On the Road Again...

Actually, on the water again.  Tor arrived in Ketchikan yesterday after his work obligations were complete.  Fortunately his arrival seems to have coincided with a good change in the weather and we are hoping for 10-15 kts of wind from the NW for a Dixon Entrance crossing.  We are in the process of packing up our belongings at Dad and Lynn's house and will spend tonight on the boat and leave tomorrow morning for an anchorage that will put us in a good place for making the crossing.  We'll start using the SPOT again tomorrow and those of you who are interested in following our progress south will start seeing the sailboat icon move on our spotwalla page (link on the right sidebar).  We'll update the blog as we get internet access on our trip south.

In the meantime, here are some little boy photos to tide their fans over.

Playing on the deck (yes, Lars is wearing a WSU sweatshirt, for those of you who care...blame Nana Lynn :) )

Unposed mirror image...I guess they are twins

Odin cooking dinner!

Sluggo!

Raccoons

We are sailing with two raccoons.  They are curious, smart, tenacious and have incredible manual dexterity.  Actually, we are sailing with one year old human twins.  Lars and Odin have inspired a lot of creative problem solving in order to keep them out of dangerous situations.  We aren't talking keeping them from the obvious risks inherent to cold water, we are talking about child proofing down below decks in our home.  Off the shelf child proofing solutions designed for houses just won't work on the boat.  I tried to take pictures of everything we've done to child proof the boat and will let them show how we've created a safe environment for our kiddos.

Looking forward on the port side (left) you see Odin's 'crib.'  The table leaves are bungeed together so they can't be moved when little boys are playing underneath the table.  Lars' bed is underneath the booster seats that are set up for the boys to eat, and it just clips up like Odin's.  The booster seats are attached to the ceiling material along the sides of the hull with clips, so when little boys start rocking they don't do a face plant onto the edge of the table.  Thanks to Nana Lynn for designing and sewing these cribs.  They work beautifully and we couldn't have done the trip without them!

Odin's 'crib' with access panel zipped up.  The green carabiner clips around the strap to prevent the zipper from coming down.

The master berth enclosure.  This is where the boys play most of the time.  It was also designed and sewed by Nana Lynn and again, we couldn't have done this trip without it.  It comes down easily when it is time for us to sleep in our bed!

The play area with one side of the enclosure down.

Ahh, green tape to the rescue!  This is inside the master berth, where the raccoons boys play and were getting into all sorts of mischief.  First, the light bulb in the lamp needed to be protected from getting chewed on or broken by errant toys, so we taped a yogurt container over it.  Second, the wiring is all exposed, it doesn't run behind the ceiling materials and little fingers were pulling it, so green tape saved it.  Third, the top slat of the yellow cedar ceiling material on the hull wasn't completely nailed in because there just weren't places to nail it, we never felt the need to pull the slats down even though we knew they were just placed there, unfortunately the boys just couldn't be convinced that they too could leave them alone.  Oh well, green tape saved us.  We went with green tape because eventually we won't need to worry about child proofing and hopefully by using green tape we'll be able to get it off without ruining the finish.

A net across the head (bathroom) door.  We do have a head door, but it is inconvenient to leave it closed all the time, and when it is folded back, it covers a gap in the master berth enclosure that Lars did fall out of at the beginning of the trip.  When the boys were on the sole (floor) at the beginning of the trip, they were very interested in chewing on the head itself, um yuck!, so we needed a way to keep them out of the head.  The net just slips down into a puddle on the sole when it's not needed and it works well.  We installed two brass rings (top and bottom) on either side of the head door and slipped doweling into it, the net slides up and down on the dowels and clips to the brass rings on the top.  Pretty slick and effective. 

Keeping the boys from climbing the companion way ladder was important, and cardboard and bungee cords so far are doing the trick.  We just cover the bottom most step and they aren't able to climb up to the next step.  The ladder is still usable for the adults, though it's not easy to skip that first step, and I dread the time when one of us comes down the companion way and forgets it is there, but we are very careful to warn each other when it goes up and we are very watchful of the other adult when the cardboard is in place.

