By Becky: We had a wonderful night at anchor in Thurston Harbor and had planned on visiting Tanu and then heading to Hot Springs with a plan of stopping at Hlk’yah GawGa which means Falcon Town also know as Windy Bay on the way back North due to tide timing.  We reevaluated the plan and decided to go to Windy Bay after all.

The watchman at Windy Bay told us about when he had been one of the over 200 people (along with 5 Haida elders) arrested for protesting the clear cut logging on Lyell Island in 1985. He gave great details of how the protests led to the co-management agreements between Haida Nation and government of Canada and the creation of Gwaai Hannas. He also told us about the huge celebration when the Legacy monumental pole was erected in 2013.

We then took a walk through the old growth forest that is known for a 1000 year sitka spruce tree that is over 200 ft tall.  The path led us through huge sitka spruce and western red cedar trees that we continually had to just stop and appreciate.  It was such a magical day!

We spent another extremely peaceful night at Murchison Island Cove.

By Becky – I don’t have words to express how much I enjoyed Haida Gwaii and Gwaii Hannas. It is a magical, sacred place full of history, culture and amazing nature.  We were able to explore part of Graham Island and all 5 of the Watchman sites.  Each one was different and enchanting in its own way. All of the watchmen were very welcoming and full of information. I could have stayed and listened to each one for over a week and it still would not be enough!

Our entire trip has been blessed beyond our imaginations!  It started with a crossing of Hecate Strait that was crazy calm and flat in waters that ranged from 40 to 300 feet deep!  We were able to squeeze into a spot at the fishing dock in Daajing Giids with the help of a local fisherman. The harbor master office closed at 2:00 so we were pretty much on our own.

The first 2 days we rented a car and drove to the orientation at the Heritage Center and wandered through the museum. Then we headed to Masset for a hike up a boardwalk trail around Tow Hill and down to a blow hole. It was beautiful. We drove through Masset and Old Masset and then stopped at Sarah’s gift shop in Old Masset.

The next day we explored Daajing Giids got provisions and had dinner at the Blacktail Bake and Brew Cafe. We sat at the bar for dinner and Paul ended up sitting next to Chief Skidegate. He is the head Chief over about 15 other Chiefs. He drove us around and showed us several poles he has put up in the last several years and gave us additional information about Haida culture.

The tall pole is one of the first ones installed after the ban on Haida culture was lifted.

This summer has been filled with love and laughter shared with close friends.

We had a crew change in Sitka with Deb and Jim Fields leaving and Tom and Dina Butt (high school friends of Paul’s from Virginia) joining us.  We were able to spend the 4th of July in Sitka which included a very fun, small town parade and various food and gift booths.  The coast guard did a fly over during the parade in three helicopters.  That was a very exciting addition to the parade.

Several of our new friends from last year’s flotilla were also in Sitka.  It was such a joy to turn a corner or go into a store and find our friends.  It added to the small town feel of belonging. We enjoyed planned and unplanned get togethers during the several days we were there.

We left Sitka after several days and headed to the Bairnoff Hot Springs.  Dina, Tom and I walked to the lake and then back to the Hot Springs while Paul stayed on the boat and cooked a great dinner of pork loin. Getting to the Hot Springs is partly on updated boardwalks and partly a scramble over roots, rocks and dirt path.  Once there, the top pool was WAY too hot for us so we sat in the lower one which was still hot enough to turn our skin pink.  I freaked out Tom and Dina by crawling down to a very small one-person spot down by the waterfall.  It was perfect temp and I could have stayed there for a couple of hours.

We continued on the Ell cove and the Lost Falls fish hatchery just around the corner.  There we watched several bears with cubs catching fish as they swam up a fish ladder.  The eagles waited on shore cheering them on and taking the leftovers. We anchored out in many different beautiful, peaceful bays where we all were relaxed and heading to bed fairly early.

We then did a long push heading to Tracy Arm and made it to Ford’s Terror just before low slack.  We made it through with no problems.  Another boat and sailboat watched us go through to make sure it was safe to transit. Ford’s Terror is a beautiful place with high cliffs and calm waters.  The sun came out to make it even better.  We discussed staying there for a couple of nights but decided to press on and let Tom and Dina see the glaciers up Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm.  Being from Virginia, they were entranced with the views of seals and glacier calving.

