After a lovely dinner with friends, we were able to watch the fireworks from the back of the boat at midnight on the 4th.  We slept in a bit on Friday morning before heading around Douglas Island towards Auke Bay.  Again, the water was amazingly calm and we had a pleasant trip.  I’d assured Bill when we left downtown that everyone would be out fishing for the holiday so there would be plenty of room in the harbor.  Much to my surprise and Bill’s displeasure, the harbor was plugged!  There were more boats stuffed in the harbor than we’ve ever seen.  Most of them were commercial fishing boats, which are big to start with, and they were tied three and four deep in places.  We ended up rafting on to a gillnetter named ‘Wahoo’ :).  Rafting means we tied up to the outside of the other boat and had to crawl across it to get to the dock.  Not the preferred situation but it was the only choice.  We’re on a wait list for a permanent slip in Auke Bay but until a spot opens up there’s only transient moorage available so it’s first come, first served for space on the dock.  All the fishing boats cleared out today (Sunday) so we were able to move the boat to a good spot.  We spent the day cleaning up and getting stuff off the boat that needed to come home.  Here’s a  picture of Madeline in her new home.  If you know where we live you can also see our house in this picture (off Madeline’s bow and up a bit).

So, we’ve come to the end of this journey, but it’s only the beginning of our adventures on Madeline.  I plan to keep this blog going on future voyages so if you like, you can check in now and then to see what we’re up to.  Thanks to everyone who went with us on this blog and for all the great comments we received.  Until next time, smooth sailing to all.

We left Sandborn Channel on Tuesday morning in the fog.  We had pretty thick fog up most of Port Houghton but no traffic so it wasn’t a problem.  When we got to Stephens Passage it opened up for our trip to Tracy Arm.  Entering Tracy Arm is a little tricky so they have some range markers that you line up with so that you can cross the bar safely into the Arm.

Along with the range markers are some buoys but there are warnings that ice may move the buoys so be sure to use the range markers along with the buoys to be safe.

Once in the Arm we saw our first glacier, Sundum Glacier.

Tracy Arm Cove is just inside the bar and on our way to anchor we saw two big brown bears browsing on the beach.  We saw these bears frequently in the two nights we spent in the cove.

After anchoring it was amazing to watch the amount of traffic going up the arm from small cruising boats like ours to huge cruise ships.

Wednesday morning we started our journey up Tracy Arm.  There are a multitude of waterfalls in the arm and we took pictures of a lot of them.  Here are a few for your viewing pleasure.

Believe it or not, there were also multitudes of icebergs.  Some with seals, some with birds and some just plain old ice.  Here are a selection of my favorites.

When we got up to the head of the Arm you could go south to South Sawyer Glacier or north to North Sawyer Glacier.  I had read that South Sawyer Glacier was the more active of the two so we went up there first.  The bay in front of the glacier was really clogged with ice and  Bill did a great job of navigating through as much as possible so that I could take pictures of the glacier.

On our way back we decided to go up the North arm and found it totally free of ice so we could get up close and personal with the North Sawyer Glacier.  We saw a little bit of ice calve and heard lots of popping and cracking.  The sun even came out for a bit so that we could take some nice photos.

We anchored up in Tracy Arm Cove again on Wednesday night and took off Thursday morning for Juneau!  We knew we were getting close when we hit latitude 58.

We decided that we would go downtown for one night because it would be too far to go to Auke Bay in one day.

On the way into town we passed this Sandy Beach landmark and I couldn’t resist taking a picture.

We arrived downtown in the early afternoon, tied up and now Bill is washing the boat and I’m trying to get caught up on the blog.  There are fireworks tonight so we can either watch them from the boat or we might walk up to the bridge to see them depending on the weather.  We’ll head for home tomorrow morning and hopefully be able to find a spot to tie up in Auke Bay.  It’s been an amazing trip and it’s kind of sad that it’s almost over.  Must be time to start planning the next one…

We stayed an extra day in Petersburg which was a nice rest.  It happened to be a Sunday so not much was going on in town and it rained a lot but we did get to walk around a bit during a dry period.  There was a big Sons of Norway Hall that was built in 1912.  It had a park on one side of the building with a replica Viking boat and a mariner’s memorial.  It’s a nice spot when the sun shines.

Later in the day I decided to do some laundry but it started raining so hard that I waited over an hour but it never let up.

Finally, I put on my rain gear and hiked up to the Laundromat.  After I got there the rain let up and it wasn’t too bad for my trip back down to the boat with enough clean clothes to make it home.  We left Petersburg a little after 8 on Monday morning.  It was cloudy and rainy but the seas were calm.

