Captain’s Log: Stunning Alpine and Three Saints Coves on Kodiak Island

June 17-20

Hi All,

We left Seaflower Cove around 9:30am for the 3 hour, 23nm run up Deadman Bay/Fiord….flat calm….did not even need the stabbies…..and when we got to the anchorage the sun broke out and we were treated to some marvelous scenery!! Anchor down, dinghy down, passage beers open, crab pot set…..the routine!!!

But, some commercial crabber has a gazillion pots set already so obviously a great spot but wonder if it is not already crabbed out….arghhhhh!!! I eventually met the crabber…..he had one of the cabins….watched him pull up half his pots…..maybe 0-5 in each pot…he had >100 pots…..I talked with him a bit and he said he was doing ok, many soft shell crabs which he can’t keep….was going to anchor in front of his cabin for a few days until the big blow passed….hmmm, what big blow????

Alpine Cove is absolutely stunning! We are literally encircled by alpine, snow-covered peaks, with bright green hillsides rushing down to the blue sparkling water. And there are actually some trees on the hills! Wow! We haven’t seen trees since Russia! We had to anchor in 70′ of water as the shore is very steep-to, but no worries — we have lots of chain to put out!

Tried salmon fishing again out of the dinghy with no joy…..whaaaaaaaa….but ate one of the king salmon fillets one night the fisherman gave us in Sand Point…..close to 3″ thick….did Mark’s trick with skin on…..grilled on skinless side for 5 min then flipped for another 18 min…..it was very tender and mostly flaked off but still a little pink near the center….there was so much we could just eat around the center so yummers…..I think that is by far the largest salmon fillet we have ever tried to cook!!!

There are 3 cabins in this very large bay….one is a fisherman with a big trawler that left the next day…never got a chance to talk with him. We did see 3 bears our first day…..all from a distance….after dinner/movie we looked and 2 bears were on the shore….it was about mid-tide…so we threw on our gear and raced out in the dinghy only for them to scamper off…..whaaaaaaaa. But, our first Kodiak Brown bears and they are huge….one sandy colored and one pretty dark!!! We had 9 more bear sightings the next day….one was a mama with 2 very young cubs….did they love life….scampering here and there, but not too far from mama. We saw many “blond” bears and one, very large male, dark brown but a light tan face….impressive. We did get in the dinghy before dinner and were treated to several showings, but again, very skittish even at 300 yards away!!

CAN YOU SAY DUNGENESS CRABS!!!! Wow, ever since changing to cod or better yet salmon bait we have lots of crab….3 more at Seaflower Bay and 10 more at Alpine Cove….we had fresh crab again for dinner….I think now 4 times and we still say YUMMERS!!! One night was salmon and crab linguine pasta….ODG we were in heaven!!

Three Saints Cove:
Well….what can I say….another Drop Dead Gorgeous Bay….wow, wow, wow…..it is actually on the other side of the mountains where we were in Alpine Cove….just took us all day to get here:)))!! We left Seaflower Cove at 6:30am….ugh…..did the 71nm run in 9 hours…..8 kt avg…..trawler like conditions….even in the open ocean for about 20nm!!! Saw only 1 whale….hmmm…..they do not seem to be on the south side of Kodiak Island???? But going through Geese Channel…pretty narrow, lots of turns….we met ~10 fisherman coming from Kodiak…..not sure but think maybe some salmon area got closed so they were moving over to Alitak….all played nice except for 2….cowboys….ugh….one calls us on the VHF after he squeezed me over to the reef w/about 100 yards to spare…..he had maybe 400 yards on his side….he was dead stoned….could hardly speak….who are you again…we are the white trawler you just passed….oh, right, we got kind of close….you think….yep, sorry about that….arghhhhhhh!!!!

But, what we did see were maybe a 1000+ seals….wow…..in about 10-15+ colonies….all laying on the beach over an 8+ mile stretch…..they must hunt in Geese Pass just south of Aliulik Peninsula and must wait for slack tide….we had a 2-3kt fair current when we went through. It was really, really good to see these guys as we have read where many seals/sea lions are dying for unknown reasons….we think it is due to being overfished!!

We woke up Friday to being completely socked in by fog, low clouds and a light rain…..now this is the Alaska we know and love….well, the sun part is ideal too….many great pics of the clouds on the mountains and fog on the Bay…..and still no bears….last night or today…..hmmm, seems like such an idyllic spot….even the best stream for the salmon we have seen so far…..but no salmon jumping so I guess either fished out over time or just not here yet?

Three Saints Bay is where the Russians first settled/traded in the 1700’s…..where they enslaved the native Aleuts….this was their first base of operation/government until Baranoff moved it to the current Kodiak town and then eventually to Sitka. We’ve seen a few seals, lots of black tailed Sitka deer, many ducks, eagles, terns, gulls et al

Oh wait…..noonish on Friday….we saw our 1st bear….at a meadow about a mile away….only saw it through the binocs….nothing on our beach/meadow near by…..whaaaaaaaa!!!

Whale count on passage: 1 total: 1 Hummpy
Total Whale Count since Japan: 78; 29 Humpbacks, 33 Orcas; 3 Sperms, 2 Blue, 8 Fin, 3 Unknown
Bear Count: 12 Alpine Cove; 1 Three Saints
Total Bear Count: 35; 22 Alaska Brown; 13 Kodiak Brown
Crab Count: 10 Alpine Cove; 0 Three Saints (did not use salmon but a P-cod head)
Total Dungeness Crab Count: 35

The Plan: We have made it to Kodiak town on Saturday July 21….wow, can’t believe we are here!!! And….drum roll please, we have Internet and Verizon Cell service….luv to write more but gotta go play w/the phone:))))

Hope all is well!!

John
Mystic Moon
Kodiak Alaska
GO MYSTIC GO!!!!