The house bank switch cover.  Green tape didn't stick well enough, so we busted out the duct tape.  If little fingers flip this, we lose power to the house electrical panel and everything that is hooked up to it, like lights (interior and exterior), the VHF, the radar, the stereo...uh, everything electric on the boat. If the starter battery switch (red knob on right) were to be swtiched off while the engine was running, the worst that would happen is that we couldn't turn the engine off (but it could be done manually), if the engine wasn't running and it was switched on, the buzzer for the engine alarm would come on which would alert us that it was switched on.  It isn't a big deal like the house bank switch, so we didn't do anything about securing it (besides that...what would we do?).

My Raccoons.

Land Based Life

The work induced hiatus from our cruise this summer has been great so far.  I can't believe how time is flying by, we've already been in Ketchikan for a whole week.  The days have been really busy with fun things as well as just trying to maintain our routine on land.  The boys have acclimated to land based life very well, in fact I'm a little worried about hopping back on the boat in a few weeks to continue our trip home with two little boys who are very used to lots of space to roam around in, ah well, we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

Tor is out to sea on his research cruise and so far things are going pretty well it seems.  He was a little sea sick for the first day, but seems to have come out of it now.

We've been having a blast with Nana Lynn and Grandpa Bill.  We've had fun hanging out at the house, playing with Kayla the big black dog, playing on the deck, playing at the playground and playing at the beach.  We took in the sights at the annual blueberry festival and have gone on several long walks...the stroller Grandpa Lee and Grandma Jean shipped up for us has been a lifesaver!

It is really nice to have access to a car and a washer and dryer!  It's also been great to have a bathtub at the ready for post dinner baths when dinner has been particularly messy.  There is definitely something to be said for the conveniences of land based life.  That said, I am excited to get back on the boat when the time comes.  Life seems a little less busy when your world is 32' long with a 10.5" beam (width), though we will miss Nana and Grandpa.

Below are some pictures of all the fun we've been having.

Yum, this newspaper bucket is yummy!

First frozen junk food, a push up

Odin gobbled his up

It's empty!

Yep, the newspaper bucket is cool!

Lars sitting on the couch like a big boy

Fun with "As Seen on TV" gyro bowl

Odin likes the playground!

The only puddle at the playground...the boys used their pants to dry it up.  The children of Ketchikan thank them for their sacrifice.

I conquered the puddle!  I'm a dirty monster!

Lars is not to be outdone in the puddle!

Swinging with Nana

Lars thought this was lots of fun, until it most definitely was not.  I think he was feeling motion sick, poor kiddo!

The newspaper was fun for little boys and the dog.

A creature of the deep

Nope, that's not a cookie!

While Lars was up the beach sorting through rocks, Odin made a beeline for the water.  Kayla enjoyed swimming.

No, that is not a shark

We couldn't keep him out of the water.  Remember this is SE Alaska, not Hawaii.  Brrr....

Soaked kid having a blast

Lars got in the water action too

Asleep on the 7 minute drive home...he slept through lunch for 2 hours in a salt water soaked diaper covered in sand.  He had a GREAT time at the beach!

Odin was trying to tie string like Grandpa.  It was a serious job!

Alaska Trip Day 76

7/31/11

Ketchikan, AK

Miles Travelled:  34

Happy Birthday Uncle Karl!

There were 6 visiting boats on the dock at Meyers Chuck yesterday, and when we got up at 5am to get out into Clarence Strait, we were the last boat on the dock!  We sort of felt like we were late to the party, but conditions were beautiful for our transit.  What a difference from 2 days ago.

We made good time to Ketchikan.  We tried to get moorage in Knudson’s Cove which is close to Dad and Lynn’s house, but that wasn’t going to be a possibility so we headed into downtown Ketchikan.  We tied up at City Dock which requires you to go between two cruise ships, and tie the boat up at the base of them…talk about making your boat seem small.

