Sailing SE Alaska: August 2012

Hello,
     My name is Talia.
     This blog covers the four weeks during the summer of 2012 that I spent sailing in SE Alaska, circumnavigating Chichagof Island. I joined an expedition aboard S/V Privateer with Captain Peter Frost and his partner and first mate, Kelsey.
     Privateer is a 36 ft Cape George cutter (with a 5 ft draft) built by the Cape George Yard in Port Townsend, Washington. The full-keeled Cape George cutters are a wooden boat inside a fiber glass hull and were designed by William Atkin.
     I've put this trip blog in chronological order so it can be read from beginning to end. I hope it may be helpful to others considering sailing in SE Alaska.

For a compilation movie I made of trip video and pictures (set to music), go to:
           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQVvsN95Q1w

For Mobile Devices: My movie (without music and lower pixels)
            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Dt7olDYmo

For more info about Peter Frost’s sailing expeditions, go to his website at: www.nwexpeditions.com

I wrote an article about my trip which was published in the January 2013 issue of Seattle's 48 North.
http://digital.turn-page.com/i/100017/0 (pg 42) for the whole issue or go to my last blog post for just my article.

Below: Starting and ending in Sitka, SE Alaska--Our clockwise route around Chichagof Island.

Kelsey, Talia, Pete

July 10, 2012 Seattle to Sitka

     The airplane ride from Seattle was amazing. We were low enough that I could really see the land below. We flew along the East coast of Vancouver Island and I was able to recognize Denman and Hornby Island, then Comox and Campbell River as we flew over--I even could see the mouth of Butte and Knight Inlets. As we neared the North end of Vancouver Island the cloud cover came back though it thinned for awhile as we flew over some islands that I believe were the Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte) Islands. Interestingly, I was one of the few women on board, most were men going to Sitka for fishing charters.
     At the Sitka airport I was met by Pete --Adventure on! We stepped out of the airport and I immediately noticed a bald eagle flying overhead. In fact, here in Sitka they can be a bit of a nuisance to sailboats as they like to perch on the tallest masts in the marina ( looking down on the ubiquitous fishing boats for fish) and Privateer had had her anemometer broken by a perching eagle not long before.
    Privateer was anchored out in the bay, so we dropped my luggage off at the storage locker and spent some time walking around Sitka. Eagles and ravens everywhere flying over the city--you can hear them calling constantly. Beautiful. We checked out the Cathedral of St. Michael built in 1848 when Alaska was still under Russian control. The small church had beautiful icons, paintings and 3D metal relief pictures of the saints. Then later, we walked through an old graveyard in the woods. Unusual in that instead of manicured lawns, the graves were scattered in among the forest and the shrubbery..many from the early 1900s.
    Later, Kelsey (Pete's partner, first mate and cook extraordinaire) rowed their little dingy in from Privateer,we picked up my luggage and Peter rowed me out to Privateer. Wow--she’s beautiful. A 36 ft. Cape George Cutter, fiberglass on the outside and all mahogany, teak and yellow cedar down below. I can hardly wait to set sail tomorrow.
On a side note, if you're in Sitka and need internet access, the library has wifi and about 10 computers. It's quite a lovely library, a big picture window looks out over the water and the computers are usually available although it can get busy if there is a cruise ship in town. Right next to the library is a very large Tlingit "friendship" canoe that has Raven and Eagle on it.

My chariot awaits


Down below Privateer is all cedar, mahogany and teak.


