4/1-4
Hi All,
In the previous post I did not complete the seal mating dance description…..lasted for both days at Stag Bay….wow, such stamina if it was the same seals:))) Kathy wonders if they may be Largha seals…..10 month gestation, birth in January so mating in April seems about right, but they don’t often come this far south, so maybe they were just harbor seals practicing! :)) In any event, it was quite a display and impressive for sure!
Pelican: Wow….what a cute small fishing town. The weather continued to be sunny and warm and we had a delightful time walking the “boardwalk” around the small town. A few things we discovered:
– there are no pelicans in Pelican….in fact none in Alaska at all. The town was founded in the 1930’s by a fisherman named Kalle Raatikainen, who named the town after his boat FV Pelican. He was tired of taking his fish to Sitka so started this town with a cold storage and cannery Plant….who knew!!!
– there are still 2 fish processing plants operating in the summer for salmon and black cod….we saw several workers getting the Plants ready!!
– there are 40-60 permanent residents…we heard both figures…..most are retired fishermen….not sure how large the town becomes in the summer when several lodges are open as well as the processing plants…but must be several hundred!!
– the town is built on the shoreline and has a boardwalk people use with ATV’s to get around. Workers had worked all winter to replace many of the boards…..thick 4″ x 18″ wide planks!!!
– the infamous fishing bar called Rosie’s, run by a woman named Rose for over 40 years has closed…..Rose sold it a year ago and is now living in the Pioneer home in Sitka. Supposedly the new owners are renovating and it will open again this summer!!
– there is free wifi at the library for 2 hours/day. I was able to pay our taxes online as well as order some new binocs for Mark to deliver in May….plus other online banking needs. Kathy got all her emails, did a quick FB check and checked the news headlines….she was depressed for days after reading the news….ugh!!! We also got some new pics of Kennedy and Roxy….David/Dana’s kids!!!
– there is a small marina with a transient dock we could use…..$33/night, 50amp power $26/day….we passed on the power….batteries still in good shape!!
The highlight was meeting Victo and Karen…..he is Norwegian she is a native Aleut….she was born in Unalaska (Dutch Harbor). He fished the Aleutians for over 30 years and they have “retired” now in Pelican and own/run the only cafe open in town….the Lisianski Inlet Cafe….we had 2 meals….lunch was a good old fashioned cheeseburger and for breakfast I had the biscuit & gravy dish with Jimmy Dean sausage…ODG, I was in heaven:)))) Karen regaled us with lots of stories growing up in Unalaska….her mom was 13 when it was bombed in WWII….stayed in a bunker for 3 days…..plus stories of the horrible treatment by our government of the Aleuts after the war….the government has since apologized….we saw all of that when we were there in Dutch Harbor, especially at the museum and on our tour!!. We also talked about the otters eating up all the crab….Karen’s cousin out of Hoonah is allowed to hunt….he caught >150 last year….he sells the pelts and Karen usually makes
various items but not this year….she had a knee replaced and is still recovering!!!
Another highlight was talking with several workers at the Plant. They had a nice 18′ tinny rigged out with all the various fishing gear. Three guys went out to the mouth of the Lisianski Strait….about 5 miles away and within a few hours landed 3 large halibut….one was +80-lbs….sweet as….even better when he cut off a large slab for us….Alaska hospitality he said!!!!
We left Pelican after one night at the dock for Soloma Flat, at the head of Lisianski Inlet, about 8 nm south of Pelican….wow o wow….DDG….just like Stag Bay which is about 5 miles west over a mountain ridge…..large salmon stream, huge meadow, all surrounded by snow cover 2-3k’ mountains……but no crabbing….must have seen 50+ otters and 10+ seals and too shallow for prawns. I discovered in Pelican there are many prawns out here, but close to 600′ deep….our line is only 400’….ugh!!!! We stayed for 2 nights!!! Critters: same – lots of colorful ducks/birds, a few deer, seals, otters, no bears, wolves, moose et al. We did see 2 river otters come out of the forest and walk to the water/shoreline….at first thought were minks but after careful research they were river otters…don’t think we have ever seen one out of the water but they were surprisingly agile and quick….cool!!!
We left Soloma Flat for the small town of Elfin on Thursday, April 4 around 9am for a 27nm run north along Lisianski Strait and then a few miles on the south side of Cross Sound. Wow….what a contrast to Pelican….Elfin is one lodge after another with a pretty small harbor…..as Karen of Pelican told us….Elfin went to the dark side….its people sold out to the tourists/lodges. All the lodge people overwinter in Juneau and will start to show up in the next few weeks to get things ready for the summer herd!! We did talk with one person…..supposedly there are 4 people that overwinter…..caretakers we think. We did walk along the boardwalk and we could see in summer with all the lodges, general store, museum, cafe and bar open this might be a charming place to visit for a night or so.
We met Dave Nagel on mv Dave Ellis…..they own a Diesel Duck and had spent considerable time in SE Asia…..Dave knew some of the same cruisers we met in the Philippines that owned Diesel Ducks….what a small world!! They came across from Japan to Alaska in 2009 and for the past 10 seasons have been cruising between Seattle and SE Aalska. They have taken up seasonal jobs here in Elfin and arrived a few days ago…he said they increased the population from 4 to 6 people…LOL!!!
Weather: Arghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! We have become so spoiled between last fall and the last 2 weeks…..sunny, warm/cool….just perfect weather to display this spectacular scenery!!! Well….that has changed….a big LO (970mbar) is coming through…..now it’s cold, cloudy, rainy and at times windy, probably for the next 3-5 days…..ugh, ugh!!!! We did our walk in Elfin in wind/rain as well as had our discussion with Dave in the rain….yep, the Alaska we knew in 2006 is back!!!!
The Plan: We will leave tomorrow for Dundas inlet, maybe 20nm….just west of Glacier Bay….have to go across Cross Sound and navigate the Inian currents….can run up to 5-8 kts so want to time for slack. After 2 nights we will venture again to the Inian current and enter Glacier Bay. We will try and time our glacier runs when we have some sun so it will get a bit tricky and we might get shut/clouded out from seeing the 12-14k+ mountains….we shall see!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
Elfin Cove Alaska
Position: 57 50’59.20 N, 136 02’56.74 W
Course: Stopped.
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