Haze Gray & Underway

June 1

Haze Gray, in this case, is the weather and not the color of the vessel. (USN)  Yes, we finally got out of Ketchikan, but not without a bit of drama.

Everyone was off the boat except yours truly.  The windows were foggy and the rain was coming down.  Boom!  What the hell was that? A log in the marina?  Did our lines all come loose at once? None of the above.  The sailing vessel Curtsy was leaving the marina and somehow lost propulsion. Knot Wafflen' was tied stern to the dock and Curtsy had slowly slammed into us and a derelict steel fishing vessel next to us named Kathy.  I was out in a flash, just after a warm shower and with fresh socks, no shoes, no coat in the rain trying to help this elderly couple out of a jam.  No real damage to any vessel, especially the Kathy, so all was well that ended well.  We got them secured and I had them call the Harbor Master who sent a crew to help move them down the dock.

We got underway about 8:45 and went to the fuel dock and left there headed for Rudyerd Bay in Misty Fiords National Monument.  We chose this destination because it is on a loop around Revilllagigedo Island that circles back close to Ketchikan in case we had any issues with the new alternator. No Issues.  Whew.

Getting close to Rudyerd Bay you spot the New Eddystone Rock, which is a 230' rock tower.

I was on the lookout for orc arrows flying towards us from the top

We continued on in to Rudyerd Bay itself.  First stop is Punchbowl Cove, and, lucky for us, the one and only mooring ball was unoccupied. We cruised past the 3000' granite wall and tied up.  No other boats came into the cove that day but the float planes were in and out on a regular basis.

June 2

The next morning we woke up to a very small cruise ship anchored about 1/2 mile from us.  Getting crowded so we headed off deeper into the bay.

Marilynn was the first to spot it.

Bear!

Very excited for our first bear encounter (if you don't count scat).  We were pretty much ignored as we moved the boat closer for a better view.



After exploring to the end of Rudyerd Bay we set course back out to Behm Canal and north to the next must see spot, Walker Cove.  Our luck with mooring balls had run out.  The only bouy in the cove was occupied and the area has only very deep anchorages with poor holding so we decided to make a run for Yes Bay and the Yes Bay Lodge.  The guide books promised fuel and water as well as a restaurant and bar.  Apparently we were 2 weeks early.  None of those services were available yet so we cruised around the corner and dropped the anchor in 45' with a mud bottom and good wind protection.


That is when the sun poked out and we were treated to this wonderful site.

Not to be outdone, the sunset decided to treat us to a show as well.

June 3

Woke this morning to VHF forecast of 25 - 30 kt winds in Clarence Strait, with seas 5' - 6'.  Since our plan had been to head north on the Strait, we needed to regroup.
It was decided if we had to wait out the weather we may as well do it in town. It was back to Bar Harbor in Ketchikan, dock 11 slip 16.

June 4

And here we sit.


Till next time.......