Pete

Old graveyard in Sitka


Old grave in Sitka

Cathedral of St. Michael in Sitka

July 11, 2012   Sitka to Magoun Islands

Slept really well. Gently rocked to sleep and my bunk is super comfortable. This morning Pete went over some of the safety features with me--the VHF radio (practiced making mayday, securite and pon pon calls), the VHF weather channel, DSC paging system, AIS and EPIRB. Also, the Winslow life raft (and how to deploy) and went over the objects in his Ditch Bag if we abandon ship.
     Left Sitka early afternoon on the flood tide, motoring, heading North, to the East of Middle Island, a little wind, so unfurled the yankee sail until Kruzof Island blocked what little wind there was, motored to the East of Krestof Island and then in among the Magoun Islands where we’ve anchored for the evening. Beautiful little bay and Mt. Edgecumbe in the distance to the West. It’s so quiet--haven’t heard this kind of quiet since my time up Butte Inlet in BC, only the occasional "chock chock" of a raven.
     Tomorrow Kelsey and I will do the helm and navigating so Pete had us read over the US Coast Pilot book as we went over our route for tomorrow. Very rocky around these islands, with many submerged rocks so great care is needed.

Privateer in our first anchorage. Pallets are for burning in the wood stove.

Magoun Islands anchorage. Mt. Edgecumbe, an active volcano in the distance.


My super comfortable berth.

July 12, 2012 Magoun Islands to Kalinin Bay

     Left our little bay in the Magoun Islands this morning on the ebb tide as we resumed North. I was on helm as Kelsey kept watch on our chart and warned me where the submerged rocks and shallow shoals were. Pete wants us to rely on the charts but he kept an eye on his GPS as we traveled and would warn us if we got too close to anything dangerous. He showed me how to watch for signs of shallow water such as a greenish water color and kelp beds.
     Still no wind, so we are motoring and Neva Strait has a very narrow channel so impractical to sail anyway. As we made our way through Neva Strait, spotted two grizzly bears eating grass on the shore just South of St John the Baptist Bay, a sea lion watched us go by and four eagles soared on an updraft.
    Not long after Neva Strait’s channel opened up into Salisbury Sound, the hydrofoil ferry Fairweather passed us going South on its way to Sitka--I’m glad we were out of the narrow part of the strait by then.
   Now we could see Chichagof Island ahead and the high, dramatic mountains on the Khaz Peninsula. Up until this point we had been by Baranof Island (which is where Sitka is), Kruzof Island and the Magoun Islands but this was our first actually sight of Chichagof Island. Our circumnavigation had officially began. As we entered Salisbury Sound and headed West, looking toward the Northeast, I could see the Western entrance of Peril Strait, which is where we will exit as we complete our circumnavigation four weeks from now.
     Entering Salisbury Sound, we got our first ocean swell which was a gentle roll and we could see waves breaking on the shore for the first time. We continued West through Salisbury Sound and then turned South and hugging the West shore, we carefully entered Kalinin Bay (the N. end of Kruzof Island) and anchored for the night. A front is moving in with 25+ knots of wind so we are stopping here for the night instead of running North up Khaz Peninsula--with a system moving in, we don’t want to get caught out in the ocean as there are no anchorages until we get past the Khaz Peninsula.
     Kalinin Bay is a sweet, little, protected bay surrounded by mountain peaks with good anchorage. (Don’t believe the Douglas guide which calls it smelly) Pete and Kelsey saw ten grizzlies feeding on the grass last time they were here so we are hoping to see some. Only a fishing boat and us are here. Pete and Kelsey tell me there is a trail here where you can hike West over the low mountain and onto a white sand beach on the West Coast of Kruzof.
       Beautiful, gorgeous, wild country and I feel so blessed to experience this. Privateer feels so solid and capable and I feel in good hands under Pete’s tutelage and guidance--not to mention Kelsey is an amazing cook--I have never eaten so well.

At the helm through Neva Strait.


The first bears we sighted--in Neva Strait


Entering Salisbury Sound, we see Chichagof Island for the first time. Khaz Peninsula of Chichagof.

Kalinin Bay

A delicious meal by Kelsey.

July 13, 2012 Kalinin Bay

Stayed the day in Kalinin Bay while we waited for the weather system to move through. When we woke up this morning we found the converted 1952 mine-sweeper Liseron anchored in the bay, which is now a high end charter boat. Had a leisurely day as we waited for calmer weather as we need to head out several miles offshore into the ocean tomorrow as we head up North along the Khaz Peninsula of Chichagof Island. This will be my first time sailing out into the ocean and I’m excited and a little scared.
Spent the day pouring over the charts to determine our path (thru Piehle passage or around) and various anchorage possibilities for tomorrow night. Pete also taught me how to put on a survival suit and two whipping styles (one for braided line and the other for three stranded line). Kelsey and Peter rowed up a stream and saw three grizzlies eating grass but I stayed on board. I just love to hang with Privateer.

