Acrux Log
July 3-July 15, 2004
Ketchikan to Sitka; 405 nautical
mile
(1030 miles from
Seattle)
by Frankie
Previous logbook: Seattle
to Ketchikan
Saturday, July 3. Ketchikan to Ratz Harbor. 48nm.
It was 1030 when we pulled out of Ketchikan. Ray returned the
movie and got a few douhnuts while I washed the boat and filled
water
jugs. We all walked to the harbormaster office to pay the bill so we
could get a little exercise. Spent the night in a cove named Ratz
Harbor, which Ray stayed in last summer on the way down.
Sunday, July 4. Ratz
Harbor
to Wrangel. 44nm.
Sailed out of harbor this morning. Managed to sail all morning
before
the wind quit so we had to turn on the engine. Decided to go to
Wrangel
and see the fireworks. Nice little town. The harbor was crowded. We
had
to raft to 2 other boats. The fireworks started at 11pm or so at the
head of the harbor off the dock. They were large and very loud
echoed
off the mountains. Several boats honked at the end. It was 1/2 hour
show. Richie went to bed saying "boom, boom, boom, horn, horn". We
met
a nice family on the Freya (yellow sailboat parked ahead of us).
They
had an extra half pack of hot dogs which they gave us. We had them
mixed with maceroni and cheese for dinner.
Monday, July 5. Wrangel to Petersburg. 39nm.
Left Wrangel at 630am to get the tide into the Wrangel Narrows. We
arrived and anchord at Dona's house outside of Petersburg at 1pm.
She
came over in her boat. We had a light lunch then she took me out for
a
kayak lesson. A rain shower came up while we were out, making waves
adn
a few whitecaps. We were both soaked when we got back . Went up to
her
garden after it quit raining to pick greens and peas while Ray
canoed
back to our boat for diapers and shampoo. Then we all went to pick
huckleberries, after which I took a shower and gave Richie a bath.
Dona's husband and brother came back while we were picking berries
and
we all had dinner.
We planned to stay anchored all night in front of their house.
Unfortunatly the wind came up and 230am saw us on the other side of
the
Narrows. It was raining and windy. We got dressed, up anchored and
motored to the harbor in Petersburg where we were met by the
harbormaster. We tied to the end slip and went back to bed at 4am.
Tuesday, July 6. Petersburg.
The weather forecast was rain and wind so we stayed in Petersburg.
Dona
came over and drove us around town to run errands- groceries,
hardware
store for calk and fish licenses, bought Richie and rain coat at a
thrift store for 25¢. We had lunch at the boat then took a long
nap. Dona's husband came and picked us up in their boat. He was
later
than expeced because they took a long nap too. Had dinner with then
at
their house and stayed until 10pm.
Wednesday, July 7. Petersburg to Holkham Bay. 72nm.
Ray got up early, paid the harbor bill then we went and bought fuel
(36.6 gals). Frankie felt file she was getting sick so spent most of
the day in bed. She made salmon salad for dinner from the can
of
smoked king salmon and fresh mixed greens Dona gave us. Yum! Motored
most of the day. Anchored in a pretty spot- mountains, glaciers,
waterfall, fireweed on the beach. We could hear lots of birds and
even
whales.
Thursday, July 8. Arrive in Juneau. 34nm.
Sunny and cool with calm winds and a bit hazy. We slept in until 8
then
lazied around in bed for another hour playing with Richie. It was
pretty cool (50 degrees) on board due to the ice floating around
from
the glaciers. Breakfast was oatmeal with the fresh huckleberries
mixed
in. Motored up Stephens Passage seeing whales and small iceburgs, on
was covered in birds. Arrived in Juneau early evening. We didn't
thing
we could fit under the bridge so we tied up in Douglass Harbor. Went
for a short walk, called our parents then had dinner before
going
to bed.
Friday, July 9. Juneau.
Peter J. came over this morning to discuss business and visit around
1130. He gave us a ride into town. We walked around the downtown
tourist area then had lunch at McDonalds. We had fudge from a shop-
yum. Then we walked tot he harbormater office to register. Frankie
got
a book from their trade case then we took the city bus back to the
boat
harbor ad relaxed all evening.
Saturday, July 10. Juneau.
Cleanied up the boat after breakfast. Chris arrived a bit after noon
and we took him sailing for 3 hours. When we got back we alled Mike
and
Barb. We took a bus into town to the state museum. After looking
around
the museum, we called Mike and Barb again and they picked us up. We
all
went out for a nice fish dinner. After dinner we went for a
drive. We saw a guy on a surfboard being pulled by a kite, then went
to
the glacier and to Mike and Barb's boat where we checked e-mail and
had
a nice visit.
Sunday, July 11. Juneau.
I went downtown to do laundry while Ray stayed with Richie on the
boat.
I was going to take the bus but a guy offered me a ride when I got
to
the top of the ramp. When the laundry was almost done, Barb came in
the
laundrymat. She wanted to wash their boat cover. The large washers
were
all full so she gave me a ride back to our boat.
Monday, July 12. Juneau to Tenaker Inlet. 74nm.
Ray got up early and we left Juneau. It was a nice, sunny day. We
thought about going to the hot springs but it was late and we were
tired.
Tuesday, July 13. Tenaker Inlet to Poison Cove. 60nm.
Another nice day until late afternoon when a headwind started
blowing.
Saw lots of ships today. We went by Angoon but didn't stop. The wind
was howling and lots of whitecaps toward evening. We went into a
pretty
spot called Poison Cove where the wind and water was calm even
though
it wasn't a very big cove. A fishing boat came in and stayed around
dark. We went about 55nm.
Wednesday, July 14. Poison Cove to Sitka. 34nm.
Continued up Peril Strait despite having no real chart, although we
did
have a Pilot book and the AK atlas. There were several large ships
going through the narrows with us. We arrived in Sitka late
afternoon.
The Pilot book said transient moorage was in the south harbor. This
ment going under a bridge. We weren't totally sure of our height.
The
indicator on the bridge said 55 feet clearance. We approached very
slowly. Looking up you really can't tell if you have enough room to
fit
under when you are as close as we were. Luckily there was a man
repairing the underside of the bridge who notice our predicament. He
yelled (over from above us) we were ok with around 5 feet clearance.
This meant we are 51 feet above water to fit safely. Unfortunatly
the
Pilot book was wrong, the north harbor has transient moorage, so
back
under the bridge we went. At least we now know what our height is.
We tied behind a big research boat. Still they were only 3-5 feet
wider
than us! The Freya was already there so we chatted for a little
while.
Then we walked to the harbormaster office to check in and got some
yummy hamburgers down the street. It was too late to do any
sightseeigntg so we went to the maring store and bought charts
before
going back to relax on the boat.
Thursday, July 15. Sitka.
We did a lot of walking today. Started by straightening the boat and
putting the bedding outside to air before we headed into town to
sightsee. We wandered around the totem park. Richie ran around the
grass at the fort site. Then we went to the Raptor Center and saw
eagles and other birds there. We walked along the highway until we
came
to a path through the wooks, which we took. It came out above the
college. We walked most of the way though town before deciding to
have
a late lunch at Subway. Then back to the maring store for electrical
parts. On the way we went into a bookstore (Richie's idea) and
bought
charts that the marine store didn't have.
It was a hot day and warm evening. Lots of people were out on their
boats talking. We saw an untralight land so we got in the dinghy and
rowed over for a closer look after talking to several people in the
harbor.
Next logbook: Sitka to
Seward
________________________________________________________________________________
© by Frances J. Collins
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