Alaska!

Foggy Bay entrance (another obvious name).

We made it to Alaska! After seven long days of motoring and sailing, 565 nautical miles, 80 hours of travel time (for an average speed of 7 knots), often in challenging conditions, without being allowed to get off our boat, we crossed back into the US and dropped anchor in lovely Foggy Bay.

Arising early to check the weather forecast, there was no change of a gale warning in Dixon Entrance, the body of water open to the Pacific ocean one must cross to enter the protected waters of Southeast Alaska, the last gate. The wind maps showed somewhat less wind along the fringe where we would be traveling. The real-time observations differed from the forecast, showing a moderate NE wind coming down out of Portland Canal. We set out with plans to duck in to one of another of safe harbors along the way if conditions were intolerable.

The Green Island Light Station was the indispensable source of real-time weather conditions.

The wind was only about 15 knots, but the sea was quite lumpy. Raising the sails for a close-hauled romp settled things out quite a bit.

2 PM Pacific time became 1 PM Alaska time as we sailed across the international border. The seas smoothed out and the wind dropped as we approached our destination for the night. The curtain of foggy drizzle (thus the moniker) lifted as we dodged and zigzagged around rocks to enter this quiet, tree-lined cove, the first without steep, fiord-like sides.

The trees looked rugged and wind-swept.

Exhausted from 12 hours of travel, we happily launched our dinghy and joined our fellow cruisers on Airship for drinks, conversation and dinner. Everyone felt the relief of finally arriving, just tucking in a day ahead of a predicted gale.

Bailing out the dinghy from the night-long deluge.

The following day at Foggy Bay, we planned an extra night at anchor so we explored the cove while waiting out the gale still raging outside. Setting the crab pots, we rowed around the shore in the dinghy with the engine off to hear the wind, surf and birds (woodpecker and kingfisher).

So nice to see three Sandhill cranes poking around the rocks near the shore. We hear them all winter long at home, and sometimes spy on them at Frenchman's Bar. It felt like we were migrating with them.

Numerous veins of quartz imbedded in the shoreline rocks.

Firing up the motor on our “fast” dinghy, five boats roared up Very Inlet, with its 3 sets of narrows and rapids.

Arriving at max ebb, it looked like a river with standing waves pouring through the narrows. We did not attempt to pass through the rapids, but that didn’t stop us from powering up against the torrent as far as we dared then turning the boat and riding them back down.

Kevin and Laura "shooting" the rapids.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing boat chores, including adding 3 jerry cans of diesel as insurance. (Turned out we used 54 gallons of diesel to get from Shearwater to Ketchikan, and our fuel tank is exactly 54 gallons. Yay for insurance!) We happily got together again for dinner aboard John and Luanne's Fleming 55, Bonito. So nice to be able to get together again.