After the boys napped we packed up and Dad and Lynn came down to pick us up.  Yay!

Tor flies to Seattle on August 4^th for a research cruise for work, and the boys and I will be staying with Dad and Lynn while he’s gone.  Tor flies back to Ketchikan at the end of the month then we will bring the boat back to Seattle after he gets back.

Though we will all miss Tor, we are looking forward to spending time with Dad and Lynn, and I’m really grateful I won’t have to be a single parent on the boat for 3 weeks!

We won’t be using the Spot while we are here, and I won’t be writing daily blog updates, but I do plan on doing some blog posting.  When we head back south, the blog posting I’ve been doing up to this point will continue.

Alaska Trip Day 75

7/30/11

Meyers Chuck, AK

Miles Travelled:  0

This morning started off with a delivery of cinnamon rolls, one of the local residents of Meyers Chuck, Cassie, bakes cinnamon rolls and sells them to boaters who visit Meyers Chuck.  They were delicious!  Buttery, gooey and delicious with coffee.

We moved into the dock when there was space and went for a walk.  The boys enjoyed playing on the beach, though Odin got some sort of bug bite on his eye lid.

While the boys were down for their nap, Tor and I washed diapers in the cockpit.  It was nice to know we are going to be in Ketchikan tomorrow so we only had to wash one day’s worth of diapers instead of the whole bucket.  That was quite civilized!

Taranga arrived and rafted up to us.  Gerd and Linda offered to use the carriers and taking the boys for a walk.  We gladly took a chance to have some time to ourselves and the boys and Gerd and Linda enjoyed themselves.

I made beef stew for dinner and we shared it with Gerd and Linda.  They brought some Austrian dumplings (semel knoedel), carrots and Greek Salad.  We had a delicious dinner, but the boys soon had enough.  They were tired and getting quite upset, so we regretfully cut our evening short and got the boys to bed.

Tomorrow is an early morning.  We plan to leave around 5am so that we don’t have to fight the flood tide as we transit Clarence Strait to Ketchikan.

Taranga Crew taking the boys for a walk

Alaska Trip Day 74

7/29/11

Meyers Chuck, AK

Miles Travelled:  25

We had a slow morning in beautiful Frosty Bay this morning.  We weren’t planning on covering a great distance, so we took our time and left the anchorage at about 10:30.  Before we left I made bread dough and started a pot of beans and pork cooking for dinner.

We were planning on stopping for the night at Vixen Harbor.  We haven’t been there before, and the weather for Clarence Strait which we need to transit for our trip back to Ketchikan looks pretty bad for the next couple of days, so we figured we could go to Vixen Harbor tonight and make the approximately 5 mile trip to Meyers Chuck tomorrow.  At the last minute we decided to just go to Meyers Chuck since it has a dock and if we are going to have a weather day or two it might be nice to stretch our legs.

To get to Meyers Chuck we needed to poke our nose out into Clarence Strait for about a mile.  The forecast was for 20 kts of wind from the SW and we figured it would be yucky, but that a mile wouldn’t be that bad.  It was yucky.  Both boys were obviously feeling sea sick and Tor was looking very grim and miserable in a driving wind with water being scooped over the bow.  Even though our speed dropped to 1.7 kts at one point, we were in the calm of Meyers Chuck soon.  As soon as the motion calmed down, the boys perked right up.

We weren’t the only ones who ducked into Meyers Chuck to avoid the weather in Clarence Strait, the dock was totally full and we were the third boat to anchor out.  Since we’ve been here there have been at least 3 more boats that have come in.  Meyers Chuck is a welcome respite.  We will likely be here for a couple of days because there aren’t any other places to duck in out of Clarence Strait until Ketchikan.

Alaska Trip Day 73

7/28/11

Frosty Bay, Mainland AK

Miles Travelled:  21

Our plan to wake up at 5:00 and get going towards Anan Bear Observatory worked out very well.  The boys stayed asleep and we got to Anan and anchored in time for breakfast.  Poor Tor spent the morning in the rain, but he wore my foul weather coat (even though the sleeves were a bit short) and stayed a little bit warmer.

