Into Alaska.

We electronically announced our imminent arrival into the USA via eNOAD (=notification of arrival and departure). Then we gave CBP (= Customs & Border Patrol) the mandatory call to request permission for an overnight anchorage in Foggy Bay which lies within the US territorial waters without being an official port of entry. Permission was granted.

We chucked the leftover CBD oil for My Captain’s prickly arm overboard and raised the sails. Yes indeed, after all the motoring and motor sailing, we could actually sail for an important part of the trip. For a moment there O2 even “ran dead downwind” with a “wing on wing” sail setup. Pardon my sailing slang. It simply means that the wind blows more or less straight from behind (wind in’t gat) and for both sails to catch it, they have to be pulled to either side of the mast. But this is a very tricky setup like balancing on a tightrope. The moment a wave pushes you off balance, which they did, or the wind angle shifts too many degrees, which was the case, the wings of the butterfly noisily fold and you can forget all about this sailing “en papillon”. But it’s fun as long as it lasts. 

In 6 days O2 took us from our anchorage in Bearskin Bay on Haida Gwaii across the Hecate Strait, through the Venn Pass and the Dixon Channel all the way to Ketchikan, Alaska. All three of the above mentioned bodies of water are notorious, but with My Captain in command, there’s hardly ever cause for alarm. 

Ketchikan came as a total shock to our senses. Ships, boats, planes, people in pubs, gone was the splendid solitude of the sea and her pristine woody shores. Instead entered the busyness of our species. And we dove right in. 

As the saying goes: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. We even thought to join an excited cruise ship bunch to an all you can eat crab fest. Until we saw the La-Grande-Bouffe-like promotion pictures which made us reconsider. We went for the more down-to-earth experience in The Fish House instead. The Dungeness crab cost 50 dollar and was totally worth it. Next on the menu will be halibut. The 1,2 kilo of fresh jumbo shrimp tails we bought for 20 dollar straight from the fisherman who was unloading his huge catch onto the docks, we will prepare ourselves the Mexican “zarandeado” way. We can use some heat.

On our way to Glacier Bay, we explored Misty Fjords where the Alaska of our dreams started to flit in and out of sight with the ever-changing drift of mist & clouds. Anchored in Punchbowl Cove we scanned the estuary to look for the trailhead that would lead us to a lake deep inside the woods. When our binoculars zoomed in on a foraging grizzly, we decided to stay put. For 4 consecutive days, we investigated bear behavior from either the safety of our deck or from the dinghy. We watched three different grizzlies in 2 different coves chewing mouthfuls of grass. One of them suddenly broke into a trot clearly spooked by a noise coming out of the forest, then it relaxed & started chewing again to the point of dozing off in the green like a big fat cuddly teddy bear. That’s when we realized that although poking the bear was never part of the plan, we could easily step on one by accident, which is a worrisome revelation.

Another 175 nM further up North through the Behm Narrows and into the Clarence Strait will bring us to Wrangell, the second Alaskan city we will visit after Ketchikan. We hope to be joining some prowling orcas on the way.