Log of the Emily B

Santa Anna Inlet

We're still here, enjoying the sunshine in this lovely anchorage. Had dinner (rockfish almondine) last night in the aft enclosed cockpit, as well as breakfast (pancakes and eggs) and lunch (sauteed perch sandwiches) today. (Did I mention the crab and prawn cocktail for lunch yesterday?) We were skunked by our prawn trap today and Dean is out fishing for salmon. It may be crabcakes for dinner tonight- not a disappointment.

There were 4 other boats in here last night, but they left earlier today. We were musing that with our watermaker and the plentiful seafood, one could stay here indefinitely, although we are barely into SW Alaska. We'll likely move on tomorrow. Will cruise 12-mile long Bradfield Canal, narrow with tall mountains on either side, then go to Berg Bay to anchor for the night. We may stop at the Anan Bear Observatory, but think its too early in the season to see them.

Crab Anyone?

5 large dungeness crabs, 15 jumbo prawns, 3 rockfish, 2 perch- where is our company when we need them? It is a sunny day in Santa Anna Inlet and we have a bountiful harvest from the sea. Now we have to clean, eat, and freeze them. Tough life, but someone has to do it.

Dall's Porpoises

Left Ketchikan at 8:30am headed for Meyer's Chuck, but it was small and crowded so we passed it by. After being at docks for 7 of the past 8 nights, we were hungering for a peaceful idyllic anchorage. We found it here at Santa Anna Inlet, off Ernest Sound.

On our way in, we were escorted by about 20 Dall's Porpoises, who swam and dove in our bow wave for nearly 1/2 hr. It was thrilling to see their black and white bodies burst out of the water at high-speed not more than 3ft from the boat. These small cetaceans are about 6ft long and, amazingly, sleep just half their brain at a time to keep constant vigilance for danger.

We dropped anchor at 5pm after setting a prawn trap on our way in. D is now readying the crab pot and his fishing gear to go out in the dinghy and catch some dinner.

Position Reports

We have added two links to our site here (on the right hand column at the bottom) that will allow you to see where we are at any given point in time (winlink) as well as what our route has been (shiptrak).  The winlink site has a link to msn where you will get a detailed map of our current location.  The shiptrak is a more general site, but has the advantage of showing our locations over time.  Check them out!

Chores and Projects

Cruising is not all idyllic anchorages and cocktails at sunset. When in a busy city like Ketchikan, it is a chance to catch up on various chores and projects. The past two days have been a blur with laundry,shopping for parts, retrieving mail,catching up on e-mail correspondance.We each walked 2-3 miles today and still haven't done the grocery shopping (tomorrow). Dean found a new water heater that fits our space (will install tomorrow) and did the autopilot repair.

We also each bought a pair of Xtra-Tuff boots, de rigueur for Alaska. Had a great dinner last night with Kim and Eric at Cape Fox Lodge, up a steep tram to a spot overlooking Juneau harbor and the many cruise ships.Tonight we went to a bar-be-que at the local yacht club and met other cruisers in the area.

Ketchikan

We made it!  We're in Ketchikan now, at the Bar Harbor marina.  The trip from Prince Rupert was great.  We left there around noon and went as far as Brundige Inlet on Dundas Island.  Along the way, we saw a cornucopia of birds- white winged scoters, mew gulls, eagles -at one point there were 9 eagles sitting on two logs that we passed by.  We also saw a new bird- the common murre- which sits upright like a penguin.  Also geese- not sure what kind.  Here is one eagle we saw while cruising down Venn Passage.  We anchored for the night and got up early to cross the dreaded Dixon Entrance, our last "gate" before Alaska.  It was so calm that I ended up napping for half the way and Dean napped the other half.  A beautiful day- spectacular, really, with sunshine and low mountain peaks on either side.  Everything was shades of light blue- the sea, the sky, the mountains in the distance. 

After we crossed Dixon Entrance we cruised into Revilla Gigedo channel and saw our first whale- a minke whale (we first thought it was a humpback). These are smallish whales that usually travel alone and are secretive but have sometimes been know to come up close to a boat and dive, which she did.  Very exciting!  We changed time zones when we got to Alaska and are now one hour behind Seattle. Here is a photo of the calm anchorage at Brundige Inlet  

We were met at our dock by our Shilshole friends Kim and Eric on Abyssinia (see Shipsblog link at side) who have been here for over a week. It was great to see some familiar faces after 3 weeks cruising. The marina here is about a mile from town, so we'll get some good exercise while here.  We do have wi-fi at the dock, so I will be able to send photos and keep up the posts for a while.

