June 15, 2018 - Day 14: Thoms Place to Wrangell

Short day: just 24 miles; 3.5 hours cruising time

We have anchored almost every night without mishap.  Here, all three boats in the flotilla ended up pulling anchor and moving, seeking deeper water and larger swinging room on anchor as it became apparent that the 24' tidal change would result in emptying vast portions of Thoms Place bay to the point of being broad, barnacle-clustered beaches.  Not good for parking the boat on!  Here's the view by 5 am in Thoms Place:

This is a little too close for comfort.  Yesterday's 32' depth became just 8'.  But the real problem is when you let out your anchor rode (chain and line) to somewhere around a 5:1 scope (5 foot in length for every 1 foot of depth), that 32' depth (plus the 6' of height from bow roller to water for a total of 38') means that you need a total anchor rode of 38' x 5 = 190'.  And as that 32' depth becomes just 8 feet, the lengthy rode allows your boat to drift further away from the anchor "drop" into far more shallow water.  In this case (below), Journey pulled up the anchor and moved further out.


The tugs look so much better surrounded by water rather than mud, barnacles, and eelgrass!

At daylight it was time to check the crab pot.  Ollie and Glen both caught just a single keeper the night before, so I did not have great expectations.  Moxie, however, had her expectations doused when she realized she could not accompany me when I check the crab pot.  No room in the dinghy with the pot - hopefully teaming with busy Dungeness Crab...

A good catch: the pot was full with 6 crab, including 4 keepers that met the Alaska minimum requirement of 6.5" in length:

Glen brought over his one catch so we could steam them together on Seaquel. One, but a nice big one at that, for a total of five to add to Ollie's one catch...

Let the crab cooking begin.  We steam them because it requires far less water to boil, and hence preserves our propane supply...

Just 3.5 hours later, we are pulling into the marina at Wrangell...

Assembling Nicole's jogger to take her for a walk through the historic town of Wrangell, AK.

The entire Seaquel Crew, including Nicole, ready to hit the streets after two weeks afloat...

Nicole got to see the famous "Petroglyph Beach" along the shores of Wrangell, where the highest concentration of ancient "rock carvings" in the world can be found at low tide.  It is believed these carvings, which depict whales, salmon, faces, and other designs date back 8,000 years!

Nicole did great in her modified jogger, as we trekked for nearly 3 hours along the streets of Wrangell on the way to and from the beach.

Glen's "Journey" looks like it is about to be gobbled up by this 160' Trident Seafood seiner, "Bulldog".  Staying at transient docks in old fishing towns sometimes makes for strange bedfellows...

Something that becomes a frighteningly common sight as one cruises SE Alaska: there are shipwrecks all over.  No, this is not a mere anchoring vs. tides equation: it speaks to how difficult the conditions can be to make a living from the ocean in these Northern latitudes.

Counting our blessings for a safe trip so far!  And what a perfect ending to a perfect day.  The crab we steamed at Thoms Place just before we pulled anchor this morning, we now gathered on the docks at Wrangell between our boats and enjoyed a crab feast in the fading sunlight.  Waterfront dining doesn't get any better, and with fresh-caught crab, sunny skies, and great friendship, what more can one ask for but to be thankful for the conclusion of the 2nd week of this 10 week adventure.

Next: we travel further north to Petersburg, the "Little Norway" of SE Alaska and one of the most productive fishing towns in Alaska.

~Mark