Day #32 - A spot of Sunshine; Rod

The passage from Prince Rupert across the Dixon Entrance into Southeast Alaska is the second of two larger water body crossings on the way north that have exposure to ocean weather and swell. (The first was Queen Charlotte Sound). We were able to put the Dixon Entrance behind us yesterday in better than forecasted weather.

The day started with a dawn departure from Prince Rupert and careful navigation of the narrow, winding, shallow Venn Passage. With Frederic keeping an eye on the paper chart (and on my steering) and Jake on bow watch looking for floating debris, we made our way through without incident. Along the way, we were often jostled by fishing boats roaring past us on their way to a day's work.

Once out in Chatham Sound, the weather cleared as the day wore on and the seas were mild in the lee of Dundas Island were most of the fishing boats had charged off to. Out in Dixon Entrance we saw one or foot chop layered on a long, rolling ocean swell of about 2-3 meters with occasional larger swells. The chop and the swell diminished as the day wore on and we inserted ourselves deeper into Revillagigedo Channel toward Foggy Bay.

I'd called the US Customs office the day before and let them know we'd be anchored in US territory for the night before clearing customs in Ketchikan the following day.

The Bay itself is reasonably well protected and has some shoreline that, while not tropical by any means, was large and dry enough to get off the boat and run off our ya-ya's.

Marta constructed an elaborate rock sculpture in the vein of Adam Goldsworthy. Emily and Jake orchestrated crab fighting in a miniature walled off arena. (For the record: the crabs don't fight - the big crabs just sit on the smaller ones, making them top dogs, so to speak.) Kay and I played desultory frisbee (running on that rocky terrain is difficult.) And Frederic documented the proceedings for posterity with his video gadgetry (think: go-pro on a telescoping selfie stick).

There was only one other boat in the bay with us and plenty of room to swing. That was fortunate, because after a terrific taco dinner cooked up by Jake and a better than average sunset, the wind and rain kicked up during the night and continues to push the boat on her anchor this morning.

The wind has clocked around from NW to SE as was forecasted, so conditions out in the channel are likely to be sporty as we make our way toward Ketchikan today. Given that, we're in no hurry to get going. Is that a spot of sunshine I see?

Sculpture by Marta, Photo by Jake