We got ready to head up to the observatory, but it takes a long time to get little boys all suited up in long johns, rain gear and life jackets, it was a very rainy SE Alaska morning.  By the time we were all ashore to walk up the trail to the observatory platform it was about 9:15.  We had a half mile walk to get to the platform through beautiful woods on a very nicely maintained boardwalk.  The whole way we made noise to make sure we didn’t surprise any bears on the trail.  Fortunately we didn’t see any.  I say fortunately because my own Mama Bear radar was starting to tingle.  I was glad to get to the fenced observatory deck, even though a bear could easily get onto the deck if it wanted, there was something about being around other people that made my radar calm down a bit. 

We were able to see about 5 black bears all fishing in the creek, but they weren’t catching much since the water was running too high due to all the rain of the past few days.  I really wanted to see a bear actually catch a fish, but I never did.  Tor was lucky enough to see it, but I wasn’t looking in the right place at the right time.  We were able to spend some time right down at creek level in the photo blind.  That was really cool because we were up close and personal with the bears.  Unfortunately Lars didn’t get the memo that we needed to be quiet so we didn’t disturb the bears and even though the rushing creek was loud enough to drown out most of the sound, happy little human baby sounds weren’t what the bears needed to hear to help their fishing.

Too soon it was 10:30 and we needed to rush back to the boat to get the boys lunch and then down for their nap.  Tor and I were exhausted by the time we got back to the boat.  It was a full out sprint all morning to get about an hour at the observatory.  This is one of those things that maybe we should have waited for the boys to be a little older when they could walk the trail themselves and didn’t need to have a nap so desperately.  Given that we needed to move the boat and go another 10 miles or so for our anchorage for the night, we didn’t have the energy or time to go back up to the observatory.  Too bad we had to buy a permit for all four of us!

Fortunately we met up with Taranga (last time we saw them was in Glacier Bay) in the morning before we headed in to the observatory, and Gerd and Linda invited us for dinner when we met up in Frosty Bay.  Both boats tied up at the empty forest service float so we could easily transport boys and booster seats over to Taranga.  Linda made a delicious pasta with a creamy vegetable sauce and LOTS and LOTS of crab.  We gorged on crab!  A couple of days earlier Gerd and Linda called a commercial crab boat on the radio and asked if they could buy a couple of crabs, he said no he couldn’t sell since he didn’t have the proper license, but come over and he would give them a couple.  When Linda rowed over there he insisted that a couple meant four and wow were we ever lucky to have run into Taranga when we did!  We thoroughly enjoyed our evening with Gerd and Linda and dinner was spectacular.

Alaska Trip Day 72

7/27/11

Berg Bay, Mainland AK

Miles Travelled:  19

It was a MUCH better sleeping night last night, thank goodness.  Odin screamed for about 45 seconds at 5:20 this morning, but then went back to sleep on his own and woke up at the normal time.  Tor and I took turns walking up to the Laundromat for showers and then we were off to the fuel dock.  We left Wrangell at about 10:00.

For as much as we felt Wrangell didn’t want us to come visit, today we felt like it didn’t want us to leave.  We’re getting tired of these dang contrary currents!  The contrary currents didn’t last long, but the weather was no fun for Tor when he was at the helm, 15kt headwinds and rain.  I got the boys down for their nap and Tor stoically piloted our good little ship. 

The boys slept for a record 2 hours and 40 minutes!  Poor Tor had to slow down the boat and be in the cold rain and wind to make sure we didn’t wake the boys up by arriving at our anchorage too early.  Eventually their nap just went on for a long enough time that we just decided to tie up that the USFS float in Berg Bay (the float is for the users of the cabin on shore), but it was empty and we thought we would just tie up and leave the engine running while the boys slept.  It worked out great, because the boys got to wake up on their own and Tor got to come down below where it was dry and warm.

