April 16-18
Hi All,
Saturday 4/16: woke up to more ice in Red Bluff….maybe 80% of cove covered….ugh. Outside temp is 29*F so right at seawater freezing….we think there is some fresh water from some of the streams/waterfalls somewhat on top of the saltwater not well mixed in yet so thus more ice.
Last night’s dinner of fresh prawns….from trap to mouth in 3 hours….K steamed them…..YUMMERS!!!!
We left ~8am, great Chatham Strait crossing….<10kts, <1’…..trawler weenie weather…..but no whales, only ~10+ otters:))) Arrived in Stedman Cove anchorage off Kupreanof Island…the book said best protected anchorage….didn’t like it, too narrow, shallow and at high tide had little protection….hmmmm. Went around the corner to Big Smile Bay….nice wide open anchorage….but somewhat non-descript. Anchor down, passage beers opened by 2:30pm!! But, by low tide, there was a huge mudflat…whoa….one of the largest we have seen….but alas no critters yet, just a lot of various ducks and 4-5 otters…..cute crab eating varmints that they are. Given said otters, we did not set any crab traps….as in why bother:)))
Sunday, 4/17: HAPPY EASTER everyone….when you are out and about, holidays just don’t seem too realistic…it’s not like you can run out for Easter brunch/service:)))
We waited until 12:15pm to leave….in all that huge mudflat we saw no critters…oweeeeeeee:((((
Guide Books…can they be trusted…..hmmmm: Since 2006 we read in a very popular quide book which will not be named since it is the holy bible for these parts, did not recommend Rocky Pass for boats >30′. That one phrase has influenced 1000 upon 1000 of boaters/cruisers including us. One of the Selene owners who we know and respect and actually stayed at his Inn in Los Osos a month or so ago, said he had met the author and asked why he made that recommendation, since said owner had successfully done Rocky Pass ~12 times…the said author said….well, it is so I would not be sued…..ODG…..really, that is the basis…..hmmmmm and arghhhhhh!!!
And….we did Rocky Pass with no issues….as they say in baseball…no hits, runs or errors…yea!!!! I will say that IMHO the guide book should say this Pass is for experienced Captains…it is narrow, shallow, fast w/the current, you MUST stay in the channel and your timing needs to be darn good at high tide. IOW….pay attention. We met a boat who for some reason got way off course…realized it and then made a straight line for us….we did a dead stop while this boat got itself back in the channel….hmmmmm!! At a +15′ high tide we saw 14′ in the channel, meaning it would be dry and thus only do this run at high tide!!
We made out anchorage, Totem Bay, another nondescript Bay, by 5:45pm, anchor down, passage beers open by 6pm….well for John, K went straight to the wine:)))
Fresh steamed Dungeness crab for dinner….another culinary orgasm:)))
Monday 4/18: Up and out by 8am….bright sunshine, 1-2′ windchop….all in our face…then bam, thumpity-thump rolling down the skeg……arghhhhhh…we hit a good size log…yikkers…..fortunately no damage that we can see….I was actually watching but with the sun, a dark log, wave chop, well, I just didn’t see it….ugh!!!
The wind started around 10-15kts but by the end of Summer Strait near the mouth of the Stikine River, it had grown to 20-30G35kts, dead ahead….waves 3-5’….ODG, we slowed to 1400 rpm, 6-7 kts and the ride was ok, lots of hobby horsing!!! The wind was out of the north, and we learned later, it will funnel down the Stikine River valley and accelerate…yep, that is what we got….and now we know!!!
We arrived at 1:00pm and tied up to the transient dock at Heritage Harbor. At 3pm the boatyard called and we have a 1pm haulout time….let the games begin!!
Boat stuff: Hmmmm…18 years later and not a thing wrong, it is time for the Exalto windshield wipers to need some TLC. First, a leak at the fitting in the PH ceiling for the water wash…will need a new PET fitting for that, 2nd: 1 of the 3 wipers runs continuously with no intermittent control….a call to Imtra yielded a few hours of work to verify that we have a control relay box issue. And of course, this model is discontinued necessitating buying a new control panel and relay box and associated wiring which makes this a BAJ…..as in big ass job:((((( We will just run the wipers this season as is and we now have a BAJ for this winter….ugh:((((
Critter Stats:
Whales: (4 Humpback)
Dungeness Crab: 2 (Red Bluff 2,
Prawns: 80 Spotted: (80 Red Bluff,
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
PS: Pictures on the website: http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/wp-content/gallery/sitka-to-wrangell-april-2022/IMG_2136.jpg
