Made it to Alaska.

Monday May 17th 10:00 P.M.
It’s been a week underway with the Alaskan Song. As I write the daylight is nearing its end here in Warm Springs Bay just 10 miles east, as the crow flies, from Sitka (the home of beautiful Kjersti Johnson) across the rugged mountains that jut from the sea to form Baranof Island. We’ve come nearly 700 nautical miles in 7 days.

We arrived in Alaskan waters on May 15th cleared Customs in Ketchikan, AK, spent the evening at the dock in ‘Ketch’ and were off to Petersburg the next morning after topping off the fuel. The four evenings after departing Vancouver, BC we hunkered down in remote anchorages along our route through the inside passage. Typically we’d get to our anchorage, drop anchor, shut the generators down and catch some zzzzzz’s before pulling anchor and heading north by 5:00 or 5:30 the next morning. The weather was good and the open water passages were not too daunting. All in all a smooth trip north with a couple glimpses of sea lions, sea otters, bald eagles and humpback whales in the distance. The days at the dock in Bellingham didn’t quite get the crew together like long days cruising do. We’ve definitely had a couple more days of practicing the ropes (ha), getting to know each other and spreading some confidence.

Docking in Ketchikan was a little more of an ordeal than the prior nights of dropping an anchor in a lonesome bay. We pulled up to the middle of the dock, got tied up and plugged in our long, heavy, yellow electrical cord just in time to be asked by the resident tour cruiser the Bering Ballard to move so they could have their claimed spot at the dock. No problem. The rain was coming down sideways. Among the many lessons I’ve learned, I’ll always wear raingear while tying up or anchoring from here forward. Carharts and deck shoes are not waterproof. Thankfully the raincoat kept my torso dry. Soaking wet, we began the swap with the BB. Just as we released the bow line the wind grabbed the Alaskan Song and pushed her rapidly from the dock. “Throw the line”, they yell. So I attempt to toss the line to the Song now about 10 ft off the dock. This seemingly simple maneuver of sliding down the dock is turning into something much different. I run back to the stern line and get that released. Then I hear “Oh %$&#! Unplug it, unplug it!” I repeated the command a couple more times in my head while I switched the breaker and unplugged the cord. Winds whipping, rain pelting and the electrical cord reminding us it really isn’t that long; I find myself playing tug-o-war.

If I were to have had the choice of playing tug-o-war with a 96 ft yacht I would have opted out and given the Alaskan Song the forfeit but I didn’t. Instead the Song and I battled it out for a couple of moments. My sweaty palms (surprise, I know) holding onto one end of the electrical cord, the other end secured to the Song, and the amount of 46 degree water growing between us meant something/someone has to give. My solid stance on the dock and decent but wet grip on the cord didn’t quite cut it and I was humbly defeated.

On Sunday May 16th we pushed off from the dock just a few feet away from where the tug-o-war took place and pushed on toward Petersburg. Beyond Ketchikan the scenery has become more and more breathtaking. Tight channels with steep cliffs on each side, huge snow capped peaks, more and more marine life. Petersburg and its surroundings are beautiful. So too is Admiralty Island and Baranof Island.

Today we left Petersburg in route to Warm Springs Bay. I saw my first breaching humpback! After a few peck slaps it peek-a-booed with a graceful breach. Tomorrow we plan to hang here, soak in the hot springs and try our hands at some fishing. Although Sitka is only 10 miles as the crow flies, our route will be the 70 NMs from here around the north to the west side of Baranof Island to Sitka.

After spending a couple days at Warms Springs Bay (May 17th and 18th) and a couple other anchorages along the way we’ve made it to Sitka (May 21st)!!!

....Jiggity Jig

Home again Home again Jiggity Jig- And it feels great! The Alaskan Story all her crew and guest made it safely to Juneau on May 9th after a wonderful 2 weeks of cruising. Through BC Canada there was some beautiful scenery but very little wild life, however we did see Orca whales and a few eagles. We spent 6 days in Canada stopping to pick oysters and drop our crab pots in. The seafood was abundant- the oysters were so thick you didn't need to leave the place you hopped off the boat to fill your bucket there were so manny within reach! The Crabbing was also very successful with ~50 crab caught and ate- yep I think we had dungeness crab for at least one meal for the past week- crab cakes, crab salad, crab quiche, crab omelets.... you name it we had crab in it. Once we crossed into Alaskan waters the smile on my face got even bigger- I am HOME! The Humpback whales have arrived and we saw them breaching and lunge feeding, the eagles were so thick in a bay we stopped in- I think we counted 200+ on the beach and in the trees, the sea lions were basking on the rocks, the fishing was better- got a Halibut, the sun came out- you name it it felt good. All in all it was an enjoyable trip north and it has been a pleasure working aboard the Alaskan Story.