We discovered why Tor has been getting so cold, his foul weather gear is no longer waterproof.  Even though he was bundled up in wool long johns, a wool sweater, a polar fleece jacket, mittens, a scarf and a wool hat, with leaking foul weather gear, the wind was just slicing through him.  Fortunately my foul weather coat is probably large enough for him to wear, and since one of us always needs to be down below, we really only need one foul weather coat…for now.  We’ll find something better in the future, but at least it seems like we’ve got a temporary solution.

Berg Bay is a beautiful place, and we are in good shape for getting to the Anan Bear Observatory tomorrow.  We think we will get up early, around 5:00 to get there in time for the boys to wake up and have breakfast.  Then we can row in and enjoy watching the bears before we need to head back to the boat for lunch and naps.  While lunch and naps are happening, we’ll head to our anchorage for the night.  After that we’re working our way back to Ketchikan and plan to be there in a few days.  I can’t believe our travels through SE Alaska are almost over.  It is amazing country and we feel so fortunate to have been able to experience it together on our good little ship.

Alaska Trip Day 71

7/26/11

Wrangell, AK

Miles Travelled:  10

Odin had a rough night last night.  We don’t know what happened, but he was up at 10pm and 4am screaming and very difficult to settle down.  Fortunately we’re still nursing and I had that tool at my disposal.  We all ended up getting a fair amount of sleep, but it was quite interrupted.  Luckily Odin woke up this morning and seems to feel just fine.

Our trip into Wrangell was uneventful, but we were starting to think Wrangell didn’t want us to visit…we still had a contrary current against us and it took longer to get there than we were hoping, but with only 10 miles to travel, it wasn’t as disheartening as yesterday.  When we got to Wrangell, we had just enough time before lunch and naps to head into town and take a look around and get some ice for the ice box.  We had completely run out this morning, so our timing to get to Wrangell couldn’t have been better.

Back at the boat after our morning errands, the boys had a good lunch and then a wonderful 2 hour nap.  Tor and I laid on our bed and read during the whole nap and felt nice and refreshed after our rough night last night.  It was great.  (I’m reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett…highly recommended!)

After the boys woke up from their nap we went grocery shopping as a family.  After we got back we decided to try out the pizza place that is attached to the Marine Bar for dinner.  We all enjoyed it, the pizza was yummy.  It sure is strange to be in a place where people smoke indoors (it was in the bar section, not the restaurant section and it actually didn’t seem to smoky, they must have had decent ventilation).

After the boys went to bed I went and did laundry at the Laundromat…what a wonderful invention washers and dryers are!

Tomorrow we need to head closer to Anan Bear Observatory which is about 35 miles from Wrangell.  Our permit to visit the observatory is for the 28^th, and the anchorage nearby isn’t good enough to anchor overnight, so we need to get as close as we can tomorrow (we’re planning on Berg Bay), then we will go to Anan, anchor and row into shore to get to the observatory, then weigh anchor and move about 15 miles to a good anchorage for the night.  It’ll make for a busy day, but Tor and I are both excited about going to Anan.  Since we need to get about 20 miles tomorrow, we need to leave Wrangell and I doubt I’ll have time to find wifi and get the blog updated since the little time we will have in the morning will be dedicated to showers!

Alaska Trip Day 70

7/25/11

Roosevelt Harbor, Zarembo Island, AK

Miles Travelled:  38

Whew, we certainly didn’t get as far as we hoped today!  We are about 10 miles from Wrangell and plan to get there tomorrow morning, but we sure were glad to pull into Roosevelt Harbor after a long day.

We needed to wait at Point Baker until 8am when the ranger office was open in order to secure our permits for Anan Bear Observatory, and by the time it was all said and done and we got through and got our permits (yay!), we didn’t leave the dock until 8:45.  Pretty much as soon as we got out into Sumner Strait, we had current against us.  It wasn’t too bad at first, we lost about 0.2 kts, but soon enough it got worse and we saw 3.6 kts for WAY TOO LONG!  Between leaving later than usual and the contrary current, we just couldn’t make it all the way to Wrangell today.  Fortunately Roosevelt Harbor is comfortable, well protected, and not too far from Wrangell for our transit tomorrow.

