June 10th, 2025
We left Fitzgibbon Cove this morning around 7:30. We had a bit of a challenge pulling up the anchor. We have now encountered this on two occasions. When we have to anchor deep it’s a real strain on the windless pulling up the chain. All was going fine until about 65 feet out. We were pretty sure we were free from the bottom of the seabed but the windless was halting. I finally let out a ton of chain and then brought it back up and that did the trick. I “think” the chain sometimes gets tangled when coming up from a deep anchorage. We will see how it goes tomorrow here in YES Bay.
We arrived in YES bay around 10:30. There are two skinny inlets coming into this bay so you have to enter or exit at a reasonably high tide. We saw the Trawler, Lollygag coming out as we went in. They were in Fitzgibbon the night before us and we are pretty sure they were the Trawler that came into Walker Cove when we were on the buoy.
We entered YES bay with a good measure of caution since this was our first time. Soon after we passed the fishing lodge which is not yet open a fishing boat pulled up beside us. He was not happy. Apparently as we passed going about 7 knots we rocked all the boats on his dock. We profusely apologized and then he turned around. Lesson learned. We will depart tomorrow around 11 going no more than 5 knots. This is a pretty cove but the wind gusts are keeping us on our toes. I’m confident we are hooked, but you never know. . . . . .
We also wanted to mention that we have been in contact with our friends Rob and Barb on their Nordic Tug Harmony Bay. They have been so helpful to us the last couple of years giving information on navigating to and around Alaska. They are definitely “Pros”. We heard from them yesterday and they asked if they had seen us in Seymour Narrows. We told them “No, we were already in Alaska and thought they were probably also up here somewhere”. Well, they weren’t! They told us a genuine “tale of woe”, as they have been stuck trying to cruise North up Johnstone Strait. They said they have been held up sitting in Forward Bay for the last 3 days. There was one trawler and two sail boats in the bay when they arrived. As of this afternoon there were a total of 13 boats hanging out with them and the winds continue to be so intense that nobody can safely leave. Barb said it was the worst conditions they have ever encountered at that location, and for her to say that is impressive. We took a look at the situation on Predict Wind and WHOA, what a mess. Sustained winds were 10-15 knots with Gusts over 25 and up to 30. Johnstone Strait can be a challenge and a long haul on a relatively good day. Below is a picture from Marine Traffic. Just look at all the boats trying to get North! They are all in our prayers tonight, and hopefully the weather will break soon. In the meantime, there are a lot fewer pleasure crafts in Alaska!
Marlene and I have shut up about the moderate gusts we are experiencing here in YES bay.