Ketchikan

Aside from enjoying the town, we are waiting for two packages to arrive. One is from Heather and containing some mail order medications and the other is parts for the boat.  Fred ordered new thruster propellers to replace the one that were broken off in Shearwater. He also ordered a new shower sump pump to replace the one that appears clogged and the shower water is therefore leaking into the bilge.  Fred is really tired off bailing soapy water out of the bilge every day.  The boat parts will not arrive until the 20th.

Foggy Bay to Ketchikan 3 hours, 35 miles

FUEL:  184 gallons @ $3.99/gallon
We left Foggy Bay at low tide.  Boy is this place rocky.  As we left the bay and entered Revillagigedo Channel we were met with four foot swells and fog.  We estimate about three mile visibility.  The swells fell to two to three feet and a following sea as we made our turn into Tongass Narrows. We saw the cruise ship, Golden Princess, appear out of the fog heading south.  Fred called US Customs and confirmed our arrival in Ketchikan.  He informed them that we were going to stop at Petro Marine to top off our fuel tanks before we docked.  They said to call from the fuel dock and someone would come to us there.  There were two boats on the fuel dock when we arrived.  We waited off the dock for one of the boats to leave.  We thought everything was cool when we got a hail on the radio from Ketchikan Coast Guard.  The fuel dock is next to the Coast Guard docks.  Fred answered and thought for sure we were in trouble.  However, they just wanted to let us know that the boat we were in front of would be leaving soon.  Fred laughed and told them he thought we were going to get in trouble and they answered back that the folks on their boat were looking at us with envy.  The Customs officer met us and came aboard.  She checked our passports, Nexus, boat documentation and Merlin’s vaccination record.  She was very nice and welcomed us to Alaska.  We are hoping to get a slip at the City Floats (Casey Moran).  We called the Harbor Master and he said that he thought is was full down there but that it is open moorage so go ahead and check it out.  If not that there was plenty of room at Bar Harbor.  We eased into this small marina that is located down at the city front of Ketchikan.  The entrance is between the cruise ship docks and it is a little intimidating passing under the bow of one of those ships.  We saw that friends of ours on Teddi Bear (Teddi & John Hozemer) were there.  We were very lucky to find the last slip available and it was big enough for us. With these wonderful communicators that came with the boat I was able to guide Fred back into the slip.  Here we are with downtown Ketchikan off our stern and a cruise ship off our bow.  I couldn’t wait to get off the boat and get some “retail therapy”.  http://www.city.ketchikan.ak.us/

Wednesday, July 13 Prince Rupert to Foggy Bay, Alaska 5 hours 58 miles

FUEL:  1400 liters = 370 gallons            ouch!

We were a little worried about getting onto the fuel dock since Prince Rupert is mainly a fishing town.  Those fishing boats are cut throat about getting fueled and getting out.  We got up at 6 am hoping to be on fuel dock before it opened at 7 am.  Well, there were three fishing boats on the dock by 6:30 am.  We had a slip at the marina that looks right out at the fuel dock.  We were off the dock and in line for fuel at 7:30am.  Fred did a great job of getting out of our slip, around the breakwater and onto the dock perfectly!  This place is very industrial.  Pleasure boats are by far the minority here.  The hoses are down on the dock but the controls for the pump are up on the dock on shore.  There is no one to assist with hoses or lines.  Fred filled the two tanks (each holds 300 gallons) and then had to go up to the main dock to pay.  It is a very low tide and the ramp he has to use is practically vertical.   We finally are on our way at 8:20 am.  There is a narrow winding channel heading north from the bay (Venn Passage).  We have taken it many times but Fred does not want to take our larger boat through at low tide.  We added about an hour to our trip out to Chatham Sound.  Fred called US Customs in Ketchikan at 9:20 am.  They wished us a good trip and said we didn’t have to check in again until we were one hour out of Ketchikan.  We had about one foot chop until we passed Dundas Island and headed out into Dixon Entrance.  This piece of water is open all the way to Japan.  We encountered three to five foot swells.  They can be very uncomfortable.  When Fred increased our RPM to 2200 we were almost up on a plane and had a much smoother ride.  Poor Merlin was a basket case.  He needed to be cuddled and when the boat jerked he shook all over.   We followed two sailboats into Foggy Bay.  It has a narrow entrance off of Revillagigedo Channel.  The anchorage is lovely and protected.  We anchored behind an island that gave us a view of the channel outside. 

Tuesday, July 12 Prince Rupert

Fog started the morning but it burned off to a sparkling clear day.  Fred was frustrated because the chandlery here did not have any of the things he needed.  We took Merlin for a walk and then Fred sat and read while Joan enjoyed a little retail therapy.  There are eagle nests in the trees here and we saw a few eagles but many fewer than in past years.  We enjoyed excellent halibut & chips at the pub next to the marina.  