It was a long day of motoring which always seems longer when you can’t go as fast as you usually do.  Over the past couple of days the boys have had slight colds and I woke up with it today so I wasn’t feeling that energetic.  I did get some bread made and some good playing done with the boys.

I was at the helm for part of the day and if Tor had a little navigational oops in Rocky Pass yesterday, I had one today.  There is a very well marked rock in Sumner Strait called the Eye Opener.  I didn’t realize how far a one fathom shoal stuck out from the Eye Opener and at the last minute had Tor look at the electronic chart to see where we were and right then I was about to drive over the shoal.  I made a quick and sharp course correction to successfully avoid the shoal.  The Eye Opener sure opened my eyes!

We pulled into Roosevelt Harbor just in time to finish cooking dinner (rockfish, carrots and fresh bread).

Alaska Trip Day 69

7/24/11

Point Baker, Prince of Wales Island, AK

Miles Travelled:  25

Alice and Steve from Second Wind like to stop at Point Baker when they are in the area (they’ve been cruising northward from their homeport of Anacortes every summer since 1997, they don’t always come as far as Alaska, but they have lots of cruising experience up here).  We decided to join them after transiting Rocky Pass. 

The transit of Rocky Pass was no big deal.  We made good use of the electronic charts we have on the computer with me down below checking our progress as Tor navigated the boat using the paper chart in the cockpit and the navigation markers.  It was a piece of cake, though it is strange to have a chart with soundings in feet and not fathoms (one fathom is 6 feet).  Once we were out into much less constricted water we did have a little bit of a scare when Tor got distracted listening to the weather forecast on the  VHF radio and doing a log entry, something made him take a quick look at the depth sounder and it said 8 feet.  He had enough time to do a quick 90 degree turn and we got back into deeper water.  Whew!  We almost had a summer cabin in Alaska!

A 25 mile day is tough for us because of nap schedules.  If we leave at our usual time of around 7:30, we can do a 15 mile or a 40 mile day very easily.  Since today’s plan was for 25 miles and we had to leave at our usual time due to high tide, we ended up slowing down and doing only about 4 kts all the way across Sumner Strait to Point Baker so we could let the boys have a good long nap without worrying about waking them up when we tied up at the dock. 

We were excited about Point Baker for a chance to get ice and maybe a meal at their restaurant.  Unfortunately we didn’t take into account that it was Sunday and it turns out everything was closed.  Oh well, we made good use of the community hall and the boys crawled ALL over while we visited with Alice and Steve.

For dinner we had the last of the salmon from Scott with sweet potatoes and the last of the broccoli I bought in Sitka.  We are looking forward to getting some fresh stuff in Wrangell.  We are planning on making the approximately 40 mile trip to Wrangell tomorrow so that we will be in good shape for getting to the Anan Bear Observatory on the 28^th (we hope to secure permits to visit Anan tomorrow morning before we leave Point Baker).

After the boys went to bed we set up the baby monitor and were able to visit over on Second Wind.  We had a lovely evening and stayed up way too late.  We will part ways with Alice and Steve tomorrow because they are heading further south towards Craig and we are heading towards Wrangell, but hopefully we will run into them as we continue homeward as the summer winds down.

Alaska Trip Day 68

7/23/11

Rocky Pass (between Kuiu and Kupreanof Islands), AK

Miles Travelled:  48

This morning started off a little rough.  We woke up at 5am in order to get out across Chatham Strait before the predicted winds would be opposing the ebb tide.  Lars woke up while we were getting ready and it spawned several miscommunications between Tor and me, so even though Lars went back to sleep with little more than some back patting, the morning for Tor and me was kind of sour.  Fortunately we talked it through and figured out some things to try for making early mornings like that go better.

