June 22 – 29
Hi All,
As our friend Jeanette always says…..”did they have fun or what”. Darrell and I have known each other since 7th grade….yep, a long, long time…..one of my oldest friends….whoa!!!
We started opening ceremonies on Mystic, progressed to dinner at the Pub, and eventually made it back to Mystic…..it was a very long day of travel for them as Chicago is 3 hours ahead of Alaska!!!
It was Claudia’s first time on a boat and while one day the forecast was for 17′ waves on the outside of Chichagof Island, we did not have her experience anything close to that, as for the most part we stayed in protected waters:)))) Indeed we did have a winter-style storm for the first few days….rained maybe 2-3″ in 48 hours…..dark, low clouds, lots of mist and fog…..in fact we didn’t see much of the tall mountains for the first few days….but, then it slowly started to improve in the middle days and by the end of the trip it was bright sunshine….in fact, record temperatures were being set in SE Alaska….like 70’s to 90’s. So much warmth that the snow is melting too fast and many rivers are flooding….yikes!!!
D&C did bring us good luck with salmon fishing. The first day we went to Salisbury Sound and caught a 15-lb King salmon….ODG and yippee!!! Darrell fought the fish and John netted the guy and then we were all doing the happy dance!!! Fileted it and on the grill in a matter of hours…..culinary orgasm….cooked a big slab on an alder plank on the grill….yummers!! The next day Darrell had a big one on but…..well…I’ll let Darrell tell that story….it is now an over 50-lb King Salmon that got a way:))))
We also caught plenty of Dungeness crab for a huge crab feast as well. Other culinary orgasm dinners were Kathy’s crab bisque and sourdough grilled cheese sandwiches, crab/prawn risotto, BBQ ribs to break up the seafood dinners, and for closing ceremonies we had steak and salmon….YUMMERS….I doubt Kathy and I will eat much for the next week!!!
Anchorages were all in Salisbury Sound, Peril Strait and Chatham Strait (all inside calm waters): St John Baptist, Rodman, Kelp Bay, Baranof Warm Springs, Saook Bay and Kalinin.
We did go to the hot springs at Baranof Warm Springs…..the waterfall was hammering…..the most water coming down we have ever seen. We were fortunate to find a front spot on the dock so we had a perfect view of the waterfalls and dinner on the Flybridge!! The hot springs were hot but the bottle of champagne was the perfect drink to cool us off. And, we met up with the Grand Banks flotilla again…..all 6 boats….most of which soon joined us in the hot springs….got a bit crowded….ugh!!!
We did not see many bears which was very surprising….not sure where they all went??? But, we did see lots of whales the last few days in the calm conditions. In fact, on our way into Sitka on the 29th a pod of Orca surprised us and we were able to watch while they were leisurely surface feeding!!
The Plan: Our spring cruising season has come to an end. We leave on 7/6 to fly back to California and spend a few weeks with family and getting ready for our August African Safari. We hope to be back mid-Sept to do a 3-4 week fall cruise. In the meantime we will put Mystic to bed for a long summer rest: clean inside/outside, repair the electrical battery switch for the inverters, have an insurance in-water boat survey done, several engine maintenance items, et al!!! We also will enjoy July 4th here in Sitka with a parade and other activities…..but, we just learned the fireworks on 7/3 have been postponed as the Canadian Border people are holding the fireworks at the border. There are quite a few stories about CBSA’s horrible treatment of USA people this year….arghhhhhh!!!!
Critter Stats:
Whales: 67, (19 Orcas, 44 Humpback, 4 Sei)
– 1 in Kakul passage
– 3 as we were leaving Kelp Bay
– 2 showings of 3 each as we were entering Peril Strait in Thatcher Pass
– 1 Orca surfaced right be Mystic as we were motoring at 8 knots in Peril Strait, seemed to be a bit
surprised, then passed us with fin up in a hurry
– a pod of Orca (~6)on our way into Sitka
Bears: 140 (128 Brown, 12 Black)
– just 3 bears, mom and 2 cubs in Kelp Bay
Wolves: 1 (big male Grey on the mud flat in Klu Bay)
Dungeness Crabs: 65 (5 in Manzanita, 0 Punchbowl, 8 Fitzgibbon, 11 in Yes Bay, limited 1st day, 2 in Klu, 3 in Marguerite, 0 Santa Anna; 0 Farragut, 8 West Gambier; 0 Snug, 6 Cannery Cove, 10 Kelp Bay(1 trap, limited 2nd day), 3 Hood Bay South Arm, 0 Sitkoh, 0 in Saook, 5 in Rodman, 0 Deep Bay, 4 St John Baptist)
Prawns: 240, (212 Spotted: 7 Punchbowl, 36 Fitzgibbon, 50 Shrimp Bay, 56 Marguerite, 48 Santa Anna; 12 Snug; 24 Kelp Bay, 3 Kelp Bay), 4 Coon Stripes, small size (Fitzgibbon)
Marten: 1 (1 Punchbowl)
Stellar Sea Lions: ~30, (20 in Sucia Bay, 10 on buoys out of Wrangell)
Sea Otters: 2 (2 in Salisbury Bay)
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
PS: Lots of pictures on the website:
http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/fun-times-with-darrell-claudia
