We got up this morning at 8am to catch the slack then flood up Peril Strait. Peril Strait got its name from an incident in 1799 when some Aleut hunters (who had been enslaved by the Russians to hunt sea otters--Alexander Baranof was in charge then) stopped in what is now Poison Cove and were poisoned by mussels during a rest stop there. By the time they reached what is now Deadman’s Reach most of them had died an agonizing death.
As Kelsey brought up the anchor I had practice turning Privateer this way at that with short forward throttle bursts, as communicated to me by Kelsey with hand signals to keep the chain from hitting the bob stay. Soon we got underway and headed up Peril Strait.
We had a tiny bit of tail wind and briefly raised the yankee but soon it dissipated and refurled. Misty rainy day, low clouds over the mountains so I wasn’t able to see the Baranof Mountains. (Peril Strait divides Chichagof and Baranof Islands)
I took the helm for two hours and then Kelsey took the helm. Traveling was fairly uneventful, though very pretty country. At one point I saw a very large eagle standing on the beach. After several hours we got to the area of Peril Strait called Deadman’s Reach--this is where the tides that come in from Chatham Strait (from the East) meet and clash with the tides coming in from Salisbury Sound (from the West). The currents weren’t too crazy at the time we went through but you could see some ripples and clashing currents.
Later, as we approached Povorontini Island, and I was at the helm, I suddenly saw a slow moving whale, off our starboard beam, come to the top to breathe. A yelp from me and Pete took over the helm and I grabbed my camera and went to the bow. When she came to the surface again slowly, it turned out there were two humpbacks, mother and calf--slowly coming to surface, side by side and then slowly going back under. All the other time we’ve seen the humpbacks, their coming to the surface has been a quick blow and back under. These were slow leisurely rolls to the surface. We saw them surface four times. I hadn’t expected anymore whale encounters and I was stunned and overwhelmed by emotion. Thank you whales--I’ll never forget you!
The excitement wasn’t over though. As Peril Strait heads south it narrows and there are huge amounts of water coming through. Pete has been through here many times and as we approached Big Rose Island, he suggested I sit on the bow and study the currents as we went though them.
As we came abeam of Big Rose Island, I noticed currents breaking and running like a river current, then currents would be going in different directions, within twenty feet of each other, one would be heading up the strait and the other headed down. As we advanced further down the strait, it got even crazier, whirlpools and boiling water like Poseidon was deep down below mixing up a wicked brew. I sat on the cabin with my jaw agape--I had never seen such water before. Sometimes Privateer would suddenly veer off to one side, pushed by the strong currents. At one point, she was going 9 knots. Crazy.
We had known for a while that the ferry Fairweather (the hydrofoil ferry that runs between Juneau and Sitka everyday) was coming toward us and as she got closer, Pete hailed the ferry on channel 13 and let her captain know we were there and she passed close by us at buoy 14 at Middle Point and we got a toot out of her as we waved.
Pete turned Privateer into Little Bear Bay and threaded his way through the narrow navigable channel, deep back into the cove. Very sweet, tree lined cove and we are very well protected here. I took a much needed shower in the cockpit after we had anchored and a little seal peeped at me.
Tomorrow is a big day as we have to get through Sergius Narrows--a narrow strip of water that can only be taken during slack tide. Should be interesting. Kelsey just came back from a row in little Trinka and told how she had a young buck hiss at her from the bank and a mink peered at her from a boulder on the shore. I didn’t know deers hissed!
There is a low pressure front moving into the area on Sunday with nine foot swells so we may have to make a run for it, all the way to Sitka tomorrow to beat the weather. We’ll see what the updated weather report says.
Goodbye for now
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| ferry Fairweather |
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| kelp strewn shallows entrance to Baby Bear Cove |
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| Peril Strait |
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| Baby Bear Cove |
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