Captain’s Log: Hoonah and a Slip in Sitka

Sept 20-21

Hi All,

YES…..WE HAVE A SLIP IN SITKA!!!!! OH WHAT A RELIEF!!!!

When we arrived in Hoonah, Kathy called the Sitka Harbormaster and they gave us the good news….happy dance all around Mystic!!!!

We arrived in Hoonah around 1pm….24nm….trawler conditions!!! They had a spot on the transient dock with power….sweet as!!!! Tied to dock, connected to shorepower, passage beers opened all by 1:30pm!!!!

“Hoonah is a Tlingit community located on the northeast shore of Chichagof Island, 48 nautical miles from Juneau. The largest Tlingit village in Alaska, Hoonah was settled by Huna Indians, who relocated from Glacier Bay due to glacial advance. The Northwest Trading Company built the first store in Hoonah in 1880. In 1912, the Hoonah Packing Company built a large cannery one mile north of town, which is currently the site of a private cruise ship port called Icy Strait Point. Hoonah means “where the north wind doesn’t blow;” although, it’s commonly referred to as the “village by the cliff.”

Some Hoonah tidbits we learned:

* There are about 750 people here in Hoonah…..almost all Tlingit descendants….the larges group in all of Alaska. Most people have seasonal work….either fishing, working for the cruise lines or canneries, and then many are on “unemployment” during the winter months!! It reminded me of Sand Point in that regard!!

* Only 2 restaurants are open in the City….one is a lodge and out of town a ways and the other is just a small cafe, which we did eat at twice. Only 1 bar….closes sometimes after December.

*About 150 cruise ships come to Icy Point….about 1 mile north of town. They have built their own complex and seem to discourage the tourists from coming into town. But, some of the smaller cruise ships do promote the town and there are just a few shops around. The locals seemed to like the cruise ship business and were very friendly to us!!

* We met two local totem pole carvers. They have done many 10-30′ poles and did the artwork at the Tlingit Center in Glacier Bay. We had a really good talk/explanation of their current work…..a 22′ red cedar pole describing the history of the Huna Tlingit people…..fascinating!!!

* The salmon season has been below average…..not good at the beginning but better late. The lack of rain this summer has dried up many salmon streams as well as dried up the berry fields. The bears are really suffering as well as the fisherman. In fact, in the past week, the City has had to shoot 6 Brown bears all coming into the town looking for food….ugh!!!

* We met Trapper Trout who played himself on the Alaska show Bush People. Wow….who knew!!!! He is on a boat near ours and we met him on the dock. We actually did not know who he was but several other locals have filled us in on his celebrity status!!! He fishes during the summer and then traps during the winter. He has a tannery out of his boat and sells the pelts locally. He told us the Dungeness crab population is being decimated by the growing sea otter population. Evidently a petition is now in front of the government to allow limited hunting of sea otters to cull the population. Well….so that does help explain our lack of crab production…..arghhhh!!!!

The Plan: We are leaving Hoonah on Saturday, the 22nd for Tenakee Springs on Chichagof Island, about 46nm. From there we will do another 46nm to the Baranof Hot Springs for a few days. Then it will be 1-3 anchorages in Peril Strait (the Strait that separates Chichagof and Baranof Islands) on our way back to Sitka either next Saturday or Sunday, the 29th or 30th and the end to our 2018 cruising season. Are we a bit sad….you bet, are we tired….absolutely!!!!

Hope all is well!!

John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO