The sailing adventures of SV Meriwether and her crew
It was perfect timing to leave Hoonah; a Friday afternoon after a huge cruise ship just pulled into port. Not only does this mean the town gets crowded, but it also means the meager cell signal is completely choked into unconsciousness. So we left, on our way to the next closest anchorage – some 20ish miles north west – before...
The weather forecasts in Alaska have left a lot to desire. For the most part, it lies, and lies in the worst of ways – heavier winds in your face or no winds if you wanted some. Occasionally though, it lies in a nice way, such was the case the day we left Basket Bay on our way up Chatham...
Our trip up to the next bay was fairly uneventful. T’was only a short hop – easily accomplished after work hours on a random weekday night. Takatz Bay reviews boasted of good cell signal, and we were both ready for less struggle in that department. While out in the more open waters of southern Chatham Strait the cell signal was...
It felt as if our entire Alaskan voyage was culminating on this very spot. It is loved by the locals as well as the social media influencers. It is no secret, by any means. Talk to anyone about sailing around South East Alaska and they will advise a stop over in Warm Springs. Free, private, hot springs overlooking the bay...
30 nautical miles away, just across Chatham Strait, is a narrow inlet with steep slopes and it’s entry clearly marked with large red-rock mountains – hence the name; Red Bluff Bay. When I was planning this portion of our route, it stood out to me for two reasons; 1) the river at the head of the bay was labeled as...
Before pulling into the next town for supplies we wanted to reconnoiter an anchorage that we hoped to spend the following work week at. The tiny cove is nestled among the Keku Islands not far off shore from Kake. Thwe name – Lord’s Pocket – made it sound even cooler, so we had to visit. Navigating through said islands, and...
We stayed in an anchorage not far out of Kake, Alaska under the protection of a small island with a low slung conifer pine {Kerri corrected me} forest. For two days we swung around our anchor in Hamilton Bay while the work week ran it’s course. By Saturday morning the boat was prepared to take off on another weekend long...
When we pulled into Portage Bay, fairly late on a Sunday afternoon, we thought it would only be an overnight stop. Portage Bay isn’t the most scenic place, nor is it super-well-protected from the weather from the South or North (a few-miles-long bay can still allow the wind to howl through), it did have that one little thing we need...
The northern arm of Thomas Bay contains a glacier; Baird Glacier. Following our successful hike (no injury = success) to the waterfall here in Thomas Bay, the only thing left to do was to tackle a glacier, right? Right. Unfortunately, Baird Glacier has been on the retreat for many years so is far from accessible via the sailboat. We learned...
We did spend the work week in the Petersburg marina since there are no nearby anchorages. Not a whole lot happens when we are tied to a dock; work/chores, restaurants, resupply, and repairs, not necessarily in that order. The big thing news was that we got the replacement part for the autopilot in, midday on Friday, even though it was...
