Ketching Up in Ketchikan...

 

Groan; I know, bad pun.   Whatever.  This photo is from the back of Blue Redd in our slip in Bar Harbor, South, Ketchikan.

Dawn yesterday in Prince Rupert, 0515 (5:15 am).   This portends a beautiful day.

20-minutes later we were off the dock and underway.   We'd just backed-out from behind the other blue-hulled Selene in the middle of the picture.
In Venn Passage, a 24-mile long, super twisty, shallow, rock-strewn, kelp-infested, narrow channel, we passed the First Nation's ton of Metlakatla.  What a beautiful location.   I am quite fond of the entire Prince Rupert area.

While there was about 1 knot of current pushing us there was no wind and everything was going great!

Can you hear the suspenseful rising music in the background of your mind giving a clue that things are about to change?   Me neither...
Once we got out into Chatham Sound the winds immediately picked up to 35 knots.   The nice calm water succumbed to the wind and became 4' wind waves on < 1 second period.  Consequently, I got my boat all salty again.
But it's all part of the game.   Fortunately, it only lasted about 25 miles.   Once we were past Dundas Islands and out into Dixon Entrance, everything died down and became quite nice.

We have a tradition/ritual imparted to us by my somewhat irreverent parents.   We honk the horn and salute whenever crossing international (or state) boundaries by boat or auto.

Why do we do this?   To appease the gods so as to avoid trouble, including speeding tickets.   So far, this has worked for 3 generations, so, why mess with success!
Here (above), we are crossing from Canada back into the USA.  

Just a note on this.   As Nexus holders, I just used the CBP Roam app and filled out the online forms.   We were cleared in without so much as a phone call.   Easy-peasy.
When I mentioned that the winds abated and the seas went flat, this is what I'm talking about.   Ahhh, glorious boating.

Approaching Ketchikan, we traversed the Revillagigedo Channel.   Good luck pronouncing that.   If you aren't from up here or been coached by a local, you'll never get it.

Revillagigedo Island is where Ketchikan is located.
Seaplanes are quite active in Alaska and even more so in major cities, like Ketchikan.

We stay out of their designated landing areas, and they don't pose much of a challenge.   They are actually pretty cool.

We stopped for fuel on our way up the channel.   353 gallons at $5.78/gal. 651 miles, constant diesel heat, & 11 hours of generator time since Anacortes.  Averaging it all together that's: 1.84mpg & $3.13/mile.  Why couldn't I have picked an inexpensive passion???
Of slightly greater concern than seaplanes are the cruise ships.   They pose three problems.

  1. When they are in town, they can add 20,000-30,000 people to a town of only 14,000 residents.
  2. There may be 3 to 5 cruise ships in town at any one time and they consume all available Starlink capacity.
  3. When passing these in narrow channels it can get a bit disconcerting as we are about the size of one of their lifeboats...   They take up a lot of space!
Here I am navigating up the channel in Ketchikan, called the Tongass Narrows.   I want to make sure that ship stays put and is not intending to leave port just as I pass.   You can see it through my window.

Just some pictures of Ketchikan.   BTW, Ketchikan was under a Heat Advisory.   It was 75 degrees!!!

Then to our assigned slip.   It is first come/first serve all over Alaska.  Meaning it is a crapshoot if you get a slip   We haven't had many problems getting a slip, but it hasn't been zero!

We gave Blue Redd a good wash down to remove most of the salt build-up.  

Then it was dinner time.   Curry Thai Chicken with green beans and a Long Cellars Cab Franc.  Heavenly!

Tomorrow will be mostly chores and a bit of work for me.

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