Alaska Trip Day 64

7/19/11

Baby Bear Cove, Baranof Island, AK

Miles Travelled:  33

(Tor reporting)

Yare and crew departed the dock (Thompsen harbor) shortly after 0700 to head north to Peril Strait.  We decided to opt for the more protected “inside route” instead of heading out into the Pacific Ocean (if we were to have gone south down the coast from Sitka).  We have our hands full with the boys on this trip and protected waters through Peril Strait worked to get to Sitka – they ought to work to get us home…

The day was overcast and rainy but calm, and turned out to be an uneventful motor.  Tidal currents are still a factor in this area of Southeast AK but not nearly as severe as other places.  This is due to being on the ocean and not up a sound or channel.  We were able to time the currents through Olga and Neva straits, north of Sitka to have somewhat of a push through.  Jess was at the helm most of the day and even had the opportunity to maneuver around both a large Alaska state ferry AND a tug with tow in the most constricted portion of Olga strait.  I will say that the channel seems pretty slender when the other vessel is so big!

Our original plan was to anchor south/west of Sergius Narrows.  However, as often happens the boys were in the midst of their afternoon nap so we reduced our speed and motored around Fish Bay for about an hour waiting for the tidal currents to allow us to pass safely through Sergius Narrows.  We ended up challenging the high water slack by close to an hour but we cheated a bit by taking a shallower route called Canoe Pass.  It is only about 100 yards away from Sergius, but is much shallower, the currents are lower and only small boats can do it so you don’t have to worry about large, fast commercial traffic (Sweet!).  It worked beautifully and we snuck back into a nearly landlocked anchorage called Baby Bear Cove and anchored with three other vessels in a very protected location. The hillsides were covered with silver colored dead cedar trees interspersed in the forest.  Note: we learned later from a forestry employee we met at Baranof Warm Springs that the cedar trees are not able to come out of dormancy fast enough in their growing season as a result of the increasing air temperatures over the last 40-50 years  (Climate Change again…).  Because the Cedar wood is fairly rot resistant, the upright silvered “ghost trees” remain.

Yum!  King salmon, roasted sweet potato and steamed broccoli for dinner