June 25, 2023
Wow, this is the only word that comes to mind as we entered into the fjord this morning. It is majestic, breathtaking beauty. The Misty Fjords are part of a huge National Monument administered by the U.S. Forest Service. In 1978 President Jimmy Carter proclaimed over 2 million acres for the wildnesses area on the Tongass National Forest.
This is the view from the stern of our boat. But with all great things comes a cost. Here is the backstory of our morning.
An American Tug pulled in to ShoalWater Pass yesterday afternoon. We assumed they were staging with the same idea as us: get to the buoy—there is only one—in PunchBowl Cove. We woke early around 6:30 and decided we would pull up anchor and saunter over to PunchBowl to try our luck on the buoy. As we headed out we stopped to admire the famous New Eddystone Rock. It’s like something out of hobbitville. Located southeast of Revillegigedo Island in the eastern arm of Behm Canal. This dense, spire shaped rock, standing 237 feet above the sea, was discovered by Captain George Vancouver who documented the rock in 1793 and named the rock after a lighthouse near Plymouth, England. But, back to the back story.
We were just admiring the rock when racing out of Shoalwater Pass was the American Tug. “Oh my God Greg, he’s after the buoy in PunchBowl.” I immediately kicked the engine into high hear. We like to cruise at around 8 knots, around 1540 rpms. At this speed we burn about 2 gallons an hour of diesel fuel. Not this morning. I cranked up the engine to around 1900 rpms. We were now cruising at roughly 9.5 knots, six gallons an hour. And the race was on. We could see the American Tug in our rear, picking up speed. His engine is probably equivalent to our’s 380-400 horse power. But we did have the lead by a bit and we took full advantage of it. We didn’t slow down until we entered the fjord and were relieved to see there were no other boats in the cove, and the buoy was free. As you can see from our title picture: we got the buoy. Team Nordic Tug vs. Team American Tug. The American Tug raced all the way into the cove but when they saw we had the buoy, they turned around and left.
Our plan is to stay two nights, exploring the fjord, and with a bit of good fortune, perhaps see some bears.
For the rest of the afternoon we are simply going to relax and enjoy the scenery.
Was the water so deep that you couldn’t anchor? Dave had to explain to me that only one boat can tie up to a buoy. Sounded exciting. Btw, fantastic photo of the rock.
Vera, yes the water here in this fjord is deep, averaging around 150 to 200 feet, requiring over 500 feet of chain. We have 350. Buoys in Alaska are a precious commodity.