We plan to stay here for 3-4 days- Dean has several projects to keep him busy, the foremost of which is to get our autopilot (which we haven't had since before Butedale)working. We had a part shipped here to Kim and Eric which we will retrieve today and hopefully it will solve the problem.  Also need a new water heater- ours is shot.

Rainy Day in Prince Rupert

It has been raining non-stop for the past 48 hrs at least.  The heaviest, of course, was when we ventured out yesterday to the Northern BC museum and grocery.  Taking care of indoor chores today- defrosted the freezer, baked bread, cleared out the guest room, catching up with business and banking on-line.  It's been fun visiting the shops when there is a break in the rain.

We plan to leave tomorrow noonish for Dundas Bay, where we will overnight before leaving early Wed am to cross Dixon Entrance, the last of the "gates" before arriving in Ketchikan.  The predicted weather is good for the next couple of days, so we are hopeful of a calm and easy passage across the 40 or so miles that are open to the ocean swells.

I have posted 2 new photo albums on the right hand column- one is of Fiordland and the other a summary of our trip so far from Seattle to Prince Rupert.  Hope you enjoy them.  The next time you hear from us, we will probably in Ketchikan-   ALASKA!!

Prince Rupert

After 18 days and 694 nautical miles (at avg. speed of 7.5 kts) we find ourselves here at the dock in Prince Rupert, BC.  This is our last stop before Alaska. After spending the past 2 weeks in the wilderness, rarely seeing or speaking to other people, it is somewhat disorienting to be in a city with cars, multitudes of people, shops, restaurants, etc. One perk is wi-fi internet access, which will allow me to finally post some photos of our trip. To the left you see a photo of Mussel Cove in Fiordland, surely the highlight of our trip so far.

We have been cruising up Grenville Channel the past few days, also known as the "ditch" as it is the main Inside Passage route for cruise ships, ferries, tugs and barges, as well as little guys like Emily B.  At one 1/4 mile wide point, a large Carnival cruise ship came up close behind us.  Luckily, we made our turn into Lowe Inlet, where we spent the night, before the ship caught us. I'm sure we would have been fine, but the wake would have been considerable.

We spent a couple nights in Lowe Inlet in the driving rain, Dean doing some temporary repairs on the water heater (leaking) and autopilot (not working) while I baked banana bread, made warm soups and stews, and read.  Just finished "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakaeur about the fundamentalist Mormons.  Very interesting but could have used some editing.  Dean reading "Gulag" by Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize winning account of USSR's prisons.

Many beautiful waterfalls along Grenville Channel. We crossed Chatham Sound yesterday in only a one foot chop and tied up here around 3pm.  It was the last spot in the marina but a huge group (6-7 boats) left this morning for Ketchikan.  We will likely leave for there on Tuesday, as there is another predicted weather window.  The days are getting very long- here is a photo I took last night before I went to bed around 10:

When I woke up a little before 5am to check on a noise, it was already light.  And we still have another month before the solstice!  By that time we will be in Juneau, another 300 miles north of here, so I am not sure how we will manage to sleep.  Dean tells me on June 15th the sun will rise at 3:56 am and will set at 10:05pm and that it will be twilight from 2:41and again until 11:20pm- 20 hr and 39min of daylight and twilight.

I've added some photos to the previous few posts and will put up some albums later today or tomorrow.

Butedale

Butedale is tumble-down old cannery with rickety docks and eccentric caretaker Lou. Dean set prawn trap but only 5 takers. Scrambled up muddy path to mountain lake and meadow. Wilderness but too many clear-cuts. Rain off and on but little wind. On way to Lowe Inlet. Here is Emily B at Butedale dock:

Fiordland

Magnificent! 3,500 ft granite walls rising from narrow fjords, hanging valleys, snow-capped peaks, waterfalls. Drifted motor off at mouth of Poison Cove in Mussel Inlet where Vancouver's men ate tainted shellfish. Spectacular vistas in all directions. Fingers sore from snapping photos. A natural wonder. Barometer dropping. Heading to Windy Cove to anchor for night.

Wed am- calm night at anchor. Destination today-Butedale.