Sailing SE Alaska

July 25, 2012 Mosquito Cove (Inian Islands) to Dundas Bay

     Woke up still feeling sick and weak but a little better. Got underway from Mosquito Cove, timed for the low water slack so we could cross North Inian Pass which has a lot of rip tides and can be quite nasty and then take the flood up Dundas Bay. As we exited Mosquito Cove we saw more sea lions along the shore of the island in front of us, then we turned to starboard and went up Middle Pass and into North Inian Pass. We had timed it perfectly, low ocean swell and the water was glassy. The cloud cover was higher today and we could see the Fairweather Range as we crossed the pass.
     As we entered the mouth of Dundas Bay, Pete took the helm from Kelsey as Dundas Bay is not very well charted.
     We had our closest humpback whale sighting yet. We first heard the whale’s blow off our port side (the first time I’ve been close enough to hear their exhalation) and then he resurfaced off our starboard bow only about 50 feet away. Pete put Privateer in neutral and we watched him move away from us as he came up for air. Very thrilling!
     As we continued into Dundas Bay we could see the shallow part of the head of Dundas River, with White Cap Mountain behind it (not so white capped anymore). I took some pictures to show family friend, Garth. as he has some ancestral Tlingit land a little bit aways up the river that he inherited from his father. We had hoped to explore it by rowboat but it was too far to row from where we would be able to anchor Privateer.
     As we continued up Dundas Bay, we unfurled the yankee and sailed past the ruins of an old cannery off our port side. Many sea otter and occasional sighting of porpoise and when we came to confluence of Dundas Bay’s two arms, the National Geographic boat called the Wilderness Explorer was anchored. Beautiful soaring mountains rimmed this area, with last winter’s snow in the ravines and a cascading waterfall.
     Pete turned left into the SW arm and we are now anchored in 31 feet of water in the south part of this arm by a small island that is on the chart. To our NW we can see part of the Fairweather range. Another lovely anchorage.
     I’m definitely on the mend but by the end of today, I am exhausted again. Tomorrow we need to make 44 mile run to Hoonah, I hope I’m feeling better after a good nights sleep.