North Pole, don't forget!) and then you will understand why I take the time to post this stuff for the few of you that are going to take the time, make the effort, and suffer the expense of doing it all yourselves.
Peaceful? Think of a beautiful evening anchored at Sucia with 50 other boats around you. Now try to picture the anchorages I have tried to show you, in remote country, equally as beautiful, but different, and not seeing another boat in your chosen anchorage for days at a time. I love it! I post this stuff to show you what I can of what is out there. When you have the time, go and see it for yourself.
Fabexcrufof, Buddy!
OS |
| BillV |
Posted - Sep 28 2008 : 20:20:00
Nice photography OS! Makes me feel like I've been there myself. I'll bet it's very peaceful in those overnight spots. Sleep like a babe eh? Or do you have a "nightcap" to ward off the chills? Speaking of nightcaps, I tried some scotch last night that I thought I would never taste. Johnnie Walker Blue Label, a true premium scotch. My nephew brought it back from Iraq where he found it in a duty free store. |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Sep 27 2008 : 23:34:50
June 19
I had to use the boat to break out the anchor in the morning. I’m becoming very impressed with the holding power of the sea bottoms on the east side.
Photo of this mountain range to the SE of Nowiskay Cove, just o/s my anchorage, at 6 a.m. Followed the north shore of Moira Sound around to Port Johnson.
Photo of the same mountain range 4 hours later from Port Johnson to the north.
The entrance to Cholmondeley Sound from Chasina Point.
Eudora Mountain from Chasina Point.
Arrived at the entrance to my overnight destination in Kitkun Bay about mid-way on the flood. It was either wait 2-3 hours in the traffic lane of the fishing resort nearby or go early. I was doing real well and feeling pretty brave until I saw how quickly the water on the shoreline was flooding into Kitkun relative to the boat’s motion in the middle of the channel. Then the channel took a turn to the right and narrowed. Then it turned to the right again and narrowed some more. Now I’m doing better than 9 knots in idle and noticing how the rocks and kelp are getting closer to the boat, … and then noticed the Minke whale halfway down the entrance channel. I grabbed the camera, got the lens cap off, got the power on, and grabbed the wheel to straighten the boat out and pointed and snapped. This is why the wife and I gave up on trying to photograph whales. The dried salt water spray on the windshield and the reflections came out well, though.
Eudora Mountain from the entrance to the south anchorage in Kitkun Bay.
Went for a long paddle around the south end anchorage.
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Sep 26 2008 : 14:52:45
June 18. 4:37 a,m. Good start to the day. Nice sunny morning. Bears on the beach. 5:28 NOAA weather forecast great for travel in protected waters today. Winds forecasted coming up in Clarence for a few days. 5:57 Checked my route and possible duck-out places. 6:27 Checked under the hood. Topped up oil both engines, and cleaned saltwater strainers. Belts tight. Fluids o.k. 6:56 a.m. Skies black! Pouring Rain! 7:08 Rain ended. 7:09 Started Up. Depth 37’ and 38’ at the anchor. Can’t break anchor loose by hand. Tied off chain on cleat and broke anchor loose with the boat. Anchor up with the winch. Very good holding. 7:24 a.m. Underway with a 10 hour, 6 knot day planned in Moira Sound. NOAA chart 17432 for detail is in the preceding post..
Followed the shoreline to the west end and then the north shore where I got this not-so-great photo of a Minke whale in Dickman Bay.
The inner anchorage at Aiken Cove was very pretty, with the shallow cove surrounded by towering mountains to the west and south.
I picked this little unnamed cove in the North Arm for the overnight and got in a paddle in the lagoon to the east in about 6 inches of water at low tide 6:30 – 8:00 p.m..
End of day after 9.7 hours of engine time and 58 nm on the trip meter. View to the west just before 9 pm ADST.
… happy camper …
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Sep 23 2008 : 12:16:39
The distance from Ketchikan to Rip Pt. on POWI is about 25 nm, 15 of it from Ketchikan SW down Nichols passage to Dall Head and 10 nm across Clarence Strait (which is somewhat like the Strait of Georgia or Queen Charlotte Strait).
