An otter rookery

June 2 Kell Bay

Wind and water blew up so we diverted from our Cape Decision route and ran to Sumner Strait to anchor in Kell Bay. Talk about a scenic postcard pretty site! The tough decision was whether to choose the sunny cove with a peekaboo view to outside water or the more shaded cove with a picturesque, snow-capped peak looming above it. We opted for sunshine and scenic dinghy runs to view the mountain.

Kelp beds rank high on the list of positive things this week. Kelp fringed the edges of the barely navigable channel twisting through Nagasay’s Launch Passage and helped guide our entry. Kelp beds decorated a string of reefs just outside Kell Bay where we paused to watch a humpback whale and her very tiny calf surface cruise the area and occasionally do a shallow dive and spout. Mom whale surfaced trailing kelp fronds from her broad back, glistening leathery scarves that dropped as she traveled.

But the best kelp beds were the ones at the far end of Kell, the kelp beds that housed a raft of sea otter and their new kits, an otter rookery. Otter everywhere! Moms floated on their backs, cuddling youngsters on their chests as they cruised in the sunshine. Some had their feet sticking up out of the water, others moved rapidly though effortlessly as they paddled with those strong, webbed appendages. We (and they) kept our distance, but just the memory of our visits brings a smile to my face. Finally, an otter photo.

June cruising

June 1, Mon Nagasay

We passed one lonely otter floating near a kelp bed on the circuitous exit from Klawock Inlet. As usual he kept just out of range for a good photo with the 400mm lens. How do they know?

VHF weather reports a strong high stationary over the Alaskan panhandle and calls for unseasonably warm weather for this week, 15 to 20 degrees agove normal and in the low 70s for coastal waters. If the winds don’t shift this could be the year we finally get to make the trip north to Sitka along the west side of Baranof Island. We have a couple of decision points along the route (including one at Cape Decision) before we commit to outside waters.

We entered Nagasay through shallow, rocky, kelp-strewn Launch Passage. I’d rather do this in the dinghy! No luck fishing today, but it was a lovely whale-watching cruise. One Sandhill crane landed in our cove for a photo-op.

Otter and whales and bear, oh my!

May cruising - Prince of Wales Wilderness Area

It’s been three weeks since we cleared US customs in Ketchikan, and what beautiful country we’ve seen. As I enter this on approach to Craig Harbor we’re only 50 miles west of Ketchikan, but have cruised about 140 miles around the south end of Prince of Wales Island to get here.

The Chamber of Commerce info pamphlet notes that POW Island...

“is 140 miles by 45 miles--third largest island in the U.S. The shoreline is 990 miles of rock cliffs, promontories, palisades and beaches of broken stone or sand. Countless smaller islands dot the coast, offering even more tempting coves and inlets. A day’s tidal range (high to low) runs 16 to 22 feet and a few narrows produce impressive tidal flows - of interest to slow cruising boats. A network of more than 2000 miles of roads reaches into the island.”

Only 105 paved miles connect the five major settlements and a ferry dock, 150 improved gravel roads extend along northern shorelines and into the mountains, and the rest are unimproved logging roads that criss-cross the forest. We just see the shoreline and hike the roads and trails close to town.

The southern third of the island is Prince of Wales Wilderness area - no development, no roads, just wildlife and rugged country. Black bear, sea otter, seals, killer whales, humpback whales, porpoise, eagles, heron, Sandhill cranes, marten… the list goes on. We love it here!