Distance: 30 miles covered in 5 hours
Highlights: beautiful morning at Crab Bay with opportunity for close-up pictures of Bald Eagle; some rough water crossing Revillagigedo Channel into calmer waters of Behm Channel and Misty Fjord and discovering the nice spacious anchorage of Shoalwater Passage and excellent kayaking. Another close-up bear encounter (from the dinghy), but our close-up views revealed a sad looking specimen that appeared to be ill-nourished.
A beautiful morning at Crab Bay...
Moxie's "happy break-dance" upon finding a nice stretch of sandy beach...
...is a bit reminiscent of Snoopy's "happy dance" of sheer joy...
Under the ever-watchful eye of the eagle...
Bald Eagle taking flight...
Heading out from Crab Bay to Shoalwater Passage in Misty Fjord...
Nicole having a lazy morning in bed, underway...
And we sometimes spoil Nicole with watching DVD's in her own cabin. One of Nicole's favorite shows during this extended cruise were reruns of "I Love Lucy"...
Early calm water...
...giving way to choppy seas driven by typical afternoon wind...
Revillagigedo Channel is not a small body of water. It is not Dixon Entrance or Cape Caution, but still created some rough water for our crossing. Above and below: Beyond pushes through building waves...
Nicole wearing her lifejacket during periods of rough water. Not mandatory since she is very secure inside the Seaquel's enclosed cabin, but a safety precaution...
Nicole seems unconcerned about the rough water! Even with her lifejacket on, Nicole is catching a nap, underscoring how at peace and relaxed Nicole is aboard Seaquel. In fact, Nicole is a notoriously light sleeper at home, and almost never takes naps. But aboard Seaquel, Nicole napped a little bit almost every day, with the gentle (or not so gentle) rocking of the boat along with the "diesel vibration" providing seemingly more effective relief from the high muscle tone that is Nicole's primary struggle with her Cerebral Palsy and for which she has a "Baclofen Pump" surgically implanted to dispense this strong prescription muscle relaxant. Zzzzzzz…
The tour boats heading to Misty Fjord from Ketchikan go fast, and don't concern themselves as much with fuel burn. However, for our flotilla stretching our fuel range was an ever-present concern when we were heading into such scenic wilderness areas and wanted to make sure fuel did not limit our opportunities for exploration. Additionally, our more relaxed pace afforded far greater opportunities for wildlife viewing and picture-taking...
Calmer waters as we push further up into Behm Canal...
Red, White, and Blue skies as viewed through the hatch above the helm...
Deep water! Misty Fjord's is named as such for two reasons: 1) typical misty, rainy weather (which fortunately for us, we will miss as sunny skies are forecast for the next few days); 2) extensive fjord-like passages are striking for the towering peaks that rise straight up from the water's edge and likewise plunge deep into the sea. Although not far from shore, our charts indicate depths exceeding 1,400 feet along our route toward Misty Fjord's National Monument...
Our flotilla on anchor at Shoalwater: Journey (far right) and Seaquel (foreground) on stern-tie while Beyond is anchored mid-channel to swing without a stern-tie...
Seaquel on stern-tie in Shoalwater Passage...
Peggy kayaking around a small island inside Shoalwater Passage before the wind kicked up again...
Mark & Peggy enjoying some exercise paddling and exploring the length of the passage...
Moxie enjoys our paddling too, but gets more exercise when she jumps off to escape the horseflies and decides to swim instead...
Lightning strikes twice (sort of)! Glen had been fishing from his dinghy on the other side of the island in the cove when he saw a bear near the shoreline. He sped back to Journey to call Mark on the VHF radio: "Wanna grab the camera and try to find a bear on the other side of the anchorage?" We sped around the point, just like we had over a month ago in Kakushdish Bay when we were able to get so close to the large Black Bears there. Sure enough, we found the bear close to the water's edge...
As we had before, we cut the engine on the outboard and Glen rowed us closer, quietly so as not to alarm the bear, while Mark sat forward with the camera clicking away...
This Brown Bear saw us, but acted different. It seemed lethargic, moving slowly, even once it spotted us...
As it slowly moved away from the water, it was evident that this particular bear was malnourished - almost thin - which is alarming given the amount of fat these bears need to be accumulating to survive their upcoming hibernation in brutal winter conditions....
This bear hesitated multiple times, continuing to turn to look back at us with what seemed like sad eyes, further displaying its alarmingly thin flanks...
One last look before retreating into the thick forest...
Exploring the beach on the northern end of the passage...
Just off the beach, tucked into the trees, is a National Monument cabin that can be rented...
View to the beach from the cabin...
The interior was very clean, with bunks that could sleep up to 6, a table & benches, plus a free-standing fireplace...
Outside there was a lean-to shelter complete with splitting maul and some rounds of firewood. I split a few pieces for exercise and as a surprise gift for whoever will be renting the cabin next...
The Shoalwater Passage beach at low tide was one of the more expansive beaches we had found throughout SE Alaska...
A good haul of Dungeness Crab. Guess what's for dinner tonight?
Our flotilla, once again, has this entire anchorage to ourselves, at least for this day...
~Mark
Awesome! Really enjoying your updates.
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