The view is SW to the SE side of POWI towards Cape Chacon, about 30 nm from Nichols Passage.
I headed to Rip Pt. at the south entrance to Moira Sound to start my trip around the shoreline of POWI.
NOAA Chart 17432 shows the detail in Moira Sound and Port Johnson.
First o/n was in the South Arm. This 4 pic pan from E to S was from the anchorage at the very head of the South Arm, and is fairly typical of the East side anchorages on POWI.
A pretty decent day cruising …
OS |
| Weekender |
Posted - Sep 23 2008 : 11:36:54
I've been out of the loop of seining for a long time now. I fished from '73 to '83. Back then, we went where the fish were showing up. I'm sure now with the fuel prices the traveling fleet will hang at the closest town and wait for "announcements" of fish openings put out by the "fin and feather" dept (fish and game).
Being just a deck hand, I never got into where the fish streams were and how and where the fish traveled. That was the skippers job. I ran the power skiff for ten years and did what the skipper said.
Alan |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Sep 22 2008 : 15:55:53
Hey, Alan, nice to hear from you! Thanks for the "local knowledge"!
"Chawmley" sounds even more Brit than "Chumley".
I got to travel Jackson Pass this summer on the last run from Craig to Ketchikan. I thought there were a large number of commercial boats around there, compared with some areas closer to Craig, but if they are coming from as far away as Sitka, that would explain it.
The seiners were pretty thick in Kendrick Bay, just south of Cholmondeley, when I came up the east side. Where does the catch go, for those guys that would come all the way east from Sitka? Do they go into Ketchikan from there?
OS |
| Weekender |
Posted - Sep 22 2008 : 11:28:17
"The Alaskans pronounce it with a British flair and it comes out “Chumley”."
When I was "seining" back in the 70's and 80's we used to run to Cholmondeley from Sitka for fall fishing of dog salmon, aka chum salmon. Not sure but this might have something to do with the "local" pronunciation. We, from Sitka, pronounced it "Chomly" (chawmlee).
FYI...29 hour run Sitka to Cholmondeley (10 knots, via Petersburg/Wrangell Narrows)for a one or two day opening, 29 hours back, then sometimes the same for the following week. Lots of wheel watches back in those days. We used to fish Jackson Pass out of Craig quite a bit also.
Alan |
| OARLOX |
Posted - Sep 20 2008 : 11:50:36
Pt. Baker has got to be on my list of "Most Unique Alaskan Villages". I wouldn't necessarly say that it was the most friendly though. Seems that everyone keeps very much to themselves. Or maybe it was the clear weather that sent everyone for cover. When we were there we tied off to the Post Office, kicked away a couple of bags of garbage on the dock and went on a 3 minute tour of the town. I loved it and will surely return next summer! |
| Old_Salt |
Posted - Sep 19 2008 : 23:27:49
The second leg of the trip was from Ketchikan to the east side of Prince of Wales Island and then beginning the POWI shoreline tour that would take me completely around POWI and returning to Ketchikan to report in to the old boating friends and my new buddies, before heading to Prince Rupert to report to Canada Customs.
I left Ketchikan June 17 and returned to Thomas Basin the final time for this trip on July 23. 37 days traveling 1260 nm, averaging 34 nm per day, and 42.0 nm per traveling day. 219.8 engine hours averaging 5.75 knots, with lots of poking around in the shallow anchorages on the west side. Leaving Ketchikan fuel dock, I headed SW down Nichols Passage and across Clarence Strait to Rip Pt. on the east side of POWI, aware that I would have to return back across Clarence Strait to refuel at Ketchikan at least one more time. The overnight stops were in the South Arm of Moira Sound, touring 58 nm along the shoreline the next day to the North Arm for the o/n, and into Port Johnson and then Cholmondeley Sound. The Alaskans pronounce it with a British flair and it comes out “Chumley”. I overnighted in Kitkun Bay after my “first encounter of the whale kind”. The next o/n was at the South Arm of “Chumley”, and then a nice 55 nm run to McKenzie Inlet in Skowl Arm, and then a 46 nm run back to Ketchikan for fuel and water. The 6 day tour covered 273 nm and the refill was 136.75 USG or 517.6 L, about 1.83 L per nm or 0.5 USG per nm. Not too bad for a twin engine diesel.