When we got out of the narrows into Frederick Sound there were a couple of buoys covered in sea lions.

We went up Frederick Sound to Stephens Passage and the weather remained kind to us.  We saw some icebergs in the Sound from the Le Conte glacier.  We also saw quite a few whales all along the way.  They were the first icebergs and whales we saw on this trip.

We decided to anchor in Sandborn Canal after reading a glowing review in the guide book.  It really is a beautiful spot.

The guide book said we should see bears and moose and later in the evening we did see a moose.  It seemed to be browsing on seaweed along the shore for a while and then it swam across the canal, did something on the other side and then swam back across the canal before going up into the woods.  Hard to figure what it was up to.

There were a bunch of crab pot buoys all around the canal and the birds loved them.  There seemed to be one bird perched on each buoy most of the time.  We took the tender down and went for a ride to the head of the canal but no more wildlife was spotted. I guess we’ll have to be satisfied with the beautiful scenery.

Remember last post when I told you the sunset was really pretty?  Well, I finally got a view over the top of the breakwater so you can see for yourself.

Saturday morning we woke up to a red light on the holding tank that necessitated that we pump out (oh what fun!).  We’ve known it needed to be done for a while and had been putting it off so it’s a relief to have it done.  We shouldn’t have to worry about it again until after we’re home.  We had to go to a different harbor to get to the pump out station and when we were finished there we stopped downtown once more so that I could take this picture.  I think this sign is really clever.

It was a really low tide when we left so before I went down the very steep ramp back to the boat I took this picture from above.  Just a little different perspective of the boat.

I made the mistake when going down the ramp to look up and saw a bunch of spiders that have made the ramp their home – yuck.

We reluctantly left Wrangell a little after 10am.  We really enjoyed our time here and will definitely come back soon.

We didn’t have long to be sad about leaving because our next adventure was about to begin.  The Wrangell Narrows is a 21 mile stretch of water that is fairly shallow (we averaged about 36 feet) and there are over 50 buoys to follow in order to make a safe passage.  Here is a map of the first half with the buoys marked by color.

Wouldn’t you know that once we got started in our first really narrow, windy spot what do we see but a tug and barge coming the other way right at us!  We have to stay to the LEFT of the red buoy that we are on the right of in the picture.  We slowed way down and pulled over as far as we could to let him pass.

Once he got by, we got back on track and had an exciting but uneventful passage through the rest of the narrows.  It was really fun to bob and weave around all of the markers!

At the end of the narrows we were in Petersburg.  About the time we pulled in to our slip the sun came out for a beautiful few hours.

After tying up and getting everything under control we walked up to town.  They call Petersburg ‘Little Norway’ because the guy who started the cannery where the city is now was Norwegian and many more Norwegian’s followed him to the area.

We went to the visitor’s center and the library which was a really nice, new building.  While at the library it started to rain so we stayed a little longer than originally planned.  On our way back to the boat we stopped at a pizza place and had dinner.  I think we’re going to stay here for another day.  It’s stopped raining and hopefully we’ll get a nice day tomorrow so that we can take a proper look around.  This picture was taken from the back of our boat in the harbor.  Something to ponder…

We stayed an extra day in Ketchikan (Wednesday) and we got a sunny one!  What are the odds?  The lady in the harbor office told us that it had rained 5 inches on Sunday!

We caught up on laundry and did some sightseeing downtown. This is the infamous Creek Street, now just a tourist hot spot.

Both days in Ketchikan there were at least three cruise ships in town and they all used the channel in front of our harbor, quite a site except when they’re blowing their fog horns at 5:30 in the morning.

We left Ketchikan first thing Thursday morning and had a very comfortable trip to Frosty Bay.

This bay was supposed to have a bunch of seals around the entrance but they must have found a new home because we only saw one during our stay.  There was a Forest Service cabin in the bay and we met some field workers who were very relieved to hear that we hadn’t rented the cabin so they could stay there and get a good nights’ sleep.

The trip to Wrangell wasn’t quite as dependent on tides as some of the other routes so we slept in a bit and headed to Wrangell around 9 this morning.  The morning started out cloudy but is now a beautiful, sunny day. The thermometer on our weather station (that is directly in the sun) says its 90 degrees.  That’s an exaggeration but it is really nice and warm.

We are in a harbor that’s about a mile from town so we got the tender down and took a ride into town for some lunch and a look around.  When we got back, there was a boy and his dad on the end of the dock with a really nice halibut.

