Day 12-Ketchikan to Carp Island Cove

Finally, the transition from delivery mode to cruising mode has taken place.  Since leaving Anacortes, the primary purpose of the trip has been getting to Ketchikan.  Sam M. has a flight to catch, and I’ve got other people to meet in several different places in Alaska over the next month or so.  As such, the trip up was necessarily rushed.  When the weather was good, we moved, often long distances.

But now I have the chance to slow down.  Cruising at 5 knots is relaxing and economical.  30 nautical mile, even 50 nm days are easy at this speed.  When cruising at 16 knots navigation becomes more demanding, avoiding floating hazards is more laborious, and noise and vibration get tiring.  At 5 knots, long days are a whole lot more comfortable.  So with shorter distances to cover and a more relaxed schedule for the rest of the trip, I’ll be cruising at 5 knots and enjoying the sights of Alaska.

Now, back to what we’ve been doing.

Monday was spent in Ketchikan getting ready to head out to Misty Fjords National Monument for a few days.  We bought groceries and ice, cleaned up the boat a bit, and explored around Ketchikan.  3-4 massive cruise ships come through Ketchikan each day, where they disgorge their thousands of passengers onto the streets.  During the day the downtown part of Ketchikan is flooded with these folks, buying knickknacks and taking touristy photos.  The harbor is filled with excursion boats, fishing charter boats, and seaplanes which shuttle cruise ship passengers around for a few hours of “authentic” Alaska.

But by late evening the cruise ships leave (it is impressive to see nearly 1000 foot long ships maneuver so effortlessly) and the town is nearly empty.  It’s a lot nicer then.

On Tuesday morning we awoke leisurely, cooked breakfast, filled up the water tank, and headed out to the fuel dock.  I bought 37.9 gallons at $4.13 per gallon, the cheapest gas you on the trip.  Then we headed for Carp Island Cove, an intimate anchorage at the mouth of Smeaton Bay.  Somehow we were blessed with sunny weather, and we launched the kayak and dinghy and paddled around for a few hours, hoping to see some wildlife.  No luck in that regard, but the scenery was beautiful and the weather perfect.

After an early dinner, a movie (The Lincoln Lawyer…pretty good, I thought), and some some reading I quickly fell asleep.  Alaska time is one hour earlier than BC, which is nice since it now gets dark around 10 rather than 11 at night.  On the other hand, it now gets light at 4:00 AM…

32.3 nm today and 732.6 total