Sailing SE Alaska

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.