Friday Morning at 0430……. Yep an early start for an attempt at Dixon Entrance. We had a wonderful time in Prince Rupert, I helped two Boats with Electrical Issues and was able to find what we needed at the awesome Marine Chanderley Store in Prince Rupert. We maneuvered thru Venn Channel somehow ended up in the lead of the eleven boats. Everyone was in such a good mood. hailing me to warn of the close approaches of the fishing charters that were buzzing by, so we could brace ourselves and grab our coffee cups. We poked our heads into Chahtam Sound and found that once again the Canadian Marine weather service was overly pessimistic in there predictions. With just the faintest of wind ripple and a one foot swell it was clear the the contingency plans were no longer needed and we were spending the day on a 81 mile journey to Ketchikan. The wind stayed slack for most of the morning but picked up as we entered Alaska. It remained light with just maybe a meter of swell to deal with. Not enough to upset the M.C. Esher puzzle that my sister was able to start. We made it into Ketchikan around 1400, cleared Customs using the Mobil CBP app on our Phone and then getting a phone call from an agent.

Ketchikan has lived up to its reputation and has provided us with a large fresh water wash down from the sky. So we were in foul weather gear as we toured the shops downtown. Ketchikan is an interesting spot that supports year round fishermen and survives by catering to several cruise ships each day. There is a lot of history rubbing elbows with current day tourist shops. The highlight for me was meeting Ray Troll, the artist of classic Alaskan Tee Shirts; at his shop on Creek Street. Coho Soho, a former brothel of the historic Creek Street Red Light District.

We have moved on a day ahead of the rest of the group, leaving Ketchikan and cruising to Thorn Bay. It is a small community of several floating homes scattered around the bay. We have had a fantastic evening of placing crab pots with the stinkiest of bait, sharing happy hour with our friends on another boat who joined us and were invited to spend some time with a delightful couple from Portland, OR on a beautiful vintage boat, the FranSus. The rain has stopped for a bit and we were treated to a glorious sunny evening. We are so blessed!