We're in Wrangell

We made it thru the Narrows in fine fashion. The last 5 miles of the day we had lumpy sea conditions. The passage was a piece of cake. We left Petersburg at 7:45am, and arrived here at 3:45pm - in pouring rain. It was strange. It would come down in buckets and then just stop! We checked in with the Harbor Master and spent a quiet night at the visitor dock WITH POWER. Quite unlike our stay in Sitka... where we had to beg for power.

The waters near Wrangell are milky green as they are fed by the LaConte Glacier up the Stikine (stick EEN) River. The locals are friendly in this rustic village. Totem poles are scattered around the town. There is a fish processing plant at the dock, and many fishing boats coming in and out.

The sun is shining this Saturday afternoon. We came to the library - in hopes of blogging, etc. turns out they have no wireless. This is the first library we have visited in the last 3 years that does not have wireless. Ergo, we are using THEIR computers to do internet. The photos are on my laptop. You will see them next time.

Have a great 4th of July weekend. (Fireworks were going off last night already - folks getting a jump on the holiday, I guess.)

Next stop - fishing in Myers Chuck and then to Ketchikan to get ready for our voyage around Prince of Whales Island.

luv/jo
(& the captain says hi)

Sitka to Kasnyku Falls

The night before we left Sitka was spent with Teka celebrating her "39 forever" birthday. After dinner (which SHE cooked by the way, she DOES have a bigger boat - and we brought the cake) she took us and a visitor up Harbor Mountain Road. It was still blocked with snow at the top, but this is a photo we got when the trees cleared enough for a view after we descended. This was 10 at night!

We left -boat attired - with our new canvas June 17 heading for Magoun Island.









Isn't this incredible? The clouds are forming an arch over the separation in the mountain range. This was on our way from Rodman Bay where we spent the night of June 18.... amidst the crab traps.








Kasnyku Falls near Ell Cove on our way to Baranoff Warm Spring.





I had the camer set for high resolution and these photos are taking a looooonnnnng time to load.

too long.... So I will complete this story after we get to Wrangell..... our next stop.

Leaving Petersburg Friday June 27, and traveling Wrangell Narrows. It's a very narrow shipping lane. Should be quite exciting.

If we get no wireless in Wrangell, look for next blog in Ketchikan, in a week or so.....

see you then
luv/jo
(& the captain says hi)

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We're in Petersburg

Details tomorrow.

Farewell Sitka, Alaska

We leave Sitka tomorrow (June 17) midday and head out to some fishing spots George has marked on the charts. We are getting antsy and ready to "blow this pop stand". We will anchor out "drop the hook" and fish "drop the baited hooks" with hopes of a beautiful Ling Cod, and definitely some shrimp and crabs in those traps.

We are up to 17 hours and 56 minutes of daylight.









Sunset at Thomsen Eliason Harbor, Sitka, Alaska.

We have had a great visit here and now that the canvas and upholstery work is done, we are ready to start the actual cruising. Teal is all cleaned up and the dodgers look great.

Once we get to Petersburg, we will more than likely have internet and I will post a photo of the finished project.... that should be about a week from now. See you then.
luv/jo
(& the Captain says hi)

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Eagles in Thomsen Harbor, Sitka

Here are my early morning shots of "The Birds".

I asked Mr. Eagle to sit there for a minute while I changed batteries.


And he did. Can you believe it?


Work it Baby!














Looks like an owl perched with the two eagles.


Off to find Spruce Tip Jam.

luv/jo
(& the captain says hi)

Teal's New Upholstery

Nancy requested a peek at the upholstery. Here it is.

This is my V-Berth with my shoestrings hanging out the bilge opening. That's storage underneath where we keep clothes that are bagged.

Along the sides are hammocks which hold miscellaneous items. As you can see, we utilize every available space we find.

Forward in the "V", looks like a TV screen, right? Well that's the glass front of the anchor chain locker. Where the picture cuts off at the top is the shelf where I keep all my personal stuff, kinda like a dresser top.