NOAA Chart 17420 shows the first part of this trip.
NOAA Chart 17432 shows the detail in Moira Sound and Port Johnson.
NOAA Chart 17436 shows the detail in Colmondeley Sound and Skowl Arm.
NOAA Chart 17426 shows the detail in Skowl Arm and Kasaan Bay.
After exiting Skowl Arm at Kasaan Pt., I headed back to Ketchikan for some badly needed fuel.
The kid wasn’t at the fuel dock this time, and the sweet young thing who was replacing him, said I didn’t qualify for the “personality plus” discount, in her opinion, and I got charged $4.09 per USG.
I spent a bad weather day in Ketchikan and then headed back to POWI on June 24 and stayed at Kina Cove after a 71 nm tour over 12.5 hrs. The next day after 68 nm and 9.7 hrs. I made it into Thorne Bay and was pleased to find moorage for 3 days and nights of pretty rough weather in Clarence Strait. WIFI was available at the Thorne Bay public library. Good water and diesel near the floats. Good grocery store and the “Riptide”, a well stocked liquor store. June 28 I put in a 10.0 hr. day and traveled 68.0 nm to Exchange Cove, including the “second encounter of the whale kind” in Whale Pass (where else?). The long days were possible because of the extended daylight hours in Southeast at this time of year. My first log entry for June 28 was at 4:42 am and the last was at 10:54 pm after shaving and showering and getting into the jammies. A pleasant surprise, the next day, with a short 18 nm trip and a kayak paddle almost as long, in Red Bay on the north side of POWI on Sumner Strait. Nice, secure anchorage in a very pretty setting. Went west in Sumner Strait to Point Baker, which retains all of it’s “quaint charm”, and on to Port Protection for o/n deep in the south end.
... don't drink the water in Point Baker ... it's at least 3 shades darker than Guiness ...
OS
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| Old_Salt |
Posted - Sep 17 2008 : 17:12:34
The direct IP route from Prince Rupert to Ketchikan is about 90 nm. Many (most ?) pleasure boaters will obtain permission from US Customs & Border Patrol in Ketchikan to overnight in US waters at least one night along the way. There is some nice boating to be done along the route, but you are required to report to USC&BP in Ketchikan at the earliest opportunity. The usual o/n stop is at Foggy Bay, and it has been good when we have used it previously. The weather forecast indicated the winds were to be strong SE in the morning, so I elected to go a little further North this time to get away from the influence of Dixon Entrance.
Rounding Cape Fox, AK from east to north. This is where you want to know the forecast for “Dixon Entrance East”.
It was a little rough at the entrance to Foggy Bay, the usual stop on the Rupert-to-Ketchikan run, so I elected to try Kah Shakes Cove. Well protected from SE winds out of Dixon Entrance, and I had it all to myself, in part thanks to Douglass, I think, who takes 2 paragraphs to warn of the tricky entrance. I came in on a straight N/S line with 16’ of water on a 6’ tide (est.).
This photo is from i/s the entrance at the anchorage.
Leaving Kah Skakes in the very a.m. with 11’ of water on a 0.5’ LW tide. The view ahead goes all the way to Ketchikan.
Stalwyn at Thomas Basin in Ketchikan with 2 flags flying. The kid at the fuel dock gave me my “repeat customer” discount, my “old age” discount, my “helpless foreign visitor” discount, and my “personality plus” discount and knocked the $4.53 per USG down to $4.08, the best price for the entire trip.
… all ready for POWI …
OS |
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| BoaterEd |
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