May 14-19
Hi All,
Did they have fun or what!!!!
We did make Petersburg on Tuesday, May 14 around 2:00ish…..the passage was very calm, 53nm, left about 7am and had a foul ebb current most of the way….but no whales….disappointing!!
Kathy hails the Harbormaster, Glo tells us we are in North harbor and we make it to our slip….Mark & Roseanne and Carl and Melody are all there to greet us…..let the games begin….BUT….right across the dock is a fishing boat where they are grinding and welding….we know immediately we will be coated with fine metal pieces that will rust and be horrible to remove…in fact, the Captain comes over and says, I don’t think you want to stay there, this is a working harbor and we will be grinding and welding for days and you will get coated making a mess of your fiberglass….I’ve already called the Harbormaster and told her…wow, thanks for being so considerate. So, I call Glo back, yep….sorry about that….try another slip…so we untie, and move to the new slip only to find a boat there…..ODG, sorry, they were supposed to be gone….ok, let’s try South Harbor….ok, we go 0.5nm to the South Harbor….wide open double slip…but I get confused and go to the wrong sid
e….so, once again I move out of the slip, turnaround and finally after 4 attempts we get tied up to the slip…whoa!!!
For the next 2 days we have lots of time catching up with Mark & Roseanne, find out there are not many restaurants open but attend a political rally as there is beer, wine and food for dinner, happy hour on Koinonia and Ellipsis (Carl and Melody’s Selene 60)…..and we do lots of projects/cleaning to get ready for Craig & Jeanette….wash the boat, clean and vacuum inside, provision…..
The other reason to all meet in Petersburg was for 4 days….actually most of the events were on 2 days…..Friday & Saturday….was a May Festival….advertised as “Little Norway”….basically Vikings meet Mardi Gras…..well, it was actually pretty tame, as in the beer and food tents all closed by 6pm….more of a local family small town festval….some people dressed in Viking fur costumes or traditional Norwegian attire, small town parade, Roller Derby match between Sitka and Petersburg on a flat track in the high school gym, all you can eat shrimp feast, strongman competition, halibut cleaning, fire truck pull, lots of kids games, many craft booths….well, you get the vibe….very fun!!!!
Boat Stuff:
Radar: yea….we have a working CR52 Sinmrad radar…..we picked up the parts that had arrived at the Harbormaster’s office the previous week from Vince in Florida, we installed the display and I climbed the mast to install the transceiver with the new magnetron….and voila….we have a working radar…sweet as!!!
GE Refrigerator: well….has not magically fixed itself….so every 7-10 days we open it up and defrost the evaporator drain tube….30-45 min job with a heat gun melting the ice…..arghhhhh. I did find on Amazon some defrost drain tube heat wire, ordered and express shipped and…..thanks to lousy UPS…..the package got hung up in Anchorage. We are not sure when it will arrive….now 6 days since I ordered….hopefully Mark can pick it up before he leaves on the 24th.
Storm Windows: Craig and Jeanette helped us remove, clean, wrap in brown paper and store in the lazarette all 6 of the Salon storm windows we had installed last year in Russia in preparation for the Bering Sea. We had left them on all winter as they also provided good insulation. Sounds simple but it was a 3 hour job with lots of lifting…later that day we went to the Harbor Bar for their very special Bloody Mary’s for medicinal purposes:))))
The Plan: We will cruise for the next 10 days or so north through Frederick and Stephens Passage with Craig & Jeanette. We will arrive in Juneau, probably Auke Bay, on May 30th. Wayne & Sharon arrive on June 3!!!
Critter Stats:
Dungeness crab: 25 total;
Prawns: 6 Spotted;
Whales: 52 total; 44 Humpbacks; 8 Orcas;
Salmon: 0
Bears: 17 Browns;
Wolves: 5
Otters: 700+, ~50% with pups; note…have not seen any since Glacier Bay….curious
Mountain Goats: total 42
Dall’s Sheep: 3
Moose: 3
Alaskan Husky sled dogs: 60
Stellar Sea Lions: 452; 2 more really large ones in the harbor, watched many times catching and eating Dolly Vardin fish…quite a sight!!
Hope all is well!!
Cheers,
John
Mystic Moon
Position: 56 59’26.30 N, 133 00’15.71 W
Course: Stopped.
Position: 19-05-21 10:46:52 -0800
http://maps.google.com/maps?&ll=56.99064,-133.0044&q=56.99064,-133.0044&z=16
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