June 16,2025
We arrived in Petersburg yesterday after an uneventful cruise from Wrangell. To get here (from there) our boat needs to transit once again through Wrangell Narrows. We have done this twice successfully, and the third time was not different, except the tide was EXTREMELY low this time through. I thought that Marlene timed it correctly (hitting Green Point at slack tide) however we were pushing 2-3 Knts until that point. Not a huge deal for our boat because we have the ability to increase the engine speed to compensate for the tidal currents, but not everybody does! We came into Petersburg at the end of extremely low tide, but it was a Sunday and not many boats moving around, so we easily made it into Petersburg Harbor.
We called ahead to let them know we were coming and requested dock space closer to town, however that was not available so were are for the first time out on the South docks and we LOVE it here! The Harbor Master Stacy, told us it would be “quiet” out here, and yes indeed is is amazingly quiet, yet only a 10 minute walk from the center of town.
This is a “Norwegian Town” band because of that history everything is clean, meat, organized and generally delightful. We were upset that our favorite fish and chips place was literally “gone” from its place on the Main Street! So sad, but we eventually figured out that the building they were in was for sale so they were re-establishing a business on the Main Street a few door down from where they had been. Ok, all is right with the world!
After breakfast Greg decided to do laundry in town, in the nice, clean, well managed laundromat. So Scandinavian! I went back to the boat, and as I walked back I could see a HUGE black cloud coming towards us. So far this morning, we had seen a few clouds and sunshine coming through, so this was a big surprise. With in 15 minutes we had a MAJOR squall descended on us!! Black skies and big winds! YOUZA. I called Greg and said “Get back to the boat now! The boat is bumping up on the forward rails and it’s so windy I can’t get another line on to hold her back”. Greg threw the laundry out of the and dryer into our IKEA cart and hustled back to the boat. He was drenched by the time he got back. We weathered the storm, grateful that we were not out on the Wrangle Straits when it occurred. It is now 5PM at night and it is calm, there are a few big fluffy clouds in the sky, and all is right with the world. Go figure…..life in Alaska.
We settled into a project day this afternoon. Two “boat issues” have emerged. We are continuing to deal with the bow thruster issue, and after several consults we think we have it figured out, but of course the fix is not easy. Stay tuned. We are also dealing with the issues with the windless and the marking of the chain. We came up with a plan of using paint on the chain, and started that process today. Fortunately our location on one of the South docks makes this issues easier to deal with.
So, tonight the skies are beautiful, the mountains are out, this pizza place is open so we have hot pizza ready to eat! Another day in Alaska!
