May 30 – June 3
Hi All,
Turnover time in Auke Bay. Kathy made her infamous fresh Crab Florentine eggs with Bloody Mary’s Friday morning before Craig & Jeanette left. In the meantime I started to wash Mystic. For the past 2-3 weeks the Spruce trees have exploded with yellow pollen and everything was coated with a yellow dust….our canvas had turned from black to yellow….yuck!!! It has rained off/on for the first 2 days in Auke Bay so we and the locals hope that will help rid the forests of this yellow pollen.
In the afternoon we collapsed….both got caught up on many emails, nap, a few easy cleanup activities, popcorn and a brainless movie and in bed early:))) But, we were both up early wired to get things done. Kathy did 10 loads of laundry over the 3-days….whoa….I think a record!!! We then started our errands….first to Costco where I also purchased a new prawn trap…..$70…..supposed to be the best….and got the bits for some new prawn bait….fish, herring and salmon eggs and special containers et al!!! We also went to a marine and plumbing store and Jerry’s seafood for more crab dip et al!!! Then on Sunday we went to Fred Meyers and Kathy stored and cleaned some more…kinda sucked as it was her birthday. But, we had gone into Juneau Sat night to have closing ceremonies with Craig & Jeanette and celebrated her birthday in style…..Duck Farts at the Red Dog Saloon followed by dinner at the Hangar!!!
Monday we picked up Wayne and Sharon at the airport mid-afternoon. We fist met W&S in La Paz Mex as they were interested in a Selene. Then we rejoined with them in the Bahamas and had a delightful 3+ months cruising those beautiful waters. We had opening ceremonies and dinner in downtown Juneau…let the games begin!!!
Boat Stuff: Thursday afternoon I tackled the stern thruster issue after a good docking in Auke Bay….I had to turn 90* in a very tight space and did so with just the bow thruster and some rudder action….no hits or errors but it would be better to have a stern thruster when we leave on Tuesday. The issue was a continuously chattering solenoid with no thruster action. In our case, you have to empty half the lazarette and then wiggle under the rudder table and work in about a 12″ high spot….like yoga on steroids for me:))) I did have a trouble shooting guide and I really thought is was a bad solenoid, which happened last time in 2010. My testing was inconclusive and as I was puzzling through this Mark comes by…listens to the solenoid and thinks maybe it could be a bad battery. So Craig and I empty the other side of the lazarette and I soon discover low voltage at the batteries….hmmm. I eventually found the Mastervolt charger setup to charge these stern thrusters not doi
ng so. I rearranged through the Pathmakers to charge via the Outback chargers. We gave the batteries a good 2-day charge and the good news is the thruster works fine to port but only for 2-secs going to starboard…..hmmm!!! I may have damaged the motor control relay or the solenoid but before I tear everything up again in the laz I will seek help from Side-Power. Fortunately the direction I need to undock in Auke Bay is port so we will be fine and will not need thrusters again until Sitka, in 3 weeks!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
Auke Bay Alaska
PS: I am way behind on posting pictures but I did manage to post a gallery on our cruise from Skagway to Petersburg and post a few videos of Dall’s porpoises and Orca whales…enjoy:
https://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Skagway-to-Petersburg,-May-2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TavL0_Ngmnw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICnv_BRH9Cw&feature=youtu.be
Position: 58 15’17.08 N, 134 54’21.53 W
Course: Stopped.
Position: 19-06-04 15:49:50 -0800
http://maps.google.com/maps?&ll=58.25474,-134.906&q=58.25474,-134.906&z=16
—