The predicted wind (S 15 kts) never appeared and we motored across a glass calm Chatham Strait and into Frederick Sound.  We saw lots of humpback whales in Frederick sound but they were never very close, and I even saw a couple of Orcas.

The weather was glorious.  I was at the helm a significant portion of the morning and we motored into Rocky Pass while the boys were napping.  The usual north/ south route by Kupreanof Island is Wrangell Narrows which is very well marked, dredged to known depths and very busy with commercial traffic.  We used Wrangell Narrows on our trip northward and decided to give Rocky Pass a try on our trip southward.  Rocky pass is very shallow, kelp infested and though a portion of it called “The Summit” used to be dredged it is no longer.  The Coast Guard does not recommend boaters to pass through and even went as far as taking out all of the navigation markers several years ago to try and dissuade people from using it.  That only caused more problems and the Coast Guard had to rescue more people from Rocky Pass, so they put the markers back in.  You need to transit it at high water because at zero tide the minimum depths in the navigable sections are about 4 feet.  We draw 4.5 feet, so high tide is mandatory!  Actually, you want to hit the two tricky sections, “The Summit” and “Devil’s Elbow” just before high tide so that there is some current to lay the kelp down to help reduce the risk that you will get kelp wrapped up in your prop.  We weren’t going to go through The Summit or Devil’s Elbow today because the timing wasn’t right for high water…besides that, we’d covered enough miles today!  But, the great thing about Rocky Pass is that you can anchor just about anywhere.  The depths are shallow enough and the holding is good in mud, it’s also not an area that gets much strong wind, so we just found a 30 foot hole and dropped our anchor.  Perfect.  High tide is at about 8:30 tomorrow morning, so we will get up and get going around 7-7:30 to transit The Summit and Devil’s Elbow.

Second Wind anchored nearby not too long after we got settled.  We had dinner (Kenyan Beef Curry with brown rice and broccoli) and later Alice and Steve from Second Wind came over to visit.  They caught some rock fish on their trip from Baranof today so they very kindly brought some over for us.  We still have salmon in the icebox from Scott and now rock fish…we feel very rich!

Playing in the cockpit at anchor

Alaska Trip Day 67

7/22/11

Warm Spring Bay, Baranof  Island, AK

Miles Travelled:  0

We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stay at Baranof for one more day, it is too neat to rush.  We got up this morning and hiked up to Baranof Lake with the boys strapped to us in the carriers.  It was a lovely walk, mostly on board walk and through beautiful woods with swampy area plants like skunk cabbage and salmon berry.  The lake was gorgeous and the boys had a great time playing at the “beach.”  Odin found the water and LOVED splashing in it and throwing pebbles…Grandpa Ralph would be so proud!  Both boys got wet enough that we had to strip down their clothes and put them in our fleeces.  Lars just got his pants wet, so Tor put his legs in the arms of his sweatshirt, but Odin got everything wet so all his clothes had to come off and he wore my jacket like a jacket.  Too cute to see them both bundled up that way!

When we got back to the dock, Second Wind was back at the dock as well as a couple of new arrivals, Voyageur and Makai, both boats we’ve seen off and on since Glacier Bay.  Apparently It was nasty out in Chatham Strait with 15-20 kts of wind from the S (not what the forecast said by the way) and 3-5 foot chop due to the wind opposing the ebbing tide.  Steve and Alice on Second Wind poked their noses out and decided to come right back, while Voyageur and Makai were very glad to get in to Baranof after their trip from Cosmos inlet.  We were glad we had decided to stay the day, though it does make us a little worried about our planned trip across Chatham Strait towards Kake tomorrow.  Based on what those boats experienced this morning, we will probably get up at about 5am and get across.  The forecast for tomorrow is the same as for today with S winds and we don’t want to experience the tide opposing the wind and it will start ebbing (or heading Southward) around 7:30 tomorrow.

The rest of the day was full of visiting.  After their nap, we ended up visiting Ron and Barb on Makai and the boys got to play in their spacious cabin.  They love having lots of space to crawl around in and the deck of cards that Barb gave them to play with was way too fun!