COWpuccinos

cruise ship terminal without a cruise ship

art project

Monday, July 11 Klewnuggit Inlet to Prince Rupert 5 hours 58 miles

We saw a BC ferry, one tub & tow (barge) and a couple of fishing boats (not fishing) as we traveled the rest of the way in Grenville Channel up to Chatham Channel.  We called Prince Rupert Rowing & Yacht Club (PRR&YC).  I think they have members but will rent slips to non-members when available.  The told us they weren’t sure yet if there would be any room so we planned on anchoring in Pilllsbury Cove to wait. We cruised by the city front and checked out the fuel dock. There is only one in town and pleasure boats are way outnumbered by pleasure craft.  We were not comfortable fighting our way in with the fishing boats so went off to anchor.  There is pretty good wind and chop in the cove.  After dinner I noticed that our anchor had slipped.  I always place on mark (ý) on the chart plotter where the boat is when first anchored.  The good new is that we were not near any rocks, however, the anchor needs to be re-set if we are to stay here.  Fred called the PRR&YC to see how it looked for a slip tonight.  Jeff at the marina called at 7 pm to say our slip was ready.  We had a side-tie on the inside of the floating dock.  A really good spot.  After securing the boat we went off for a walk.   Most everything was closed but the weather was sunny and the walk felt very good.  On our way back to the boat we stopped and got a scoop of ice cream at Cowpuccinos.  This area of Prince Rupert is called Cow Bay and the cow motif is everywhere.  It is really cute. 

Sunday, July 10 Khutze Inlet to Klewnuggut Inlet 6 ½ hours 71 miles

We had enough crab to have a crab omelet this morning and I froze two more cups for later.  We have a long trip today in hazy sunshine.  The water was flat the whole way.  We traveled to Fraser Reach ® MaKay Reach ® Wright Sound ® Grenville Channel.  Grenville channel is a long, straight channel that leads to Prince Rupert.  This channel is used by the ferries, cruise ships, tugs & barges and the rest of us.  We have continued to be surprised by the lack of marine traffic.  We stopped for the night in a large inlet named Klewnuggit.  We traveled about five miles back into a lovely cove.  This inlet is about the halfway mark in Grenville channel. 

Saturday, July 9 Khutze Inlet

Early this morning this valley was shrouded in fog.  It was spectacular as it lifted and the bright sun came out.  Fred went and pulled one of the crab pots. We had luck.  There were five keepers but we are only allowed four a day so one got a reprieve.  Fred killed & cleaned them and we cooked the crab in a pot on a propane burner in the cockpit (no smell inside the boat!).  We had a nice tour of the inlet on the dinghy and had a crab salad for dinner.  

 

Emerald Star at the base of the falls

Friday, July 8 Tom Bay to Khutze Inlet 5 ½ hours 55 miles

We are heading into one of our favorite places, Fiordland.   We are surrounded by snow capped mountains and there are many spectacular waterfalls.  We were looking for a “spirit bear” along Princess Royal Channel.   These are regular black bears that are not albinos but carry a recessive gene and are pure white.  Unfortunately we did see any kind of bear.  Khutze Inlet looks and feel like Yosemite Valley. The mountain peaks feel very close and it is so peaceful here.  As one enters the first thing you see are the snow capped mountains all around.  The inlet is 5 miles long.  Then as one nears the head of the inlet the Khutze River has created a wonderful green carpet in the shallows.  We anchored in our usual spot in front of a 1000’ waterfall.  The water is about 90’ deep here which discourages many boaters from coming in here.  The weather is rainy but we put the dinghy in the water and Fred goes and place two crab pots.  We have usually had good luck here. 

Thursday, July 7 Shearwater to Tom Bay 3 hours 26 ½ miles

The first thing we did this morning as we left the dock was to putt over to the boatyard and get Emerald Star hauled out of the water to check the thrusters.  This place is a rip-off.  It cost $650 just to haul the boat and put it back into the water.  Back in Washington it costs half that much.  I guess they can get away with the charge because they are the only game in town.  We were shocked to see that all of the bow thruster blades were broken off.  We put new ones on last month. Fred tried to reach someone at Cap Sante Marine to see if new blades could be shipped to us.  We weren’t able to make those arrangements.  Fred had them move the stern thruster props to the bow thruster.  The bow thruster is more important.  We were back in the water and on our way by 10:30 AM. This all happened after Fred had pulled the motor. Really not sure if he can get the damn thing back on. Fred made some guide pins out some bolts and literally slid the motor down his leg into the mounting. I must say this surprised me it worked so well.  We passed through a couple of beautiful, small, rocky channels (Reid Passage & Perceval Narrows) and Seaforth Channel which was open to the sea.  We encountered about 2 foot ocean swells through there. When we were in Mathieson Channel we noticed some surging of the engines. Fred checked them and found the fuel filters were almost completely blocked. We anchored early in nearby Tom Bay. Fred says we dodged a large bullet by finding this out. After things cooled down in the engine room Fred changed the Racor fuel filters on both engines.  They thanked him profusely …. 

Shearwater

Shearwater Marina

broken bow thruster blades

Emerald Star being hauled

stern thruster, moved the blades to the bow

Wednesday, July 6 Shearwater

Fred has worked very hard all day on the bow thruster.  He has done extensive internet searches and even called Cap Sante Marine in Anacortes to get advice.  The advice was not helpful. Was the problem with the thruster propellers or the connection between the thruster motor and the drive gear to the props???? Does one pull the motor (mucho heavy and awkward) or pull the boat to see what’s with the props ($$$$)???