We had no significant boat chores to perform in Sitka so we did lots of walking around the town and on the nearby trails. We did meet up with our friends Dan and Marsha and toured their new (to them) Selene 53, Turnagain. Their previous boat was a troller on which they fished for salmon, often near Sitka or in Chatham Strait. Drake was excited to meet their standard-sized bernadoodle, Meaka. They played once or twice in the dog park near the Eliason Harbor marina.
We pulled out Sunday, June 30, after four days in Sitka. Since on the way to Sitka we enjoyed our walk to Lake Eva, but not the slog across the tidal flat, I noted that the high tide for July 1 was in the morning and would be covering the muddy tidal flat. The plan was to anchor in the same location in Hanus Bay as we had a week earlier and do the hike in the morning before proceeding to our next anchorage. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate.
Peril Strait often gets snotty in southerly winds coming up Chatham Strait which pass through the low divide between Catherine Island and Baranof Island. It was a steady 15-20 kts head wind with steep 3-foot seas. While it was a bit better near the shore, we decided not to get beat up at anchor by the wind. We ended up anchoring in an open bight on the north shore of Catherine Island about 3 or 4 miles further. The small cruise ship Liseron was already there which gave us some confidence it would work.
The next day was calmer, and we proceeded to Takatz Bay on the east shore of Baranof Island where we anchored for two nights. Because of its size, Takatz Bay often gets charter mega-yachts with their attendant vessels. Later, kayaks were launched from the one we sharing the anchorage, adding another layer to the “turducken” nature of their crusing.
From Takatz Bay we traveled across Chatham Strait into Fredrick Sound and anchored in Honey Dew Cove at the north end of Kuiu Island for two nights. While there, we had a couple of furry animals roaming the beach, one more fearsome than the other.
After Takatz Bay we continued east further into Fredrick Sound. We were in “fishing” mode so we dropped prawn pots in a few areas and the hook for halibut. The halibut were elusive but we did manage to pull up some prawns as well as an octopus (which we released) in our pots.
When we left Fredrick Sound we cruised on by Petersburg and instead stopped in Wrangell. We stayed for 3 nights to give Drake some extra shore time and make up for the 13 nights at anchor since Sitka. While there, we crossed paths with our first boat, the Selene 36 Dragontail, now named Dancing Bear.
From Fredrick Sound, we spent 3 nights in the Ernest Sound area doing a little more prawning, two nights on the dock at Meyers Chuck and finally arrived in Ketchikan on July 21.
Our return to Ketchikan is about a week earlier than normal as we have a yard date in Port Townsend on August 19 for a haulout. Mostly it is for maintenance but with a boat, the list often gets longer by the time your get there.