I baked bread in the afternoon and we had silver salmon from Scott on Sandy Point Maid roasted in olive oil and butter, broccoli and brown bread for dinner.  It was delicious.

After the boys went to bed, we washed more laundry with the abundant warm water from the hot springs and freshwater to rinse from the hose on the dock.  We each got another soak in the tubs and it’s early to bed for our early morning.

Mama and Lars hiking up to the lake

Papa and Odin hiking to the lake

Playing on the beach at the lake

Odin loved splashing in the water!

Making sure Odin doesn't go swimming

Two wet boys!

Wet Odin warming in my jacket

Odin tossing stones in the lake

Alaska Trip Day 66

7/21/11

Warm Spring bay, Baranof  Island, AK

Miles Travelled:  15

(Tor reporting)

Waking after a good night’s sleep we headed south a short 15 miles to more hot springs!  Unfortunately, the swell was up and things were a bit rolly when trying to both make progress southward - and feed boys oatmeal by spoon.  It worked, but there was grumbling in both the galley and the cockpit.  The seas settled down about half way to Warm Springs bay, but seven miles of rolling around was plenty for the four of us. We pulled into the bay just moments behind a 100+ foot charter vessel that beat us to the dock.  Luckily, we were able to back into a spot near the ramp that seemed made just for us.

Baranof hot springs is a VERY popular spot with, well, everyone.  During our first night at the dock there were three 100 foot or larger “private charter yachts” in the bay and two purse seiners in addition to six or so private boats.  Facilities are maintained by the borough of Sitka and consist of a boardwalk around the few private cottages along the shoreline and a bathing shed (maintained by residents) with three troughs plumbed direct with running hot spring water.  You can also hike about ½ mile to the natural springs near the river for a more natural setting.  Fortunately the tubs are large and we were able to get family bath time done all at once, and have a great time splashing water around doing it!

Although turnover at the dock is fairly quick we did have some great visits.  M/V Allegra we learned is usually tied up at the dock through the summer. Victor Cano has set up a very classy little gallery of his finely carved wooden masks on a piling at the dock for visitors to see and purchase.  He and his friendly dog Lola do a great job of stewarding the dock space and setting a friendly tone.  We also saw a  commercial troller named Sandy Point Maid that we were tied up next to in Sitka.  When we were in Sitka, Scott the owner was kind enough to give us a small party favor size container of  bubbles since we had kiddos on board, they have been a hit with Lars and Odin. 

We also met the couple aboard s/v Second Wind (Steve and Alice).  They live aboard in Anacortes and have been spending summers on northern waters since 1997 or so.  Although chatting on the dock was the first time we had met them face to face, it turns out that they spoke with us on the VHF radio our second day out of Ketchikan.  We had tried a number of times to hail s/v Baraka on the radio in Clarence Strait and were out of range.  Steve and Alice responded to say that they had seen Baraka in the Strait and that they were probably headed to Meyers Chuck.  It had been a very rough crossing and Second Wind, being a smaller boat (than Baraka) had tucked into a nearby anchorage.  It was very thoughtful of them to let us know they had seen our friends and great to finally meet them in person. 

Late in the afternoon the owner of Allegra caught a beautiful silver salmon off the dock and gave us half the fish all filleted for our dinner.  What a treat!  We have not had time on this trip to consider fishing, or crabbing – even if we did spring for the $150 license.  Jess and I get pretty excited when we have a chance to enjoy freshly caught fish!

We ended up the day with a couple of more soaks in the bathing tubs at the head of the dock and quite a few loads of wash done in our cockpit while the boys slept.  With an endless supply of hot water a short walk away, we washed everything we could think of!  You could hardly tell we were a sailing boat as all the lifelines and rigging were covered with our drying clothes.

Lars enjoying the tub

Mr. Blue eyes in a blue tub

One of the baths at Baranof, heaven!

The view of the falls and Baranof boardwalk from the bathhouse

Our favorite mask carved by Victor Cano