June 14-17
Hi All,
Kiska is another beautiful Aleutian island….hilly, mostly in the 300-600′ elevation….one volcano in the north to 3500′ but we have not seen it due to all the clouds over the island. Mainly brown tundra, rocky shores with some green grass growing. No geese as we saw in Attu, but many ducks, seagulls, one juvenile bald eagle, several adult bald eagles, 3-4 otters playing around the Japanese shipwreck and several in other kelp patches, and a few sea lions playing in the plentiful kelp patches. We have actually had bright sunshine for the first 2 days and hazy sunshine the rest…..lovely…but clouds hanging onto the mountain tops!!
We are anchored 300 yards from a Japanese Navy ship wreck….supposedly it was a supply ship which the US Air Force bombed in June 1942. We are unsure if it was bombed here or made it to this cove after being bombed.
Thursday, June 14: We did arrive at the anchorage about 8am…..yea!!!! After the celebratory BM I hooked up the fishing gear with a piece of sausage from the red beans and rice we had on passage and I barely got the hook in the water and bam…..a nice black cod I thought….turned out to be a Sculpin, drats….still good enough for crab bait so hooked up the crab trap and set across the Cove in about 55′ of water. Then a long summer nap….none of us had slept well on that last passage so a good nap was in order!!!!
We then went on a nice beach walk….discovered a rotting baby whale….phew did it stink…. but it was very brisk/cold…blowing 15-20kts and air temp in the high 40’s….and SUNNY….ODG….sidebar, we are getting the best solar energy ever…..sweet!!! We saw some potential hikes and other beaches but as we were all a bit tired we decided to do those in the next few days. Mark and I checked the crab trap after 6 hours and again nothing…..we reset closer to the boat in about 25-30’….we shall see!!!
So, we settled for burgers on the grill and a Star Trek Movie….Into the Darkness…..and John-boy was in bed rather early…..Kathy is still staying up to midnight as it is still daylight then!!! Daylight now 6:30amish to 1:00amish….about 5 hours of darkness!!!
Friday June 15 4pm AKDT: Can you say WIND, WIND, and more WIND…..holy WIND Batman!!!! I am in the PH as I write this and it is blowing 25-35G40kts in the anchorage…..wow…..but we are safe and sound in spite of the 2-3′ waves in this anchorage….all built in about 700 yards fetch…..impressive indeed!!
I tried to go fishing earlier this morning…..was going for Halibut or lingcod. I rigged up the halibut rig and by the time I got in the dinghy it was blowing 25-30kts…..ODG….I first went to the crab pot and got hammered with waves splashing me and the dinghy….after several attempts I managed to catch the buoy and raised the crab pot, expectations high with bountiful crabs, to only be DISAPPOINTED AGAIN…..nothing, nada, zilch…..only another 2 pound Sculpin fish…..which our book says in not good eating, in fact the eggs are toxic to humans……arghhhhhhh!!!!!
So….a very relaxing day….R&R/snow day….not doing too much…sleeping and reading….still reading Michener’s Alaska!!
Interesting Fact: On our passage from Attu to here (Kiska) we went by the Island of Shemya…a rather large military base about 35nm from Attu…..we stayed about 8nm off as we had heard the military is doing Star Wars “research” and not friendly to cruisers…..at one point in the 60’s there were >2000 people on the island….we are unsure how many today???
The Russian vessel “Saint Peter and Paul” wrecked at Shemya in 1762. Most of
the crew survived. Mystic Moon passed the island in 2018…..3 survivors:)))
On June 3, 1942, Japanese forces attacked U.S. Army and Navy Forces at
Dutch Harbor, in Alaska’s Aleutian Island chain. Four days later, the
Japanese landed on Attu and Kiska islands, on the western end of the
Aleutian chain. The Aleutian Islanders, known as Aleuts, living on Attu
were taken to an internment camp on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. In
response, the U.S. forced Aleut villagers on other islands to evacuate to
southeast Alaska. Attu was recaptured by U.S. forces in May 1943.
