The sailing adventures of SV Meriwether and her crew
With the final mail picked up from the post office and the boat laden with fuel, water, firewood, and groceries we were able to untied the lines and push off from the Juneau docks – for good. Neither of us share any disdain for Juneau per-se, but both of us do for the sitting in one place for any period...
Our time at Admiralty Cove was spent hunkered down on the boat for a three day wind event. We chose to stay where we had previously anchored – here – as it was going to offer us the best protection within a day’s sail. Best was relative of course, as we took the full brunt of the wind – hitting...
Tall peaks overlook the small, well protected, safe haven in Stephen’s Passage that is Taku Harbor. It is also a nicely placed, and commonly used as such, staging point to visit the world renown Tracy and Endecott Arms – and their glaciers – just a few more hours to the south. Inside the protection of the harbor are a few...
When talking to others about us spending a few sailing seasons in Alaska, one location came up as a “must see”, from those that have been to Alaska, more often than any other; Tracy Arm. It is difficult to accept that a single spot could be the defining locale for all of South East Alaska, but that was the ticket...
The apex of our Alaska adventures was to anchor in a sliver of a bay, deep in glacial territory and well off the beaten path. Said anchorage is set in a Yosemite-like valley, with 3000 foot granite cliffs and 5000 foot peaks blocking the horizon in all directions. It is accessed only by navigating a very tight and shallow 90-degree...
After three nights, we chose to leave our secluded anchorage in Fords Terror. It was nice to sit still for a few days, but we were ready to move on to new adventures. Our route was a mirror-copy of our sail coming in a few days back. First, we had to get to the rapids at a specific time, but...
It had already been nearly three weeks since we left Juneau. Our fresh foods were long eaten. Same for our milk. However, the bigger concern was that our coffee was worryingly low and our laundry pile was frighteningly high. A reprovision was needed, and the only place nearby to accomplish that was Kake, a small native village which we visited...
After spending a few days soaking on hot springs, it was time weather to move on to our next destination. The next leg would take us through Peril Strait, where there would be no sailing to speak of, but long hours of the motor rumbling away. At least the weather understood that fact, the wind no showing itself but for...
Quite thankful that the ATV camp did not run all through the night, a good nights sleep was woken from and we set our sights on arriving to our first big-town since leaving Juneau, three weeks earlier. Neither of us had showered during those three weeks, although the recent hot springs did help remedy some of that. Sitka was our...
One of the final items on our “Alaska to do” list was just down the road from us. Just a 20 mile sail is all it would take, and sailing we got to do – with the sails flying within minutes of us leaving the harbor. This on a day that no real wind was in the forecast, but the...
