Posting 6 - Thursday – June 25, 2009
The Narrows leading into
Wrangell was the highlight of the passage from Meyers Chuck. The winding
channel was filled with crab pots so we had to keep a vigilant eye. Wrangell
turned out to be a nice little town and the locals were very friendly. We went
to their museum and walked around the town and learned of some guaranteed
fishing holes. Of course we had to check them out and again … no luck. We
spent three nights in Wrangell and then headed north again.
Petersburg was our next stop
and we planned to spend the night at anchor at a small bay near south end of
Wrangell Narrows so that we could catch the tides and currents into town. The
trip was very calm and easy and we were making good time so we kept
going and made it in one day. We traveled through Wrangell Narrows, which is
about 20 miles long. It is winding and marked with channel markers the entire
way because of rocks and shallow areas. Luckily it was a very nice day and
easy to see. The shoreline was peppered with small fishing shacks and large
fishing lodges. The tides meet 12miles from the south end (8 from the north)
and we assumed that a 1-2 knot current would add to our boat speed allowing us
to plan the timing. The currents were
much higher than anticipated so we were about 1/2hour early making us buck the
currents for awhile.
Wrangell Narrows
Petersburg
We arrived in Petersburg as
it started to rain and we got a slip in the north harbor. This town is even
better than Wrangell. It is a bit larger and the locals are even nicer.
Tracie is in heaven because she found a quilt shop and a fabric store and
yesterday she traded 3 of Bob’s beer for a gallon bag of large prawns. The
fisherman was sitting on his boat cleaning the prawns and she just struck up a
conversation and the trade was done!
We met a guy on the dock
named Kent Williams who is traveling on a 116-foot yacht. Rumor has it that he
owns half of Montana. He gave us some fishing tips and is hanging out on the
dock gossiping with the guys.
We also met some really nice
people who live in Ventura, CA but keep their boat in Anacortes, WA. We hung
out with them quiet a bit and went to dinner with them last night. They are
heading north also so I hope we meet up with them again.
There was a fresh fruit and
vegetable truck that came into town yesterday from Chelan, WA and we were able
to get some great veggies. It’s too cold to grow them in Alaska.
Last night we also went to a
presentation about Humpback whales and how they “bubble feed”. They get into a
large pod (8 to 10 whales) and create bubbles by swimming and flapping in
circles chasing the herring to the surface and then opening their huge mouths
to scoop up the fish. They keep doing this about every five minutes until the
fish are gone.
Today we went on a tour of
Laconte Glacier and it was one of the most awesome things we have ever done.
The little 28ft boat went through about 2 miles of slush and icebergs to get to
the glacier and sometimes it was very scary. The wonderful colors and the
greatness of it all was almost overwhelming. As we went further towards the
glacier we started seeing many seals that had just delivered their spring
pups. These seals will never go on land because they are not built for it. On
the way back we saw a couple of Humpback whales and they were coming out of
water with their mouths WIDE open, catching all the herring they
could. They fell back into the water and then went straight into the water and
their tails came up. We were all so amazed that none of us got a single
picture. It was fabulous!!
LeConte Glacier – we
are still 1.5 miles away
Looking out the front,
all you can see is “glacier bits”. We continue pushing our way thru.
One bit of trouble…yesterday
morning at 4:30 we were awoken by a boat hitting ours. He was leaving the
harbor and the current caught him and threw him into the back of our boat.
Luckily we have our dingy hanging off the back on davits. The boat owner came
back and waited until we found out the damage and then made restitution. He
completely tore the dingy cover and put a hole in the dingy and bent the
davit. Bob has already fixed the dingy and it still hangs on the davits. We
will get a new cover when we return home.
We have decided to stay in
Petersburg through the weekend because a storm is scheduled to move through
with gale force winds and 5ft swells, the captain would rather be at the dock
instead of some unknown anchorage. There is a still lot to see in Petersburg so
we will not be bored.
That’s all for now…more
later.
Bob and Tracie
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