Black bear sightings

May 14, Thurs Ruth Bay/Prince of Wales Is

Wow! Ice on the forward deck this morning… what happened to Spring? On the chart Ruth Bay Cove looked like the perfect well-protected anchorage. We preselected a 26 foot hole as THE anchor spot and plotted an approach, a winding course through a few charted rocks. No way! The soundings noted on the chart appeared correct, but there were a lot of unmarked reefs in between. We did a slow, careful exit with me on the flybridge reading the keel-mounted backup depth sounder and stirred up a little mud but didn’t contact anything solid. Plan B: anchor just outside the cove in the larger space and deeper water of Ruth Bay.

The Ruth Bay highlight was a sighting of three black bear on the beach as we approached the anchorage. We were surprised that this family of mom and two two-year-old cubs was so fat and healthy looking this early after a long, hard winter. One more bear showed later in the day.

May 19, Tues Kasook Inlet/Sukkwan Island

A solitary dead evergreen provided a striking silhouette against the island’s background screen of green. It held a huge eagles nest and two adult bald eagles perched separately on nearby branches, preening and posing for our camera work. Inside the inlet three Sandhill cranes stalked the marshy shore, clambered over drift logs and did a few fly-by tours during the day. Their cry is an unsettling, raucous rattle. The Capt stalked the cranes, camera in hand, while Jerry and Tanya found beachcombed treasures. What terrific photo ops today, and the results looked good in the camera’s preview screen… but now the card isn’t readable. DRAT!

Three black bear entertained us all day Thursday as they rambled along the rocky shoreline. The sow was the fattest, glossiest black bear in memory. Her coat glistened and rippled as she ambled along the rocks, balanced on drift logs, and grazed on pockets of grass just above the high tide line. One cub bounced along in all directions, investigating everything in its path while the other cub stayed close to mama and took every opportunity to plop down and relax. Hooray, the bear photos DID make it onto the computer.

The camera crew at work in Jericho's dinghy, trying to stay downwind and still get close enough for some good shots.

Kasook has been a terrific anchorage with many bays and inlets to explore on dinghy excursions, even when it’s blowing and choppy outside in Cordova Bay. It’s always fun to watch the wildlife, and to watch the wildlife watching us. Kasook must not have many visitors - the animals either seemed curious or ignored us. One weasely varmint (marten? fisher? mink?) popped up in the Capt’s path, stood up on its hind legs and cocked his head from side to side as he peered at the yellow-coated human looming large six feet away. The resident deer and bear seemed unconcerned as we floated by close to shore. Only the Sandhill cranes, migrating north on the flyway to the tundra area, were wary.

NOT kidnapped by pirates

Sitka, Alaska July 15, 2009

You may have noticed a lack of 2009 entries… so what happened to the blog on this cruise?

* unprecedented good weather led to excessive playtime

* we cruised for weeks at a time in remote locations with no wi-fi access

* we had fun guests aboard and spent time cruising, not in town

* in town the cruise ship traffic jammed up cellphone and internet access

* sporadic inertia - no excuse for that!

* weak wi-fi access that dropped connections during photo upload

* did I mention fun in the sunshine instead of blogging on gray days

Enough with the excuses, we’re having a ball on this cruise and I haven’t posted even a tiny bit of what we’ve seen or done or who we’ve spent time with. My apologies to anyone who has checked the site to see where we’re at or what we’re doing. Whenever time/internet/ambition/the planets all line up just right, I’ll transfer my journal notes and some of the hundreds of terrific photos to the blog for you to share. Until then, we’re enjoying the 2009 Alaska cruise to the max!

Sunshine in PA

June 4, Thurs Port Alexander

VHF weather didn’t sound promising but we headed to Cape Decision for a first-hand look at conditions in Chatham Strait. Not so bad, so we pressed on across the strait to the southeast shore of Baranof Island and found space at the dock inside Port Alexander. What a beautiful spot, and 70+ degrees in full sunshine helped us love everything about it. PA is reported to be the rainiest weather reporting station in North America - you would never know it today.

Locals worked on their fishing boats and charter boats, tuning engines and painting hulls, getting ready for this season’s activity. The twice-weekly supply boat had delivered a shipment yesterday, so pallets, lumber and propane were being ferried across the small bay or carted uphill or onto boats. 

A tracked machine, transported by barge, came ashore and positioned a small building at the head of the dock - PA’s first coffee shop. A local group is renovating the de-commissioned lighthouse for 2010 rental and has several pallets of flooring finish material ready for action. 

A small troller from Arlington, WA overnighted in PA to visit with friends and then head north to Sitka along the west shore of Baranof. We plan to run the sheltered eastern shore and visit a string of bays we haven’t yet explored.

We relished the chance to stretch our legs and take a boardwalk stroll to the PA back bay, discovering its second dock and another sprinkling of houses. The route passed the post office, an active schoolhouse and Bear Hall, the community building. The store/gift shop was closed, but peering through the windows it reminded me of the small gift shop in Meyers Chuck, another very small settlement in SE. 

A hike out to the harbor entry netted some cool photo ops - but who has time to process the cards? The Capt is too busy shooting more pictures! My little Lumix has good color and some terrirfic features, but I do covet the stabilized 400mm lens he uses to shoot wildlife.