We went back to town for dinner at the Stikine Inn, I highly recommend it if you’re ever in Wrangell.  You’d better have a pocket full of money but the food is worth it!  We both forgot our phones and the camera so no more pictures tonight.  There’s a really pretty sunset but the breakwater around our harbor blocks it so you’ll just have to take my word for it.  We’re planning to go to Petersburg tomorrow and due to the tides we don’t have to leave until around 10am.  That will give us time to sleep in, take showers and  go into town again.  There are a couple more pictures I’d like to share, but first I have to take them.  Nighty-night.

Monday morning and still in Prince Rupert, but not for long.  Our friends and marina neighbors Gerd and Linda took off just before we did.  We really enjoyed visiting with them and getting lots of good advice on boating in the Inside Passage.  We’re hoping to see them again when they pass through Auke Bay in July.

We left Prince Rupert about 9am in hopes of catching good tides and currents.

We left via the Venn Channel, a narrow, zig-zag channel that saved about 15 miles compared to going out the same way we came in.  We had carefully planned the route and had the good luck of a fishing boat going the same way just a bit in front of us so that we got the ‘local knowledge’ that the guide book recommended.  We had to pay close attention but got through with no problem.

Once through Venn Channel we went as far as Dundas Island to look at the weather and determine whether to stop in Brundige Inlet or go across Dixon Entrance to Foggy Bay.  The weather was better than expected for making the crossing so we forged ahead to Foggy Bay.  This lighthouse on Green Island was at our decision point.

When we reached Foggy Bay the entrance wasn’t easy to find and you guessed it, another rather narrow channel.

On our way through the entrance, I saw this little water outlet and thought it was picture worthy.

When we got to the anchorage, the bay had opened into a beautiful, serene little spot.

After dinner it started to rain a bit, and it kept raining harder until it turned into a downpour! That’s water pouring off the roof of the boat. Now we’re feeling like we’re back in Southeast Alaska.

Before bedtime, the weather cleared up some and it quit raining.  This was the view we had to Revillagigedo Channel from our anchorage.

It really started blowing during the night and was still going strong when we got up in the morning.  We waited an hour or so past our planned start and the wind seemed to have calmed down so we left for Ketchikan.  That was probably a mistake, but we were on our way for a long, lumpy ride.  The seas settled down a little before we got to Ketchikan and it even stopped raining.

We were now back in the US and had to check in with Customs, which went much better than expected.  As we were going the mile or so to our harbor we came across some noteworthy sites.  First, we saw our old Port Hardy neighbor in a downtown harbor (the great big boat with the back end sticking out and the mast taller than the building behind it).

Then there was dodging the Beavers, the flying kind (common Alaskan float planes), that seemed to be taking off and landing all over the place.

If that wasn’t enough there were also three cruise ships tied up at the docks.  Luckily they stayed put while we were passing.  This is another very busy harbor.

After docking and checking in at the harbor we went for a very overdue lunch and I got my first ‘iced tea’ in a month.  I think we’re going to stay here for a couple of days.  It’s great to be back in the USA!

PS – Thanks for your comments, we really enjoy hearing from you so please keep it up.  It makes us feel good to know that friends and family are looking at these posts and maybe even enjoying them…

Well, it’s Sunday evening and we’re still in Prince Rupert.  Not that it’s not a nice enough place but I’m more than ready to move on.  It’s really windy right now in the harbor and everything is howling and creaking and groaning but hopefully it will blow itself out tonight so we can shove off in the morning.

There isn’t a  whole lot to report on.  We’ve been going to the coffee shop in the mornings and yesterday we went to the museum and the swimming pool for laps and showers.  Later in the afternoon I did laundry.  Nothing spectacular or exciting.  I did take a couple more pictures of the murals on the buildings in town.  They’re really well done.  There’s a good one of wolves near the swimming pool but I was in the car so didn’t have a way to stop and take a  picture.  Here are a couple of buildings right around the harbor.  The first two are different sides of the same building.

I also mentioned in an earlier post that we are right next to a busy fuel dock and there are frequently big traffic jams to get in for fuel.  We heard that there used to be two fuel docks in town but the other one closed down so this is it for marine fuel in Prince Rupert.

Every conceivable type of vessel has come in to get fuel from ferry boats to skiffs.  It’s been interesting to watch the commercial fishing boats fight for space on the dock, they are ruthless and have no concept of waiting their turn.  We’ve been really surprised that there hasn’t been more trouble but everyone seems to take it all in stride.  It’s kind of like the driving in Italy!