Pete demonstrating how to put on the survival suit.

Huh? I have to zip up with crab claws?

Pete helping with the last few inches.

Pete and Kelsey

Kelsey and I learning to whip line ends.


Bear pic by Kelsey

Going for a row.

Liseron, an old converted mine sweeper

July 14, 2012   Kalinin Bay, thru Piehle Pass to Ford Arm

     We woke up early, 7:30. Dreams full of anxiety (almost driving off a collapsed bridge over a deep canyon).I think the anxiety is because I will be sailing out into the open ocean for the first time.
     In Kalinin Bay we had a quick breakfast and listened to the updated weather report on the VHF radio--ocean swell forecast still at 5 feet, so we were good to go. Started getting Privateer ready for the open ocean--everything below tucked in, fastened down all the port lights, brought Trinka (the rowboat) aboard and strapped her to the bow, fastened the crab pot to the lifelines, attached jack lines, raised the main and put in a single reef and stored the wood burning stove chimney below.
     Got underway by 11:00. Motored out of Kalinin Bay and once out into Salisbury Sound, we're finally able to raise the three sails (yankee, stays’l, main) and turn off the motor--Yeehaw! Today we had a NW wind that started at about 15 knots and eventually built to about 25.
     We cleared Salisbury Sound after a few tacks which brought us into the open ocean, the Gulf of Alaska. It’s important to stay way clear of Khaz Peninsula’s very rocky and shallow coastline. On our first starboard tack (west) we went out about five miles--ocean swells and waves combined were about 4-6 feet and Privateer clipped along at 6-8 knots (the notion that full keel is slower is clearly wrong) I was amazed that the only time we had to touch the tiller was when we tacked. Peter had the sails balanced so perfectly that Privateer stayed on a close haul all by herself. I was at the helm as we tacked and I was surprised at how hard I had to push to move the tiller.
      During that first starboard tack out into the ocean, when we were about 4 miles out, looking back toward land, we saw numerous humpback blow plumes rise and hover into the sky. We also could see the top of Mt. Fairweather, a 15,300 foot high mountain to the North.
     After about five hours and four tacks on the ocean, we cleared Khaz Peninsula and very carefully started motor sailing into and through Piehlie Passage, a rock strewn passage where some parts have a very narrow area that is safe to navigate (at one point we were in only 18 ft of water). Pete carefully followed a previous route he had made, recorded on his GPS, while I read out depth soundings and Kelsey stood on the bowsprit watching for rocks. Treacherous Piehle Passage had some of the most amazing rock formations I’ve seen yet in Alaska. (Piehle Pass is named after a rumrunner named Piehle who would escape into the pass as evening fell, to outrun the Feds)
     Once through the passage we shut off our engine. We could see the mouth of Slocum Arm on our starboard side (South) but we continued straight and sailed up Ford Arm. As we traveled up the 3 1/2 mile inlet, two eagles watched us from their perch in some tall trees and we saw a flock of Kittiwakes hanging out on a rock. Pete spotted a grizzly on a grassy flat (that man has amazing eyesight!). As we reached the head we went slightly North and anchored in small Elf cove.
     I didn’t enjoy going out into the ocean as much as I thought I would. It was discomforting to see the land get further away. Although Privateer sailed beautifully through the swells, the motion was unsettling (though I was relieved I had no sea sickness) After about an hour at sea, I started to feel very fatigued and wanted badly to get back closer to land, but when after about three hours Kelsey fed us salami,cheese and crackers,I started to feel less fatigued and seemed to be getting more accustomed to the motion of the sea.
     Now it is late, the wood stove is going and we are warm and cozy in the belly of Privateer. What a day!