Ketchikan

Day 6: 35 nm

Morning gifted us with daylight an hour earlier (time zone change), and a -1.5’ low tide. This was another morning to wait for more water in the channel before we could safely exit, so we chatted with 2 kayakers from a neighboring boat and relaxed… patiently… watching the water rise… ever so slowly. 


Early mornings are a terrific time to grab the binoculars and scan the shore for wildlife. This morning we saw one lone deer, browsing the new shoots on low-hanging branches, and a large, sandhill crane gliding around the rim of the bay. Only one crane was visible but many more were audible, chorusing in the background. They have such a distinctive, raucous squawk. 


Eventually the water rose, we departed and cruised on to Ketchikan. Nobletec (the navigation software) hiccuped a couple of times along the route, giving the Capt something to keep this leg of the trip interesting. 


Ketchikan Customs agents always greet us like family returning home - what a welcoming committee, though I miss Officer B. Jones' smiling face (transfer to another station). Now it's time to visit the post office for forwarded mail, purchase Alaska fishing licenses, do a tour at the grocery and come up with a float plan for the next week or two. 

Foggy Bay, AK

Day 5: 103 nm

In the early spring Grenville Channel hills typically wear coats of snow, trailing down almost to the shoreline. We humans would be sporting layers of long underwear, fleecy sweatshirts and probably raingear. By mid-spring multitudes of waterfalls usually carry the torrents of snowmelt waters down to the channel. But today it’s summer, I wore short sleeves and our passage was warmer, greener and well, somehow dull. Note: dull can be good when it reflects a total lack of interesting logs, drift, kelp balls, etc. along the route.

With today's positive current push and really flat water, we motored on up the Grenville and past Prince Rupert. Then we bypassed the anchorages south of Dixon Entrance, choosing to put in another long day and have that big-water crossing behind us. Once across Dixon it was too late to safely travel on to Ketchikan, so we anchored in Foggy Bay. Tomorrow we’ll officially be in Alaska. It’s time to set the clocks back, and slow down the travel for the next few months.

Passing vessels added some interest and color to the overcast, gray-day run up the Grenville Channel and across Dixon Entrance. 

Lowe Inlet

Day 4: traveled 102 nm

Photo: Jackson Passage, provincial park and home to a large, successful fish farm.

We slept in till 0530… woohoo. Overcast and drizzle slowed the daylight wake-up response a bit. Departure was delayed until Jackson Passage had enough depth for anxiety-free transit. Jackson’s s-curve at low water slack is navigable but not fun, so we had another cuppa and waited, choosing to deal with a bit more current and a lot more water.

The Jackson Narrows were no problem, though we did thread our way between beds of kelp, cruising close enough to some boulders to count the purple and orange starfish. Three humpback whales blew and dove while they fed along a current rip line in Finlayson Channel. They weren't close enough or active enough to warrant a photo stop, but a whale sighting is always welcome.

Grenville Channel offers a series of good moorages along its length, each one with some unique feature to enjoy. We chose Lowe Inlet, with its lovely Verney Falls. Three boats were already anchored directly in front of the falls, so we dropped the hook around the point in a quiet nook. Lowe is such an attractive anchorage that we always have company here.