Captain’s Log: Completion of Ring of Fire/Pacific Ocean Circumnavigation

Sept 4

Hi All,

YES….WE DID IT!!!!! COMPLETED OUR RING OF FIRE/PACIFIC OCEAN CIRCUMNAVIGATION!!!!!

Yep…..me and Johnny Cash are breaking out in Song:)))))

We left Sitka on July 17, 2006…..only took us 4,432 days or 12.14 years:))))

Interesting Stats Pacific Ocean Navigation:

Total Miles: 49,665nm
Total Time: 12.14 years; 4,432 days
Total Countries Visited: 49; 42 with Mystic and 7 by air!!!
Total Engine Hours: 6,992; when we left Sitka we only had 561 ER
Total GEN Hours: 8,309; when we left Sitka we only had 617 GEN hours
Total Fuel Used: 42,201 gal

We arrived in Sitka at 12:45pm on Tuesday, Sept 4th…..backed into the slip easy peasy, plugged into shore power…worked the 1st time, passage beers open by 1:15pm….LIG!!!!

And we were properly welcomed into Sitka and SE Alaska…we were about 4nm from Cape Edgecumbe and we see a whale….a blue whale…..wow, 100 yards off our bow….huge and beautiful. We would then see 7 more Humpback whales over the next 20nm as we came into Sitka Harbor….one was doing the fin flap/dance….sweet as!!!

And, they had just opened a salmon session for gill netters in Sitka Sound and there must have been 50-75 boats out fishing. Talking to one fisherman he said they have had a good season in this area!!!

Our celebratory mood did get dampened somewhat by the situation here at the marina. It is a very convoluted system and demand is bigger than supply, but bottom line, we are on the waitlist (#12) and may not know until mid to late October if we have a slip or not…it could happen sooner but they just can’t commit or even give us odds….ugh!!!! They were pretty sure we can find a slip on the transient dock with power but those may not be the best spots to leave a boat over winter. We did walk the transient dock and it looked ok to us so we shall see!!

The Plan: We are planning to go back out and do some more cruising for the next 2-3 weeks as we wait for a slip. Now that we are on the waitlist it is ok to be gone from the harbor…..you just have to physically be here to get on the waitlist!! They will call/email when a slip becomes available and we can then come back. Or, if nothing becomes available then we will try our luck on the transient dock. Or, as backup, we have emails out to the marinas in Petersburg, Wrangell and Juneau, although those are not our first choices. Yep….John-boy is a bit frustrated as I have been working on this for over a year but nothing we could do until now that we are physically present….ugh….why so many rules…..this is the only marina in the world that has treated us like this…..arghhhhh!! So we are embracing our good friend Caz’s phrase…..things will work out in the end, and if they have not worked out, then it is not the end:))))

We are working on where to go cruising….so many choices up here….but, for sure we will go north and see Glacier Bay and then not sure after that. We are very excited about Glacier Bay after seeing the Northwestern Fiord on the Kenai Peninsula…..sv Companera described it to us as NW fiord on steroids….instead of one fiord to explore you have 5 different fiords/glaciers…it is one of their all time favorites!!! Stay tuned…..

Final Stats for PWS to Sitka Passage:

Position: 57 03.5N 135 12.2W
Traveled: 425nm; Arrived 12:45pm Tuesday, Sept 4, ~54 hours
Speed: Avg speed was 7.9 SOG; varied 7.3-9.0 kts; Day 1 a 0.3kt fair current, Day 2 about 0.1kt foul; overall the Alaskan Coastal Current behaved admirably; 1600-1675rpm
Weather: 100% sunny; air temp is 55-65*F, sea temp 59*F
Boat sightings: 6 total; then 50-75 fisherman in Sitka Sound
Hit something: Nothing; lots of kelp patches and only 2 logs….TG!!!!
Boat Slammings: ZERO!!!
Wildlife: Not many sightings….albatross, puffin, a few shearwaters and 2 basking sharks….very rare, then 8 whales approaching Sitka:)))
Fishing: Nope
Sail: down
Fuel burn: Overall 1.3nmpg….just as it should be!!

Whale count on passage: 8 total; 1 Blue, 7 Humpbacks
Total Whale Count since Japan: 101; 45 Humpbacks, 34 Orcas; 3 Sperms, 3 Blue, 11 Fin, 5 Unknown
Total Bear Count: 198: 132 Alaska Brown; 57 Kodiak Brown; 9 Black
Bear Count: 2 Jade Harbor, 5 Humpback cove, 1 Otter Cove, 1 Hoggs Head, 10 Silver Salmon Creek; 40+ by seaplane; 17 Kukak Bay, 43 Geographic Harbor, 44 Kitoi, 12 Alpine Cove, 1 Three Saints, 22 Volcano Bay
Crab Count: Not crabbing
Total Dungeness Crab Count: 35

Hope all is well!

John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO

View of Northwestern Fiord glaciers on Kenai Peninsula

Northwestern Fiord Glacier

A glacier calving from on top….see the water and ice cascading down the cliff

Our view from the Northwestern Fiord anchorage

Glacier martinis baby!!!

Mystic Moon at anchor in Humpback Cove, Whale Bay, Prince William Sound

Chenega Glacier as seen from our dinghy!!

View of Chugach Mountains in PWS

Columbia Glacier PWS

Mount Edgecumbe as we enter Sitka Sound