Lake Bay and Coffman Cove

30.2nm          Lake Bay

It’s always tempting to linger at Meyers Chuck, but with so much more to see and do ahead of us, it was time to move on. We traveled to Lake Bay on nearby Prince of Wales Island and dropped anchor in a sheltered cove that offers protection from any strong winds howling down Clarence Strait. Rhapsody rode comfortably in this quiet spot, rocking us to sleep at night lulled by the rhythm of gentle wavelets. Seals fished in the bay (catching more fish than we humans), half a dozen eagles circled overhead and one small black bear appeared briefly on the near shore before disappearing back into the bushes.

A dinghy excursion to Coffman Cove through some shallow back channels brought terrific photo ops, but called for occasional paddling and poling to ease the skiff though shallow passages on the ebbing tide. One juvenile eagle watched our passage with interest from his perch high atop a dead cedar tree. 

Coffman Cove is a quiet settlement: the marina was less than half full, the small take-out restaurant closed until Thursday, the store empty of customers and the library locked up tight. The town lacks cellphone service, but we did find wi-fi available at the library, comfortably seated in wooden chairs on the covered porch. When the library opened we were surprised and touched to find a small memorial to Wrangell resident Pat Roppel, a boating friend, who died in January. Pat, an accomplished woman of many talents - teacher, mentor, writer, historian, explorer, world traveler, and all around amazing individual -  was an avid supporter of the Coffman Cove Library.