This is our "open air" clothes rack. (Notice the awesome hangers crocheted by our neighbor Enid.) Clothes don't slip off these hangers. The rod is on the right side of the V-Berth. George designed the cushion under the "closet" to be thinner, thus allowing more space under the hanging clothes for misc items to be stashed.

This has made it a much more usable area and a definitely more comfy bed.

This is the dinette cushion and back rest over the pantry. This is the cushion where George lays his weary head at the end of the day. Notice the panbel on the wall. Those are switches - navigation on one side (GPS, depth meter, tiller pilot, C-Power), and the boat interior stuff on the other (gas, water, frig, etc).


He designed the back cushion to be permanent, which works out well since the bulk head is perfectly straight up and down, and the loose cushion was alway falling forward.

Not sure what the name of the fabric is we chose, a sea blue something or other I think. It really looks great in here.

I wish I could have gotten a picture of the other cushion which is over the frig/freezer, but George was always in it when I was ready with the camera.

The canvas is almost finished. Pictures of that to follow. We are very excited about our new look.

luv/jo
(& the captain says hi)

Spring Time in Sitka, Alaska - June 6, 2008

Almost 18 hours of daylight and counting.....


Snow on the peaks,







blooms in the valley.










luv/jo
(& the captain says hi)


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Indiana Jones at Sitka Movie House

Our movie theater..... Downtown Sitka.

Couldn't find out how long it's been here, but it is definitely vintage...


Indiana Jones. What a fun rollicking movie.... that old buzzard that was once Hans Solo, some 32 years ago, he's still got it. How old is he anyway.....?????
"Age: 65 years (born 13 July 1942)" That's per Google. I would have sworn he was in his 70's. He's definitely up there, but still does all the swashbuckling and antics of his youth.

That's the entrance - the dark door to the right...........










and here is the menu. It's all very low key.

Admission for George and me was $5 each since we are old. I think $8 is the going rate that our movie-going friends spent that night.




The rest of the story....

Teka got a group of us together to go to the movies. We had dinner and drinks at VanWinkle and Sons. (I thought it was the VFW Hall until I looked at the dinner receipt later. The insignia had a similar look. Too funny. I was even wearing my glasses.) Anyway the view was great and the food very good. Definitely worth a repeat. Prime rib on the menu every night.

We enjoyed Teka's friends, all have boats at Thomsen Harbor. Among the group was Teka, the lawyer; Sara, the intern at the DAs office; John, works here for an electronics outfit and winter caretaker at Baranof Warm Spring; and the other John, the Fiber glassier and Mexican Hotel Owner.

THEY all went for a night cap. The captain and I went for the boat and a good night's sleep.

We are having almost 18 hours of daylight.... so you always have to look at your watch to determine if it's time to go to bed.









It was a fun night.
luv/jo
(& the captain says hi)

Canvas for Teal

Here are pictures of Donna, Skookum Canvas working on our Teal.




Everyone is Sitka knows Donna and her excellent work. She delivered our cushions last week and we smile every time we sit. And I have to tell you.... the cushions in the V-Berth were originals with the boat.... circa 1968. Sooo for me having a nice new twin-sized bed to sleep in is awesome. George did the designing and Donna did the rest.









Here they are collaborating on the pram hood over the companionway. George had built a great dodger that kept rain and heavy seas from leaking in around the hatch.
But he has improved on the design and Donna is building us a new one that will give us even more visibility when we are underway.




She is painstaking with her patterning and that is probably why she get such good fit with the final product.








Here she is doing the fitting of the side curtains, which zip in and out as do the front curtains which are yet to be delivered in their final state. We will now just laugh at the waves breaking against those windows. We expect this will keep us much warmer also.


Her workers are Joanna and Bridgette, who do most of the sewing. Bridgette is the wife of Ted who we met at Baranof Warm Springs working on the steps to their new cabin.

Joanna works at the library, as well as at Skookum, but hasn't been here on the days we have been coming. We look forward to meeting the women behind the sewing machines....

We have become very fond of Donna and we enjoy her visits.