I wanted to get this post out before we left since we probably won’t have an internet connection for a few days until we reach Ketchikan.  Wish us luck on getting out of here tomorrow and for calm weather as well.  We should get some good pictures of our route out of Prince Rupert – it’s another scenic, narrow channel…

The weather forecast for Dixon Entrance looked pretty bad for today so we decided to stay in Prince Rupert.  The forecast is even worse for Saturday, Sunday and Monday so unless things change considerably it looks like we ‘ll be staying in Prince Rupert until Tuesday.  Can you find Madeline?

Since we’re going to be here for a while we decided to rent a car for a couple of days and look around.  Many of the buildings in town have interesting marine themed murals on one or more of their walls and this one really caught my eye.

We drove out to Port Edward, about 11 miles from Prince Rupert ,to see the North Pacific Cannery Museum.  They have taken the remains of an old cannery and are working on restoring it and giving tours to the public.  We took two tours, one how the cannery operated and one on the lives of the people who worked in the cannery.  It was really interesting and made for an enjoyable afternoon.  This is one of the old net sheds that dates back to 1918.

On our way out of the cannery we found Bill an old gillnetter to restore.

When we returned to the boat we had new neighbors who we had met previously in Hartley Bay.  Gerd and Linda Mueller on the sailboat Taranga came over for a visit in the afternoon and shared some charts, software and local knowledge about navigating in and out of Prince Rupert.  It’s really fun to meet new people who have the same interest in exploring the inside passage between Canada and Alaska and have lots of experience to share.

We’ve still got a few days left in port and tomorrow we have showers and laundry on the list of things to do.  It doesn’t sound very exciting but you never know what might happen. We’ll keep you posted .

With windy weather in the forecast we are staying in port.
We found the “Cowpuccino Coffee Shop”. Since we are in Cow Bay it all goes together and the coffee is great.

We departed Hartley Bay at 5:30am on Tuesday so that we could catch the currents up Grenville Channel and it sort of worked.

The direction of the current changes in the middle of this channel so it is optimum to start on a flood tide to take us up the channel and then have the tide change about half way up where the current changes so that it would continue to take us the rest of the way.  We missed the timing by about an hour but had decided the night before that getting up at 5am was as early as we were willing to do.  The morning was rainy and foggy as we made our way up the channel.  The weather improved as the day wore on so that when we got to our destination, Baker Inlet, we had some sunshine.

In order to enter Baker Inlet we had to go through Watts Narrows (another really narrow entrance channel).  Our guide book said that you should never go in on a flood tide.  Since it was an ebb tide we decided to go through but the current was quite strong and made for a pretty intense ride.  Luckily these narrows are relatively short, we will definitely leave on a slack tide!

Once we got in the inlet we went six miles to the head and anchored behind a little islet.  We went by some seals on the way, it looked like they were laying on top of the water but it turned out there was some sort of mooring buoy that provided them a perch to enjoy the sun.

Just past the seals we saw a big, brown bear on the beach eating grass.  It is amazing how big those animals get eating grass and barnacles.

We also saw a pair of loons in the bay but we couldn’t get close enough to get pictures.

After we got the boat and ourselves situated, we got the tender down and took a ride in to the beach. It wasn’t really a walking beach so we didn’t stay long and besides there were bears.

We were hoping to be able to hear wolves howl at night, but that didn’t happen.  We did have an extremely peaceful night all by ourselves in the inlet.  We woke up to rainy and foggy conditions and started on our way to Prince Rupert.  We left at the slack tide and although Watts Narrows was still really narrow, with no current running it was a piece of cake getting out to Grenville Channel.

The trip to Prince Rupert was uneventful, there weren’t even any boats around until we got close.  Then there were boats everywhere!  There are boats of every shape and size imaginable here and they are zipping around all over the place.

We are staying at the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club, don’t be fooled by the name, remember the ‘resorts’ we stayed at along Vancouver Island?

The finger of the dock that goes along side our boat is the tippiest thing I’ve been on in a while.  If I don’t end up in the water here it will be amazing.

We’re parked right next to a super busy fuel dock which makes for a really roly ride that this marina is known for.  I hope it slows down in the evening.

It looks like a storm is brewing in Dixon Entrance which may have us stuck in Prince Rupert for a few days.  I’m hoping to get out sooner rather than later but if it’s really rough out there I’ll be happy to be tied up to a dock no matter where it is or how roly it is!