Captain’s Log: Bear Bay & Volcano Bay; Bears and Crab, oh my!!!!

July 5-10

Hi All,

We sadly left Dutch Harbor around noon on July 5th heading for Dora Harbor…..an overnighter, 135nm….have to time the Akutan pass….gee, let’s do some trolling for salmon for an hour or so on our way out of Dutch since we had been told some salmon were to be had….oh, ok….so I hooked up the salmon poll and downrigger….gee, how do you do this again….it has been >12 years….but eventually I got it sorted and fishing we went…..about 45 min later the pole starts dancing….fish on….such a sweet shout….I grab the pole and start to reel….and notice the line has not jerked off the downrigger line….then SNAP/BANG…..the SS downrigger cable breaks at the boat…..whaaaaaaaa….I watch in horror as the fish line starts to play out and then snap….fortunately the line eventually jerked off the downrigger line so we saved the salmon flasher/lure but lost the downrigger cable and weight….ugh….upon further inspection the SS cable had many corrosion spots….so much for our salt free storage cabinet….ugh, ugh, ugh:(((( Good news is we have spare SS cable so after re-rigging we are back in action but for another day!!!

The passage was pure trawler weather….the water was almost a mirror it was so calm….just a 2-3′ swell on aft strbd qtr. Later that evening John got to see a humpback whale tail slapping show….Kathy was asleep….first I counted 15 tail slaps, then down to breathe/blow, then up and 8 slaps….a little slower this time…then down/blow…then up and 3 slaps….then down, 2 blows…then up, big tail and 1 giant slap and he was gone….holy tail slap batman….what a sight!!!!

After all the grief/teasing Mark and Kathy gave me for never having a night/dark watch from Japan to Dutch….I had the dark time this time….2-6am watch, where 2-4 was sort of dark…there was always a slight glow in the northern horizon and then by 5am it was pre-dawn….sunrise is at 6:30am…..and, good to know, I hadn’t forgotten how to do it:)))

It turned out Dora Harbor was untenable….the winds and swell had turned southerly and were blowing right into the anchorage and the winds were forecast to increase to 10-15kts Friday night so we gave it a pass and went on to Bear Bay…..another 65nm…..arrived by 2:15pm…..lovely, anchor down, passage beers open, pole out, caught a sculpin, dinghy down, loaded crab trap and set in front of a stream…..all done in 1.5 hours….got the routine down….LIG!!!! Total was 194nm in trawler weather….sweet as!!!

And, we had more whales: I had just gone off watch at 6am….settled in for a bit of a nap….then I hear the engine throttled down….WTH….I jump up and yell what’s wrong….Kathy calmly says we are ok, just 2 Orcas going across our bow….I yelled for you but no answer so knew you would wake up to no engine….gee, thanks…..of course, I may need the heart paddles to restart my heart….dear:))))

Then around noon we had the best humpback show yet….7 very playful guys….feeding on the top, pretty close…then Kathy starts to yell but nothing comes out….I see a humpy surface maybe 50 yards off strbd bow….holy crapola…I managed to power down, throttle back and the guy just saunters in front of us like no problem lady, I got this…..we both changed our britches and continued on….adrenaline still flowing!!!

Whale count on passage: 10 humpbacks, 2 Orca
Total Whale Count since Japan: 70; 25 Humpbacks, 33 Orcas; 3 Sperms, 2 Blue, 4 Fin, 3 Unknown

Mystic Moon, Mystic Moon, Mystic Moon, this is Spruce, Spruce, Spruce on Ch 68 on the VHF….wow, we thought they were stopping in Kings Cove for fuel about 50nm behind us….not to be, they came in around 6pm and anchored near by….sweet as. Encouraged by all the salmon fishing talk in Dutch, Andy bought a new fishing pole and reel so we said lets give it a go….we both used “divers” and we trolled out of the dinghy….yep….and troll we did…gee it’s a bit cold…lets break for lunch…ok, a little lunch, hot chocolate and a power nap and ready for round 2….this time armed with a portable gps we kept the speed to 1.5-2kts….my boat paddle speed indicator is not working…JOMTTF…..and, nada….except Andy caught a pollack…..and drum roll please, I caught another STAR FISH….yep, trolling….oweeeeeee….that is really low, just low…..but, hmmm, maybe that is what all the gill netters we saw coming in are fishing for….pollack…..a lady in Dutch said that is what the processing plants are doing now….maybe the salmon are not here yet…..don’t know but we gave it our best try but no go!!!