Currently I have one week off for the remainder of the summer until September so I have opted to hop the fast ferry to Sitka to spend some time with my Mother and see a few friends. I arrived in Sitka yesterday to my mothers whirlwind of packing for Port Alexander- she cracks me up! Not only did we spend the day running errands and packing boxes but my mother has literally brought the kitchen sink and well actually a bathtub as well. It took two heaping truck loads to get her and all her gear down to the Tracy-C for her trip to P.A (via Baranof Warm Springs of course). Granted I will give it to her that all the stuff was not hers and she was packing things south for the Port Alexander Museum as well as her food provisions for the whole summer. I was tempted to hop aboard however I would have been hard pressed to make it back to Juneau in time to get back to work.

Joel is now on his way north and likely getting deep into the wilds of BC Canada. I am very excited for him to experience the beauty that SE Alaska offers and I believe he will fall in love with Alaska as I have. Joel often describes his dream place as all mountains and ocean- which is precisely what SE Alaska is. There were places we passed along the way where the channel is >1000 ft deep and the mountain top a mere 1/4 mile from the shore is >4000 feet tall- yep Joel will love it. The Alaskan Song will likely be arriving in Sitka May 17th or so and then Joel's charter season will be off and running. For the time being he and i will continue to be ship's passing in the night on opposite schedules- however come July we will be cruising together once again- can't wait! So our Blog for the time being is each of our stories- however sooner than we know it it will be stories of us on our adventures together.

Well I best get started on the list of chores mom left for me:)... Joel welcome to Sitka my Love.

Patience Is A Virtue

It's been some windy stormy days here in Bellingham over the past week or so. A lot of the final preparations before departing require some better weather but I'm still managing to keep plenty busy. Waxing, sanding, varnishing, buffing, sanding, wiping, sanding, varnishing, waxing, buffing, sanding...... The sun is supposed to come out later this week so we can finish up that sanding business and man will it look and feel great when it's done.

A week from today and we'll have pushed off from the dock and started the long awaited journey north. Our day of departure is May 10th where we'll be heading to Vancouver for our first evening out of Bellingham. Oh am I excited just writing about it. Not only will it be nice to have a bit of a change in scenery but I'm hoping the sand paper and varnishes will be left at the storage here in Bellingham. I know there'll be plenty more cleaning and polishing going on this summer but this 'bright work' has been on the to-do list for the past month. I'm looking for some sense of accomplishment with getting it wrapped up.

Patience has come to mind many times as I rotate my right hand clockwise for a few minutes and then switch to the left. Sometimes saying 'wax on, wax off' but mostly just rocking out to my Ipod and sanding with the grain. When Kjersti and I concocted this plan to spend the summer in Alaska it was the second week or so of January. We've had mile markers on the way such as celebrating life at Mt Baker, cruising in our 'home' through Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, working on the Alaskan Song together and reuniting for a final 'good bye for now' with each one requiring me to be patient for it's arrival. Now I find myself patiently waiting for the day we leave Bellingham, the day the sanding is done, the day I get to see Kjersti, the day I see a humpback whale breach off the bow, the day I see a brown bear lurking along the beach.

Don't get me wrong though, I think about more than just being patient for the next day but I'll spare you all of those details. I'm pretty lucky to be having the experience I'm having and the days that seem tough are the days that will make those days I'm patiently awaiting much more wonderful.

Be patient and I'll have something I'm more excited to write about and some sweet pictures in the weeks to come. For now here are a few pictures from our trip to Port Angeles where we hauled out the Alaskan Song and some other pictures from around the marina here in Bellingham.

Looking toward Orcas Island and Lummi Island from the aft deck of the Alaskan Song.

Port Angeles, WA. This is where we moored for the evening before being hauled out for some bottom painting and more.

Sighting the Olympic Mountains as we cruise through the San Juan Islands toward Port Angeles.

Mt Baker in our wake.


Just in case. From Wikipedia; Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.

I wanted also to add that I heard from Kjersti who had reached Ketchikan, AK. I bet she's excited as she gets closer and closer to being home again home again....