July 16, 2012  Falcon Arm to Klag Bay
     Dreams of bears last night chasing me through a grocery store--not surprising considering all the bears we’ve been seeing.
      From Falcon Arm our destination today was Klag Bay, where the mouth, The Gate, has to be transited during slack tide. We had planned for the high water slack, late morning but when we woke up at 8am, it was rainy and foggy so we decided to delay until the low water slack and went back to sleep (no arguments from me there!).  Had a leisurely late morning and early afternoon and pulled up our anchor around 2:30. (wind from the NW).
     Today Kelsey was navigator and I took the helm. As we got under way, spotted a smaller (juvenile?) grizzly on the North bank as we motored out Falcon Arm. (We saw no sea otters in this inlet.) Cleared the arm and turned North out of Slocum Arm. The cloud cover over the surrounding mountain peaks was low and turned into a thin fog as we continued to motor North. Although we had uncovered the main, we later decided not to sail today so that Kelsey and I could focus on navigating. Peter has us watching our charts and he keeps an eye on his GPS (both can be unreliable however as these remote areas are not fully charted--so care is needed)
     As we cleared the small islands on our port side North of Khaz Head and crossed Khaz Bay, we were open to the ocean and the small swells hit us abeam and set Privateer rocking from side to side.
     Even though Kelsey watched our chart carefully (while I was at the helm), the light fog and the numerous small islands was very confusing and we had to idle for awhile as Kelsey and I tried to figure which gap was The Gate--the light fog obscured the green day marker that marks the entrance. Peter knew the right way but wanted us to problem solve and figure it out--which we were able to do. (The Gate is the entrance to Klag Bay)
      Finally we were able to see the green day marker on the North shore but the range markers on the chart to help guide through The Gate, in actuality were in disrepair and useless. (The Gate is very narrow, shallow and can only be transited during slack tide). Kelp on either side warned us of the shallows. We timed it perfectly and the currents were no problem though I did feel a difference and had to keep a firm hand on the tiller. As we passed through the gate, a bald eagle flew low right over over us though I only had time for a quick glance.
     Once past the gate, a bend to the right and we were past the hardest part, though we still had to keep a vigilant eye out. At one point a mama sea otter and her baby rested in the water off our port bow and didn’t dive under until we were within about ten feet of them. Unfortunately, we were too busy navigating to take pictures as we headed up Klag Bay. We’re now anchored at the head of Klag Bay right off shore where the old ruins of Chichagof gold mine are.  Kelsey and I spent about an hours pouring over the charts and planning our route for tomorrow. Another beautiful anchorage.

Bear in Falcon Arm

Smooth Channel