AND, just to let me know ALASKA is the boss….I tried 3 locations for the crab pot….2 more star fish and a gazillion little turbine shell fish…..oweeeee….we collect these shells on the beach and they were eating them in Japan….neither Spruce or us however care for them….never caught these before….arghhhhhhh!!!!!

But, Andy and I did have our first grizzly bear show….a mom and 2 juveniles….wow…are they impressive animals….we watched from the dinghy for about 5 min as they looked for food along the shoreline….maybe 100 yards away….but, they kept looking at us…..close enough boys, don’t make me swim out to you….gulp!!!!

Sunday morning we moved 4nm to to the top of Volcano Bay….we had seen the mountains some as we came in….Pavlof volcano is near by at ~5000′ and several more in the 3-4,000′ range….however they were all covered in clouds as the storm has started….we are well protected but the wind is blowing hard….30-35ktsG50….maybe 1-2′ chop….yikes…..no playing today but as we dropped anchor we did have a 3 bear show as they foraged for food…..all individual big males….yep, they looked very hungry!!! Got the routine down….dropped the fish line, sculpin first try, load crab trap, set in front of a stream in 30′ sand bottom, fingers crossed….back to Mystic and BM’s…all w/in an hour…..LIGI!!!!

Tuesday, June 10: We HAVE CRAB FINALLY!!!!! At one point after many more tries Kathy said, maybe Dungeness crab do not like fresh sculpin fish as bait….if we don’t care for it why should they….ok, used some Pacific cod we had frozen and reset the pot….and bam….21 crab over 2 days….most over 7″, legal is 6.5″….ODG…..we ate crab for breakfast and dinner….Yummers, is that GOOD or what….who knew they did not like the sculpin fish!!!!

Bears: We had 22 grizzly bear sightings since being in this area for 5 days….none all that close and personal TG….most from Mystic in binoculars and a few from the dinghy. The best show is the grizzlies looking for salmon in the several streams….haven’t found any yet….but they kept trying….they stand up and look around….wow….are these guys big. Some are well fed, some are young males still filling out and one stayed on the beach all day….she ate something for a few hours…we think she caught a gull but maybe a salmon….then drank some water, then took an all afternoon nap in the sun…LIG!!! We think she had a 1-2 year old cub/juvenile she was trying to get to leave her….she kept chasing him off….but he hung around….come on Mom I’m hungry and I can’t catch any salmon….then this huge male shows up….starts to chase the mom….ODG…..chases for 10 min….up into the grassy meadow….then they disappear and 10 min later she is back on the beach/stream looking for salmon….we see the male going up the meadow into the hills….yep, must be mating season:))))

Weather: Wow…..is it windy or what….for the last 3 days it has blown 0-25G35kts….ugh…..some calm moments but definitely a very windy location….the mountains are obviously creating some acceleration….ugh!!! On Tuesday the sun came out and we could see many of the mountains….stunning, absolutely gorgeous!!!

Salmon fishing…..tried for 2-days but nada…caught a pollack and juvenile trout something…threw both back….we shall press on!!

Another sailboat came in Monday afternoon….Sagata….a Kiwi boat we met in Dutch Harbor….we had them and their guests plus Spruce over for happy hour one night….good times swapping stories….they had a pretty good run from Japan to Adak….were able to successfully stay south of the LO’s and then made a dash north to Adak and made it just before a big blow!!!!

The Plan: Well…the beat goes on….we have sadly left the Volcano Bay area….5 days of some really good R&R….just what we needed and ready for the next 2 months. We are passaging today, Wed, June 11, to Sand Point….we will get fuel, some fishing supplies and hopefully tour the Trident fish processing plant!! We will celebrate Sue’s birthday and then on Friday the 13th…nope not going there….or Saturday the 14th we will do an overnighter to Kodiak Island….hope to make Seaflower Cove on the SW side…..about 240nm…..we will hopefully make 3-4 anchorages on Kodiak before going into Kodiak town itself!!

Hope all is well!!

John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO!!