We left Ketchikan early Wednesday morning heading to Meyers Chuck, a little settlement about 35 miles north. On the way we had some pretty rough water where Behm Canal meets Clarence Strait, but after we completed crossing Behm, the water smoothed out. We entered Meyers Chuck early that afternoon and tied up to the free dock. Meyers Chuck is one of those small settlements where less than 10 people live here year round, but in the summer the population triples or more. We noticed a few more houses had been built since we where here 3 years ago. The dock is getting worn out, however, and looked to be deeper in the water.
MEYERS CHUCK POST OFFICE The next day we again left early in the morning (we try to leave early to avoid the high winds that usually occur in the afternoon) and headed to Wrangell via Zimovia Strait and after 50 some miles, arrived at the public dock. We walked around the town and found a place that sells the ‘Exploring SE Alaska’ cruising guide that I forgot to bring. A little late now, but it is good to have it for reference just in case. A $75 dollar mistake!
WRANGELL WATERFRONT On Friday, we headed for Petersburg which may be our last stop north before we head back. We didn’t leave until almost 1:00 PM because we had to time the current going though Wrangell Narrows which is a passage that has something like 60 navigation aids to keep traffic off the rocks. There are a number of dredged channels and lots of twists and turns that keeps the skipper very vigilant. This passage is used by all types of marine traffic including the 200+ foot Alaska ferries. In the past, I had to avoid one of these behemoths coming in the opposite direction, but this time we only encountered small fishing boats. If not timed right, the current can be up to 7 knots and if going against your direction, will stop your forward progress especially for a slow boat like ours.
We arrived in Petersburg around 6:30 PM yesterday and tied up in the public marina. We haven’t been here for 3 years and it appears the town is having a rough time. This is a working harbor with lots of fishing boats, but the docks are in a bad state of repair and a lot of boats look like they haven’t been seen by the owner in a number of years. The weather has been cloudy and cool but no rain. Where is summer?
PETERSBURG HARBOR
PETERSBURG FISHERMANS MEMORIALThere are several LARGE sea lions that fish in the harbor. It is amazing to see them swimming and eating right behind the fish boats. They have learned where the fish cleaning stations are and wait for scraps that get tossed in the water. The fishermen are complaining that they have trouble finding crabs and there are many bays that no longer have fish and prawns due to the increase in sea lions, otters and whales.
After much debate, we have decided to make this our last stop north and will start to head back home tomorrow. Mostly, we will retrace our route back with maybe a few different places on the way. The boats log says we have traveled 1108 nautical miles since starting the trip on May 31st. It sure doesn't seem that far.
After much debate, we have decided to make this our last stop north and will start to head back home tomorrow. Mostly, we will retrace our route back with maybe a few different places on the way. The boats log says we have traveled 1108 nautical miles since starting the trip on May 31st. It sure doesn't seem that far.
No comments:
Post a Comment