Anan Creek Bear Observatory was our next stop.  You walk about 1/2 mile on a boardwalk to enclosed platforms where you can watch bears catching fish.  One mother had 2 very small cubs who kept trying to get her to sit down and let them nurse.  She was more focused on catching fish.  It rained the whole time we were there so there were not as many bears as we have seen in the past but still so awesome to watch.

The final adventure was when we got back to Ketchikan.  We surprised Tom and Dina with the arrival of another of their good high school friends Jim Reid who would be joining us for the next two weeks trip to Haida Gwaii.  It was a great surprise for both of them and great for us to have Jim join us.  He has such good energy.  We walked around Ketchikan for a day and then went our different ways.

It is such a blessing to have so many good friends to hang out with all summer!!

 

It has been an exciting, busy couple of weeks. We were blessed to have Debbie and Jim Fields join us in Ketchikan for two weeks. When they arrived we headed to Meyers Chuck and ended up staying 2 nights due to weather. We were able to talk to several residents who told us that there is a building boom going on even there. There are at lease 8 new homes being built and others being updated. After cinnamon rolls from the local baker we were ready to head out.

The trip to Petersburg was smooth and we ended up staying there for two nights also. Deb and Jim hiked all through town and beyond. We left on a wonderful, calm morning and ended traveling with a flotilla of Grand Banks most of the way to Tracy Arm. We traveled for a while with a pod of orcas which was great fun to watch.

Our anchorage in Tracy Arm was beautiful with a peek a boo view through some trees up the arm. In Tracy Arm we were able to ease our way through ice until we were in easy viewing distance of the glacier. There were several mother seals with young pup floating on some of the ice. We were glad the boat didnt seem to disturb them.

After Tracy Arm we worked our way to Barenoff Hot Springs stopping in Snug Bay, Red Bluff Bay. We had a great soak in the most amazing hot spring where there are two very hot pools in bowls in the rocks right next to a beautiful waterfall. The walk to get there has been improved since we were there last but it was still a scramble up roots and rocks to get to the pools.

We spent the last few nights before Sitka anchoring in Takatz Bay, Baby Bear Bay and DeGoeff bay loving the peace and wildlife. We hit Serguis narrows at slack so had no problems getting through. I think we all had mixed feelings about leaving the quiet bays and getting into Sitka.

Ahoy from Glen Farr

I wanted to provide you with an update on our cruise aboard Ellie K. We began from Anacortes, with Paul aboard to show us the ropes, so-to-speak. Don Chesnut jumped aboard as well, albeit we had to pry him away from his beloved French canal boat in order to join our adventure.

We began our voyage with the Waggoner Flotilla by making the hop to the Canadian Gulf Islands to clear customs, and then we clicked off some beautiful daily passages as we continued northbound through desolation sound. We continued onward through the Broughton’s with a provisioning stop at Port McNeill. In Port McNeill, we dropped off Paul to join Becky in their van and then continued northbound beyond Cape Caution to Fury Cove.

The passage around Cape Caution became quite sporty. We were fortunate to have a very little wind, but swells were large enough that we lost sight of the the superstructures of the very tall trawlers in our flotilla. One trawler, with about a 25 foot air draft was completely out of sight in between swells.

It’s easy to have a love affair with Ellie K. She is what I call a regionally appropriate boat. That’s what lobster boats are to Maine. That’s what deadrise crab boats are to the Chesapeake. In the Pacific Northwest, the regionally appropriate boats are trawlers and trollers, especially if they are constructed in wood. The Cherry-on-Top with Ellie K is that she is also a stunningly beautiful boat, a real eye catcher. It’s fun to hear the favorable comments of other boaters or dock walkers who are certainly attracted to her good looks.

There once was a boat named Ellie K
She’s so pretty that you couldn’t look away
From the sketch pad of Sam
My eyeballs scream “hot damn”
I can’t stop admiring her all day

So, with more than half the distance to Ketchikan in our wake, we ride aboard beauty while surrounded by beauty. Thank you for the opportunity to enjoy Ellie K. We are mesmerized with each passing minute.

Glen, Don and Paul, aboard Ellie K, onward to Alaska.