June 8th Bye Ketchikan and Hello Santa Anna Inlet
Left Ketchikan with a fistful of confidence. The iPad was able to download our Navionics charts and we decided we could not buy an Ipad in Ketchikan without a bit of hassle. We did not want to start an account with another cellular carrier and we were going to continue limping along with iPad.
We left the dock in Ketchikan probably around 945 am. We left the GCI store in Ketchikan, walked back to Soulstice, only 2 blocks away, and immediately prepared for departure. It was a bit later than our usual departure but we felt we could still plan on our intended anchorage of 55 nm away. We did have a backup plan for a 30nm anchorage if time was not on our side.
We got lucky! The winds were Southeast and put us on a downwind sail and we scored 3 knots of current. We were making upwards of 8.5 knots at times. We turned off the engine to enjoy the sound of sailing up the Clarence Strait.
It was fantabulous folks!!! Sailing!!! Noise pollution levels are now immensely low and it is FREE!!! No diesel usage and thank you Mother Nature. We sailed the majority of the day and hardly saw anyone. We even got buzzed by a hummingbird! Crazy! The little guy zoomed by the jib and over the boom, made a 2nd pass, and left. Possibly a heavenly friend reincarnated as a hummingbird?
We had some internet service as well and so we did chat up some friends along the sail. I am not a fan of having internet all the time and I feel the benefit of being off the grid is to rid you of this distraction which can detract from the experience. But sometimes it is nice to reconnect with folks:) Especially, those folks that are on your list to connect with when you have more time and so now we do! For example, we chatted with Brad and Sonni, who we met on our 1st sail out of Seattle in 2018 to Mexico. They still have a boat in Mexico but are not cruising anymore. Instead, they have a 50-acre property in Montana with 2 horses that require a lot of attention. We hope to put them on our radar for a visit when we are landlocked again.
After Clarence Strait, we made a turn starboard into the Ernest Sound and did not even have to jibe. We just followed the wind around. The entire journey to Santa Anna was pretty isolated. We saw a ferry and a tug with barge in tow and that was it until a little skiff outside of the entrance to the Santa Anna inlet. They had some crab pots out. All the traffic of Ketchikan stayed there or headed in different directions. The cruise ships don’t use this route either so that eliminated that as a traffic concern.
I did mention some clear cut we saw initially leaving Ketchikan in the Southern portion of the Clarence Strait but it was a small area and the rest was shores lined with cedar, fir, and birch. The arrival into the Santa Anna inlet from the Ernest Sound was magical. It was overcast but still had lots of light out. A waterfall could be heard at the head of the inlet where our anchoring was recommended and bald eagles soaring above. A flock of seagulls on one shoreline and I scouted for a wandering bear but did not see one.
We did get the drone out for a flight. We have not used it in a while and it was prohibiting us from flying at a certain altitude. I suspect a firmware update is in need. All these electronics as I mentioned before can be a blessing and a curse. I will look at that in Juneau most likely.
Stephen and I have a lovely dinner in the cockpit and admired our surroundings. This so far was my favorite anchorage and the runner-up was Cameleon ( we have stayed at 2 with the same name basically but different spelling) the one anchorage off Nodales Channel, the day we navigated through Seymour Narrows. Petra, my German Shepard, who died in 2016, had her ashes dropped in that bay and here, as both places are now special to me and that is how I also honor her life. Reading still the Cruelest Miles slowly and discussing how amazing the sled dogs are especially the lead dogs. A tribute to one of the greatest gifts in this world, a relationship with a dog! Any good dog owner can attest to this unconditional love, the soulful, and powerful energy of that loving bond.
We fell asleep shortly after doing some careful calculations for the Wrangell Narrows only to realize we would not be navigating them tomorrow but the following day after Wrangell. We are not sure how our brains got confused but they did. I realized right before we closed our eyes for dream time that we would re-eval in the morning.
June 9th
The morning wake-up was early. We have a large hatch above, adjacent to the Pullman berth where we sleep and the light is blazing in at 0300 - Ha! I think for the first time ever we may need a hatch cover or just surrender to getting up extremely early. We continued to rest until 0400 and proceeded to make coffee and read. Today would not require such a regimented schedule of being at certain waypoints for slack tide, ebb, and flood tides and we would enjoy a more leisurely time of reading and fishing. Still nothing on the line for dinner….
A seal made a graceful swim across the bay this am. The birds have been out singing and the waterfall gives a constant soothing noise in the background. As I am writing this, Stephen got a fish ON! As he pulled it up, it was a small lingcod or sculpin we suspect. Fish ID with pictures helps but still not sure. Anywho, too small for a keeper.
We are off to Wrangell today and will head through the Zimovia Channel. There is one narrow area in the middle of the channel on the north end of Etolin Island (the south border of this channel ) and another island called Button is smack dab in the middle of the channel. It is reported from the guide books this area has good navigational aids and there is no mention of any significant rapids. We will still aim for a slack time to make passage which is around noon.
Update evening June 9th
We made it through the narrow section easy with the help of the channel markers. It is full of hazards but if you stay the course you are fine. We even went close to low tie and saw only 16ft under the keel at one section but that was the most harrowing. We had sailed over to Deception Cove with an arrival of around 1830. We did get some current to help but no sailing. It was all on the nose. The sun was out for the early part of the day but got gobbled again by the cloud cover and it seemed even chiller with the north wind. We had some temps of the low 60s but by the end of the day, we were back into the 50s. Oh well… our layers of clothes are all easily reachable - ha.
Our early evening was spent reviewing our time to leave in the morning to have a successful navigation through the Wrangell Narrows. It will be another early am and we are getting a bit tired. Stephen was starting to allude to a down day:) in Petersburg. We have been on a schedule to get up north to also make a flight arrangement to fly out of Juneau on the 20th to see our friends in Soldotna. We will not have time to go to Glacier Bay before but will plan after. We are on schedule and so a down day sounds lovely. TBD
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