FEATURES
Day five and, after a couple more hours observing humpback
whales feeding (honestly, it never got boring), we set course
for Cannery Cove off Fredrick Sound. In the days before
refrigeration all the cannery operations in Alaska had to be
carried out close to where the fish were caught and there are a
number of abandoned canneries dotted around. Cannery Cove
was, however, developed into luxury fishing and hunting lodges
for paying guests and, with no road access, the only way to get
there is by boat or seaplane.
Orca breaching in Endicott Arm
Whale Tale—humpback whale fluke
Eagle on lookout for dinner
To top off an already amazing day, we spotted a mother bear
with three yearling cubs on the beach making the most of the
short Alaskan summer.
After a lazy breakfast on day six, we headed out of Pybus Bay in
the heavy fog with careful attention being paid to the chart plotter,
radar and depth sounder. DavidEllis has two radars, which is
useful in foggy conditions as one radar can be set for a close
range while the second radar is set for longer range scanning.
Our destination was Warm Spring Bay on the east side of
Baranoff Island. Warm Spring Bay, as the name would suggest,
has a volcanic hot spring next to a ranging waterfall that spills into
the bay. The hot spring water is piped into a public bathhouse
overlooking the picturesque bay. There is a public wharf to tie up
boats over night and Warm Spring Bay is popular with fisherman
and cruisers alike who pop in for a hot refreshing bath. Even in
the middle of the Alaskan summer, the hot springs are full!
On days seven and eight we headed towards Peril Straight and
Sergius Narrows on the way to the Pacific port city of Sitka, but
had to overnight north of the entrance to wait for the slack tide
the next morning. The current in Sergius Narrows can reach
over 10 knots at the peak so timing for the passage is critical.
The names of various places in Alaska are a constant reminder
to boaters of the navigation hazards and the poor souls who
had bad luck finding them, with names like ‘Peril Straight’,
‘Deadman’s Reach’, ‘Fords Terror’, ‘Pogibshi Pt’ (Russian for
Destruction Point)—one could keep going!
Brown bear with one of her three clubs
32 Hebe jebes • NOV/DEC 2014
We transited Sergius Narrows and carried into Sitka to meet up
with M/V Shearwater and M/V Honu. Sitka has a backdrop of
snow-capped mountains to the east and an allegedly extinct
volcano, Edgecumbe, to the east on Kruzoff Island. The town
hosts a large fishing and pleasure vessel fleet in the summer and
at times it can be difficult to get a marina berth. There are also
frequent float planes taking off and landing on the main channel
into Sitka harbour, making the manoeuvring similar to playing