SV Meriwether Blog

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Takatz and Basket Bay

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...

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Quintessential Alaska

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...

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Red Bluff 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...

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Lord’s Pocket and Kake

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...

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Honkers and Otters

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...

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Living off the land and sea in Portage Bay

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...

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Glacier hunting and more Orcas

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...

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Peter and Thomas

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...

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Wrangell Narrows to Petersburg

We motored out of Point Baker, back into Sumner Strait, with the plan to re-sail the same route we sailed into Point Baker the day before. This would bring us [back] to the southern entrance of the Wrangell Narrows where we would anchor to wait for the proper tide to pass through – the next morning. The forecast this day...

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Long walk down a windy beach to a closed cafe

Our Friday evening departure from Wrangell once again gave us the opportunity to get 20 miles closer to our weekend destination, which was a good two-day-sail away at our 5-6 knot pace. With no wind, the miles on Friday were all done via the diesel motor. Until, of course, we neared Saint John Harbor where we were to anchor for...