Day 66, 7/4: On the 4^th we completed provisioning, washed the outside of the boat, filled the water tank and went to town for the parade. The parade was just as expected with the addition of two Coast Guard helicopters flying over the parade route just behind the lead car on the ground. A band, a few police cars, a few fire engines, a politician, and lots of candy being thrown by everyone. The local grocery was throwing bananas, I got one and gave it to a girl next to me. On the way back to the boat we stopped for a drink.

Day 67, 7/5: We started by putting 220 gallons of fuel on board before transiting the narrows. It was a like a parade with all the boats that wanted to hit Sergis Narrows at 1:24 PM slack. I was concerned when a tug with a barge was announcing on the radio, that he was going through the narrows at the same time as we would be going through. Watching the five boats in front of me and playing follow the leader I found that there is a second path through that I hadn’t recognized before. We got to Appleton Cove and as we were anchoring, we saw an eagle go down to the water and not come up. It had a fish that must have been too big to be able to fly. After a short time, the eagle used its wings to row to shore with its bounty. The grass was to high see anything else other than there were other eagles that wanted in on the catch.

Day 68, 7/6: Went to pull the anchor and it was STUCK. It took about 30 minutes moving the boat into different positions to try to free the anchor. I connected the anchor bridle to the chain and tied off to the Sampson post (the most secure place on the front of the boat). Then using the power of the boat, I pulled from the opposite angle from where I set the anchor. Thankfully it came loose and all that we lost was a little time. The plan was to go to Takatz Bay for the night but when we got close there were a dozen commercial fishing boats all with nets strung out at the entrance to the bay. Once I figured out, we weren’t getting in from the north we turned to get around them and decided to skip Takatz and go to Warm Springs, only 9 more miles. It turns out there is a fish hatchery in Takatz, seems like easy pickings with a net. We anchored in Baranof Warm Springs. We took the dinghy to town checked out the houses all connected by boardwalks. The warm springs pools were up the hill and there was a bath house with 3 tubs for privacy on the main boardwalk. While we were there two commercial fishing boats came in anchored loaded the dinghy (big) with everyone and once to shore they marched to the pools up the hill.

Day 69, 7/7: We left Warm Springs Bay for Red Bluff Bay and Chatham Strait was rough again. Fortunately, it was mostly following seas so it wasn’t that bad. Red Bluff Bay is one of our top anchorages of the trip so far. It is curvy to get back into, with mountains on both sides 3-5000 feet high, and great waterfall views and a couple of bears.

Day70, 7/8: We crossed Chatham Strait to go into Fredrick Sound to stay at Saginaw Bay. Chatham Strait was crap again. We zig zagged our way across the strait so all the waves weren’t hitting us broadside. Once we got to Helleck Harbor we anchored where the guide book suggested but it was way too rolly for us. We picked up and went to the other end of the harbor. It was much better but not great. The reason we went to Helleck Harbor was to see a pictograph that we didn’t find today. The bay was named Saginaw Bay and is now named Skanax Bay, in 2019 the name was changed because the USS Saginaw killed too many indigenous folks back in the day. The electronic charts change from one name to the other depending on the zoom level, confusing to say the least.

Day 71, 7/9: Pulled the anchor and went in search of the pictograph. In short order we found it just at the entrance to the harbor. Water in Fredrick Sound was pretty calm all day as we made our way to Portage Bay. We had several whale sittings and a couple porpoises played with the boat for 30 seconds. The weather has been really good since the 7/2. The official sites don’t report getting to 70 degrees but it has been warm and sunny. Enjoy the 90’s. After getting to Portage Bay and once anchored we developed a high-pitched whining noise. After looking around a while I found the propeller and shaft were turning. The noise was from the brush like thing that keeps the shaft and propeller grounded to reduce corrosion. The first time it started spinning I was able to stop it with my hands. Then 45 minutes later it started again and I couldn’t stop it. Eventually, I got it stopped and tied a rope around a fitting so it wouldn’t start in the middle of the night.

Pictures from parade loaded in reverse order.

Warm Springs waterfall

                                

                                

Bear

Bear

Bear

Pictograph at Skanax Bay

Whales in Fredrick Sound