Aug 25-27
Hi All,
Yea we did it…..Prince William Sound….this has been on our bucket list from 12 years ago when we were first in SE Alaska….way out there in the open water….it seemed so daunting at the time….wow, just a very large sense of accomplishment….who knew this boy and gal from Kansas/Nebraska would be here some day!!!!
We reluctantly left Northwestern Fiord around 7am….crossed the moraine at slack around 8am….the passage was ok…..we thought it would be trawler like conditions but we had 10-15kts NE, right on the nose and a 2-4′ SW swell….off strbd aft qtr….so a little confused seas….the ride was ok but at one point I had to stop reading/writing emails….ugh!!! Passage was 71nm and the speed was awful….avg 6.8 kts…..seems the Alaskan Coastal Current is acting up….should be a foul 0.5kts but we had -0.5-1.7kt foul current most of the way…..does not bode well for our run to Sitka….ugh, ugh!!
It did rain quite a bit…..the coastal mountains were somewhat visible through the haze/mist/rain….whoa…looks like some big mountains….some over 8,000′. As we entered the Port of Bainbridge passage the clouds lifted a bit and the scene was iconic Alaska….forest covered mountains, all carved by glaciers, and a few glaciers here and there…..beautiful!!! We were going to anchor in Fox Farm on Erlington Island but there were 10-15 purse seiners on AIS and most likely many more around the south part of the island including our anchorage….we did see many fishing in Puget Bay…..so, we moved on to Hoggs Head in Hoggs Bay……another iconic anchorage…..stream at the end….lots of eagles, seals, otters and 1 black bear!!!
And drum roll please…we crossed over 60*North latitude….whoa….the furthest south Mystic has been was Auckland New Zealand at 37*S…..if we were at 60*S we’d only be 300nm from Antarctica at 65*S. We have now come 97* north or 5860nm since Auckland…whoa!!!
Sunday, Aug 26: We woke up in Hoggs Head with dismal weather…..dark, dense low clouds, mist on the mountains and rain/mist….ugh!!! So, since the gribs suggested it would be like this all day, we decided to move to Otter Cove in Bainbridge Pass….while we are missing the beautiful scenery we hope, per the forecast, that Mon-Thurs is somewhat clear and sunny and we want to be closer to the glaciers…..we shall see how it works out. As soon as we anchored we saw several seals hauled onto some rocks….one maybe was a Ringed Seal….wow, never seen one of those before….but the book says they live up north near the ice pack….she, as she had a pup with her, is a long way from the arctic so we think probably a Spotted seal although the markings are exactly like a Ringed….we kept looking at it and still could not tell if a Ringed or just a Spotted seal or maybe just a variation of a Harbor seal….hmmm!!!
It rained all day….sometimes hard….so we read, watched the nature show, read, watched et al….saw many otters some with playful pups, many seals some catching/eating salmon, a little salmon stream full of jumping/flopping/wiggling salmon trying to go upstream, a black bear who ate 9 salmon over 30 min….this guys was a large male….sort of rolly polly looking after the big, sometimes lean grizzlies we have been seeing….very healthy and fat…ready for winter!!!
Monday: We woke up and at least it had stopped raining but still very cloudy…but now could see the small mountains surrounding this cove….and another black bear…female…the stream was at low tide so it was easy pickings…this one was very picky…pick up a fish, discard, try another one….eventually found one she liked and ate some…then back for another….we think she was just searching for the females and eating mainly the eggs…..another good show for 30 min+. Since it wasn’t raining we dropped the dinghy and waited an hour or so after low tide to let the stream fill in a bit and then went out to explore….saw the seal and pup….ok, pretty sure it is a Harbor Seal NOW but wow….many otters….then the stream….ODG, like a killing field of dead salmon….the gulls were having a feast…..we definitely saw some Humpy salmon but the majority we thought were Steelhead….we looked at all the books and that is what we think but need to verify with a fisherman…
.hmmmm!!
Left Otter Cove around 11am and made it to Humpback Cove in Whale Bay around 12:30pm….10nm…yep, luv these short passages ….but where are the whales…..whaaaaaaaa…..we did see some herring balls but no whales…..bummer….but a big Black bear was on this wide open cove….ok, we can live with that!!
Phil & Leslie on sv Sagata were in the neighborhood and we have been staying in touch via messaging on the Iridium GO. They came over and we had a delightful HH on their boat….Kathy even made rotel dip….ODG…..good food, wine, scotch and people….fun times…..then as we were leaving their boat we saw a huge black bear around the stream….in all we saw 5 black bears on Monday!!
Tuesday: Yea….we have sun, finally after 3 days of dismal weather…..wow….gorgeous to see all the mountains and a few glaciers!!! With clear weather we will go around the next fiord to Icy Bay and see the Tiger and Chenaga glaciers….more on that later!!!
Whale count on passage: 1 total; 1 unknown
Total Whale Count since Japan: 93; 38 Humpbacks, 34 Orcas; 3 Sperms, 2 Blue, 11 Fin, 5 Unknown
Total Bear Count: 196: 132 Alaska Brown; 57 Kodiak Brown; 7 Black
Bear Count: 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….we are done crabbing until we reach SE Alaska I think!!!
The Plan: We might have a window to start our passage to Sitka across the Gulf of Alaska on Sept 2&3. Still too far out to be 100% but it is looking pretty good…..we shall see….so, only 4-6 days left in PWS!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO!!
