North to Alaska

O

ohpp

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2015
Messages
21
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Vessel Name
Beyond
We have signed up with a Waggoner's Flotilla headed to Ketchikan this May. We then plan to work our way north to Glacier Bay and then head back to the San Juans arriving for the gathering in September. I am looking for local knowledege of the must see sights, the best places to anchor or the places to avoid. Which little towns should we included and which if any can be passed by. I have the cruising guides and plan to study them over the next few months but having suggestions from those who have been there would be a great help.
Thanks
Oliver & Pam
Beyond
Ranger 27
 
Congratulations on committing to going to Alaska! It's a phenomenal trip. I've been five times and am heading back this summer. It doesn't seem to get old...

In Alaska the smaller towns are my favorite. Wrangell and Petersburg are nice and the big cruise ships don't visit. Sitka is great, and gets only a few cruise ships compared to Ketchikan and Juneau. But the most charming are places like Elfin Cove and Pelican. They're more like villages than towns.

That said, I (and most people I know who cruise Alaska) treat towns as places to reprovision, refuel, fix the boat, and swap guests. The real attraction is nature, and that's best seen at anchor. My favorite anchorage, bar none, is Ford's Terror. Tough to get to (not charted, poorly understood tidal rapid), but I took a bunch of pictures from the drone there last summer and wrote up everything I know about it here: http://slowboat.com/2016/09/feature-art ... ds-terror/

Other favorite anchorages between Petersburg and Juneau are Thomas Bay and Pybus Bay (Cannery Cove). The east side of Baranof Island is also a highligh...Red Bluff Bay in particular, but also Baranof Hot Springs.

The Douglass Guide is really down on going to Le Conte Glacier, but I've had several excellent visits and recommend it since it's the least visited of the tidewater glaciers.

Speaking of tidewater glaciers...they're a huge reason to go to SE Alaska. They're unpredictable, though, so if you want to be sure you'll see one, plan on going to many of them. Some days it's easy to get to the glacier, other days it's impossible. If you only have one day to see a glacier and the ice conditions don't cooperate, you might miss out on the whole glacier experience.

Glacier Bay is awesome but the regulations are a little off-putting. I'm a fan of the short-notice permits...call first thing in the morning 2 days in advance (they keep 12 of the 25 daily permits for this). This works great if you have a flexible schedule and doesn't lock you into specific dates 60 days in advance.

I ran three flotilla trips for the Waggoner Guide. Not sure who's leading them now or what their itinerary is, but flotilla travel is a fun way for the uninitiated to see these places.

I've got day-by-day Alaska posts here, which you might enjoy as winter reading: http://www.samlandsman.com

Don't hesitate to ask specific questions!
 
A few more thoughts...

Weather. Wind is occasionally an issue, but not that often. Alaska is rainy though! Ketchikan's driest month is wetter than Seattle's wettest. They get about 150 inches of rain per year! Bring appropriate clothes. I like Xtratuf boots and Grundens rubber rain gear when exploring in the dinghy. If I'm kayaking or hiking, that stuff gets way too hot, so I use rain gear with a breathable waterproof membrane...Goretex, E-vent, etc.

Keeping the interior of the boat dry can be a challenge. Diesel heat really helps.

Mechanical and electrical issues are what derails an Alaska trip for a lot of people. Almost all boats have break downs. I've burned up an alternator, had a throttle/shift linkage fail, had a generator raw water pump fail, and lots of smaller stuff. Carry lots of spare parts, and enough oil and filters to do a couple of oil changes en route. You'll likely put 500+ hours on your main engine.

If you need to get parts, it's helpful to have a plan. Know where you can source them, especially in Canada where getting parts from the U.S. is problematic because of customs issues. In Alaska, FedEx and UPS are pretty awful but the USPS is great. General Delivery is a good option.

I've had parts flown in by seaplane to small towns. Most of the marine stores/dealers are used to the logistics of getting parts to small towns. If the part can fly on regularly scheduled flights, shipping isn't even that expensive. I've used Western Auto in Juneau and Alaska Seaplanes successfully.

Here's what broke on the trip I lead last year...http://slowboat.com/2016/10/nine-boats- ... -analysis/
 
One of my favorite spots is Misty Fjords National Monument to the east of Ketchikan. Ketchikan is a good place to buy provisions.
 
Hi Oliver and Pam,

Are you more interested primarily in scenery and critter watching? Or fishing/crabbing/shrimping too? Do you like exploring by dinghy? going ashore in anchorages?

It worked well for us to study the charts while we studied the cruising guides. If you don't have a chartplotter program, here's a web site:

http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.co ... /-122.4955

You might want to have a look at my book, Cruising in a Big Way

Here's a quick list of some of our favorites from 20+ years. Happy to answer questions or discuss in lots more detail.


BC:

Campbell River - good provisioning stop
Prideaux Haven - very scenic, crowded in peak season
Von Donop Inlet – protected anchorage close to Yucultas rapids
Waiatt Bay, walk to Small Inlet
Octopus Islands – shore tie often reqd, crowded in peak season
Lagoon Cove marina
Goat Islet (Crease Island Cove)
Port McNeill
Sullivan Bay
Blunden Harbor - good place to stay before Crossing the Queen northward
Fury Island Cove – good place to stay after Crossing the Queen northward
Rescue Bay
Bottleneck Inlet
Prince Rupert – good place to stay before Crossing the Dixon

SE Alaska:

Foggy Bay – convenient anchorage between Ketchikan and Prince Rupert
Meyers Chuck - neat little community heading north from Ketchikan. free moorage
Anan Creek bear watching – permit needed after July 1. Anchor carefully
Petersburg
Portage Bay – pretty and convenient anchorage
Tracy Arm – spectacular fjord and glaciers
Neka Bay – great crabbing, especially earlier in the season
Glacier Bay: Reid Inlet, Johns Hopkins Inlet, Margerie Glacier
Dundas Bay – part of Glacier Bay park, without the restrictions
Mosquito Pass Cove – nifty anchorage between Icy Strait and Cross Sound. Near sea lion rocks
Elfin Cove – neat little community and harbor. Free moorage, space often available inside
Pavlof Harbor – falls often has brown bears chasing salmon
Warm Springs Bay / Baranof Hot Springs – beautiful, nice walk to lake, float often crowded
Red Bluff Bay – beautiful anchorage
Half Tide Neck – out of the way as you travel Peril Strait. Great shrimp and crab nearby
Sitka – historic, nice walks, including Totem Forest
Honeydew Cove - beautiful anchorage
Rocky Pass (Keku Strait) – time to have high-water slack as you reach Devil’s Elbow
El Capitan Passage / Dry Pass – protected and interesting route toward Craig
Craig area – no cruise ship mobs, great fishing nearby
Port Refugio – good crab earlier in season
Hydaburg – very fine totems
 
Thanks for the information. Please keep it coming. Have had a quick look at Sam's blog and printed out the information from each of you. The paper pile gets bigger but it is cold and snowy in Colorado so a great way to spent the days until May.

Thanks again
 
How exciting! We plan to do this within 5 years.
 
Have fun! It was great meeting you this summer at Poets and Desolation. The girls loved "crabbing" with you. I have followed Sam's blog from last year and it was amazing to read their daily trip. Can't wait to hear about your trip!
Lisa
 
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