Thanx Donna for the excellent work you are doing for us.

luv/jo
(& the captain says hi)
teallog.blogspot.com

June in Sitka (June 4)

We started June in Sealing Cove, a different harbor in Sitka from Thomsen-Eliason Harbor, where we have been tied to the Loading Dock.

We needed to charge our batteries, FINALLY. We were on battery power - charged by solar and motor on our passage here from Ketchikan - and solely solar since we got here. Until the fog came in and the sun disappeared for a couple days, we were doing well.

This is our cruise under the bridge and around the bend to Sealing Cove, Friday May 30.




This is Rockwell Lighthouse.









This sign cracked us up. It says "Water Depth in Channel", but there was nothing to show us what depth we were in, and we knew there was water, cause we were moving along on it.... Something missing in that message.


Notice the houses on the islet in background. They obviously are not finished yet, as walking out the front door would set you in the drink at high tide. George says they'll probably put a patio or something around the outside.... sure hope that's the case or they may get no takers.


This is the O'Connell Bridge which was built in 1971 and links the town of Sitka on Baranof Island to the airport and Coast Guard Station on Japonski Island.


"The 1,255-foot John O'Connell Bridge was the United State's first vehicular cable-stayed girder spanned bridge. It has four 100-foot-high steel pylons from which stretch a set of tight cables, each holding a section of the bridge deck in place."









Lakeside Grocery is where we shop and catch the bus.







This morning it was misting a little.



These small buses are new, and they also have seat belts! What a concept. Most of the drivers are friendly and informative. Our favorite is Robert, a Sitka native, and ardent fisherman.


He gave us all the details about the w-weekend Salmon Derby. Turns out the guy who came in second, half pound less than the winner, bled his fish. Seems the winner didn't, and it wasn't required. But according to the Derby Rule Book I read, "BLEED YOUR FISH" was all caps, bold, but upon astute reading, it was only strongly recommended. The second place guy missed out on a round trip air fare to Seattle. And the glory of being #1. Those rule book writers! Bet they'll be a little more specific next year if Mr. Second Place has anything to say about it.




This is the view from the harbor side of the library....cruise ships setting. Today there are 4 ships visiting Sitka.

We had two of them in a holding pattern this morning in our basin, waiting their turn to get to the lightering point.

There are no docks built for these ships to tie to, they must anchor out in this deep harbor and bring the passengers ashore in "lighter boats" which are a water bus of sorts.

This is a really nice library, and it is packed with patrons. Many are using the computers provided, but most of us are on our laptops.... type, type, typing away.

Still trying to get photos of those birds, maybe later today if the sun comes out.

Indiana Jones here we come. Going to movies with Teka and friends tonight.

luv/jo
(& the Captain says hi)
teallog.blogspot.com

Thomsen Harbor, Sitka, Memorial Weekend

What with the Salmon Derby and Memorial Day Weekend there was a lot of activity on our dock. We are tied to the Loading Dock - first come first serve. If there is an empty spot along these docks, you're free to tie up. There is no electricity available, but the solar panels are doing great. We haven't been plugged in since we left Ketchikan May 17.

Here is the spy photo I promised. "The Man and his Motor".

I took these photos from inside Teal, while the crowd was gathering.

This is a small boat, probably no more than 18 to 20 feet and this is the motor he chose. I spotted the boat early evening. They must have sidled in while we were busy with Donna, from Skookum, our upholstery/canvas lady.



A short time later, here they come down the dock, he and his wife. He carrying a 12-pack of Bud Light.









Drinking his Bud and saying "My motor's bigger than yours".

What was he thinking. That boat must really go fast and create quite a wake in the process. Bet he's burning more than a 1/2 gal an hour.... that's our average.

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On now on to the birds in the harbor.

We have ravens and eagle galore. They are soring through the air and perching on rigging throughout the harbor. Often chasing each other either inflight or for positions atop high places.









When the birds are flying, I am without camera. Today I am ready, and am discovering they don't seem to be airborne when the sun is not shining. Back to the drawing board.

We are at the library today, using their wireless. George is working on his blog, but is running into difficulty loading chartlets.

More pictures and more stories to come.
luv/jo
(& the Captain says hi)

see: www.teallog.blogspot.com


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