Quite a water path led us here today to Rocky Bay at the top of Montague Island with Sphinx Rock standing guard over our anchorage. We paused before leaving Comfort Cove this morning to watch a seiner hoist many pinks aboard. Lots of seiners were working the points and bays. Headed up Gravina Bay to Beautiful Beartrap Bay. Watched many schools of salmon, then made our way around Knowles Head, Port Fidalgo, through the Tatitlik Narrows inside Bligh Island and on to Valdez where we topped up with diesel, walked up to the forest service cabin and picked up a few things from the store. We checked out Sawmill Bay heading out out of the Valdez Narrows, then came directly here with smooth seas and just a bit of current from the influence of Hinchinbrook entrance. We came 104 miles today.
Jim and I explored the shoreline in the dingy and hiked up a creek on a bear highway to see a bunch of Chums. Appears the Pinks haven’t started to run the creeks yet, but they sure are jumping all over the place. Salmon berries are really coming on here. A late supper of soup and salad and we now, at 2130 see the dot of Godwit approaching from the north.
Next day – Disk Island Bowl
Did some Trolling around the top of Montague this morning and Jim reeled in several salmon and a Black Bass, which we kept to add to the Red Salmon Pete gave us in Cordova. Tonight we will dine with Tom, Jim, Heather, and Skye here in this round bowl on Disk Island off the Lower passage between Ingot and Knight Island.
Next Day – it’s hard to go too far back when so much happens every day, but it was such a wonderful dingy ride after our barbecue last night and I want to remember that I saw the beach we once camped on those years ago. When the tents were set up in the grass and we explored false pass – that cool slot through the islands only navigable with a small boat and big tide. Following the indents and clear colors of the sea along the rocky shore where pillow basalt lay like cushions sloping up into the forest we came back into Disk Cove through the southern channel because the falling tide cut off our previous route through the northern channel.
… this morning Jim on the the Godwit made us pancakes. Skye, Heather and Jim’s 13 year old daughter, wanted to join us to do some trolling. She reeled in a half dozen salmon on the way and appears pretty much hooked on the fishing scene. We met in Copper bay off Long channel and hiked up into the meadows. Came around to the bight on the West side of Squire Island where we now swing on the anchor to the gentle lapping of small waves on the hull.
Entering Copper Bay on Knight Island from Long Channel
Today. – A trip with Tom, Skye, Heather Jim and Jim across Knight Passage to Chenega Glacer in Nassau Fiord and Tiger Glacier at the head of Icy Bay. We dodged a lot of brash ice, growlers, and bergy bits and watched seals lounging on larger flat chunks of ice. It was great to see the the ridge where Peter, Dave, and I watched these glaciers from our respective granite, rain-filled bath tubs that we hiked up to from the Humpback Cove side.
We swung by the old village site on Chenega Island (abandoned after the ‘64 quake’s tsunami claimed a third of its population) then back to the Squire anchorage. Parted from the Godwit to come 35 miles north to Deep Water Bay in Port Nellie San Juan to rendezvous with Martha this evening. It’s good to see this white sandy beach and the waterfall tumbling through all these granite boulders again.
Godwit plans to anchor in Fox Farm Bay tonight and head toward some Halibut fishing this side of Seward. Perhaps we’ll catch up with them later in the Kenai Fiords or back in Homer.
… a restful night off the white sand beach in Deep Water Bay, then on to Picturesque Cove at the end of Culross Passage for second cup of coffee and attempt to hook up with Martha.
… well we ended up meeting Martha, Sam, and Margaret from Panama in Main Bay, then had a fun night together in Masked Bay at the north west end of beautiful Chanega Island. The next morning Jim and I continued on down Dangerous Passage, picked up some more ice off Icy Bay for the nice Halibut he caught the day before and swept down Bainbridge Passage with the outgoing tide. The trees look taller in front of Bainbridge glacier then I remember from last seeing it.
Rounding Puget point we headed directly to the Chiswell Islands, happy to bypass Resurection Bay and Seward because we were able to fuel up in Main Bay. Slanted, angular, and beehive rock formations with indented caves full of nesting birds and outcrops of barking seals and sea lions greeted us. We slid into Taz basin midway down the west side of Granite Island for lunch. I didn’t see any whales there that were so prevalent in past visits.
From the weather blips we were getting it sounded like some southwest coming and there was a dark band of clouds that way so we opted to head for McArthur Pass and check out McCarty Lagoon to see if any Silvers were in there. We followed close in to the south shore near the terminal moraine of McCarty Glacier a bit past mid high tide which was a bit too early. In neutral we were speeding in at 6 knots and could see the gravel bottom. Took a lot of scope to get the anchor to grab but all worked out and we sat in the incoming river and watched the water deepen below us from 5 to 6.5 feet before running up on the anchor and heading out. Figured it might be more relaxing to halibut fish in Nuka Passage with Yalik and Petrof glaciers in the background and the waterfalls bounding off the steep slopes. And it was, but we caught no fish so headed up to Tonsina Bay and tried there, also without luck. Decided to head around Gore point while the going was good so we came all the way to Chrome Bay in Chatham for the night – a 177 mile day.
Well I guess the horses could smell the hay in the barn. Explorer came into her home port of Homer yesterday after 47 anchorages since leaving Juneau in early June and traveling 2,290 nautical miles. She has traveled 3850 miles from Anacortes, Washington.
The familiar green cliffs rounding the end of the Kenai Peninsula, always a welcome sight, escorted us around Koyuktolik Bay, Flat Island, Nanwalek, past Pogibshi Point into Kachemak Bay. There was a good tide rip with some confused seas around Magnet Rock but Explorer danced across it all as if she had ballet slippers on.
Maps and Charts