By late May, U.S. forces began constructing an airfield on Shemya to
support B-29 bombers for raids on northern Japan. The B-29s never came to
Shemya, rather, B-24s flown by the 404th Squadron (Eleventh Air Force)
operated from Shemya Air Station, raiding Paramushiro and the Kurile
Islands between 1943 and 1945. The remains of World War II batteries and
bunkers are still scattered across Shemya, as are foundation berms from
other shelters.
Soviet rocket tests to Kamchatka during the late 1950s increased
interest in Shemya as a location for monitoring missile tests from the far
northeastern Soviet Union. Old facilities were rehabilitated and new ones
constructed on the island, including a large detection radar (AN/FPS-17),
which went into operation in 1960. In 1961, an AN/FPS-80 tracking radar was
constructed nearby. These radars were closed in the 1970s when the Cobra
Dane phased array radar was built to monitor missile tests. Meanwhile,
Shemya was redesignated from an Air Force station to an Air Force base in
1968.
The 1980s also saw increased interest and many new projects on Shemya
Island. In 1986, the Army constructed Queen’s Match, a Star Wars missile
defense research facility, on the northeast side of the island. The future
holds still more activity for Shemya Island, as it is now
the proposed site for construction and operation of an X-band radar for the
National Missile Defense Program.
Saturday: Can you say FISH ON…..ODG…..it has been a long time since I have had so much fun fishing!!! The winds finally calmed to 15-20kts on Saturday so off I went….first set the crab pot with a fresh Pacific Cod….then a few hours CATCHING…..every cast….I was jigging in 30-60′ of water with fresh bait trying for halibut or lingcod…..caught something on every cast…..now that is FUN…..caught mainly black rockfish, some more Sculpins and Pacific Cod….one was >22 pounds….did you hear my hunter howl:))))) I only kept what we could eat and released all the rest….Kathy made fried fish, coleslaw and fried potatoes last night…..YUMMERS!!! Tonight is fresh cod stew:))))
Sunday: HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to all you Dads out there…..hope you have a good one!!!! Yes…..what is that ….hmmm…why that is silence….wow, no wind noise….ODG…..yep, winds now 5-10kts NNE….finally!!!! So we went beachcombing….. very nice indeed….sun came out and we were treated to some beautiful sites. Then went over to the wreck and watched the otters play…cute guys for sure. Then Mark and I went to pick up the crab trap after a 24+ hour soak….AND DISAPPOINTED AGAIN……whaaaaaaaa…..where are the crab….the fresh cut up fish was not even nibbled on:(((((
Boat Stuff:
PSS Seal: We have confirmed the main shaft PSS seal has a very slight leak. Both Mark and I agreed just to keep watching but neither of us are excited about working on it until we get closer to civilization!!!
Water Leaks: This is the year of toilets and water leaks I guess. So far, I have fixed the hot water tank T&P valve leak and the master toilet fresh water leak (had to work on it 2x…finally took off an old clip style hose clamp for a screw type….PITA to get off) But now, we have another mystery leak….this time water is around the forward sump….in the hallway….Mark and I searched but so far nothing….ugh….fortunately it is a very small leak whatever it is. And, for whatever reason, the fresh water pump stayed off for many days but now is coming on every 5-15 min….AGAIN….yep, we have a “leaky” gremlin having some fun with us:)))
The Plan: We are leaving Kiska for a 245nm overnight run to Sweepers Cove on Adak Island tomorrow, Monday, June 18. We hope to arrive mid to late Tuesday afternoon. These feisty and irritating easterly winds have finally abated after several weeks and we will have 10-20kt Westerly winds and 3-5′ NE backing to NW waves…..yep, the waves will be on the port beam so a bit rolly for us!!! Our friends on sv Spruce just had a very challenging passage with 9-15′ seas and >30kt winds….they are in Kanaga and waiting for much better conditions before moving to Sweepers Cove on Adak where we hope to rendezvous!!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
Kiska Aleutians Alaska
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