We completed our doctor appointments in Sitka, and departed to explore new territory. We’ve been on the west side of Chichigof Island, which is mostly exposed to the Gulf of Alaska, and devoid of cell signal, hence the Denali Rose silence. We use our phones as hotspots for our internet needs, no cell, no internet... [Starlink doesn't cover this far N as of this writing...]
We had a rendezvous with friends who cruise on Adventures, a Defever 49, in Klag Bay. This bay was at one time, a booming gold and silver mine, and home to 200 people. All that’s left now, are pilings, and some rusted equipment. We had a wonderful few days with Robin, and Jim, good food, good drink, and great company. We've been friends for almost five years, and this is the first time we managed to coordinate our schedules to be in the same place at the same time. Everyone decided that this must be a habit we continue on a regular basis.
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| Denali Rose and Adventures rafted up. |
We’ve been out in the Gulf of Alaska more often than ever before, and Gus, and I have experienced the Mal de Mer more often than we like. Those rollers come in from the Pacific, and even though Bill insists that the Gulf is extremely quiet, we haven’t been able to handle the 3-5 foot rollers coming in. Bonine is our drug of choice, but poor Gus gets sicker than I do, and more often. Gus starts to drool, and I usually put him in my lap so I can hold him over whatever surface would be the easiest to clean. Discontinue reading here, if you don’t want to read the gory details, skip down a paragraph.
On the 4th of July, we were headed for Mirror Harbor, so we could enjoy the White Sulphur hot springs. We were in the usual rollers from the Gulf, and as Gus began to exhibit signs of nausea, I lifted him into my lap. After he tossed his breakfast in a nearby container, he began to struggle in my arms, wanting to get down. I hung on tight, as it’s better to keep him contained in the rocking boat, then let him roam. Suddenly I noticed a sharp smell and noticed the poor kitty needed his litter box, and he couldn’t stop pooping in my lap. Yowzaa, poor kitty! I held him out over the same container which he had used earlier, and corralled most of the mess there. That did it, I became extremely nauseous as the smell overcame me. Bill was busy at keeping the boat on track, and making sure we don’t we encounter any uncharted rocks, and couldn’t do much for either of us. I managed to tie up the plastic bag of “stuff”, and Bill grabbed it to toss into the rubbermaid tub we use to contain garbage. I don't want to repeat that episode, next time he starts to struggle, I'll put him below in the head, and leave him there.
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| Recovering in the fresh air, and calm seas. |
The entrance to the channel leading to Mirror Harbor is a tricky one, and Bill anchored behind a few large rocks in a small bay to wait until the tide rose, to give us more water between Denali Rose’s keel, and submerged rocks. Even though it was a bit rolly, all of us took an hour long nap.
Transiting into the bay, I stood bow watch, I could see the large rocks on each side, above and below the waterline. as we slowly motored around them . Bill and I wear Sena headsets, so that we can talk to each other seamlessly when we have tricky maneuvering. Bill anchored securely, we did our shut down routines, and Gus, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
We're in the dinghy in this video, but it's the same channel we brought Denali Rose through.
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| Underwater boat biters. |
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| Safe at anchor behind the rocks. |
As we were preparing dinner, we heard a Mayday over channel 16 on the marine radio. We both stopped to hear where, and who. A commercial fishing boat was quickly taking on water, and the captain was trying to find the source of the opening. His bilge pumps were not keeping up, and his batteries were already submerged, and the engine almost so. A commercial tender, and two other fishing boats sped to his aid. The Coast Guard was immediately on the radio, coordinating the aiding vessels, and keeping tabs on the disabled boat, as well as dispatching a helicopter with rescue swimmers. The aiding vessels tried to use their large pumps to empty the water, but it didn’t sound like it was doing much good. The communication over the marine radio between the stricken vessel, the aiding vessels, and the Coast Guard was sobering to anyone listening. There was an extended silence, and when contact was made again, the captain of one of the aiding vessels, reported he had two of the stricken crew onboard, the tender had one, (a thirteen year old boy), and the disabled vessel had sunk. The Captain of the disabled vessel was not in good shape, he had spent a bit of time in the water, and was reported to be hyperthermic. The Coast Guard helicopter arrived, and had the survivors taken into a nearby bay in order to get out of the 6 foot swells, and 20-30 knot winds.They airlifted the survivors and headed back to Sitka. I’ve heard multiple vessels reporting different sorts of problems before, but this was my first Mayday. It was close to us, but we didn’t respond, as others were faster to get to them, we were locked into our bay with low tide, and since they had at least 3 “good samaritans” on site, and the Coast Guard on the way, by the time we would have arrived, we wouldn’t have been much use.
I guess I would rather have seasickness than a sinking boat.
The trail to White Sulphur hot springs from Mirror Harbor was easy, but seemed to take forever, really only 45 minutes, but I was anxious about bear sightings. We saw several piles of bear scat, but fortunately none were fresh, Bill kept up a steady stream of claps, and "hey bear" shouts. Seems like we're calling them in, but actually, we're letting them know we're here, and they should run away. We had our bear deterrents with us, just to be prudent. The trail is made up of some boardwalk, some mud trail, some rock trail, and clamoring over tree roots.
Almost there, I can see the cabin roof!
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| Bath House |
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| Forest Service Cabin |
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| Typical interior, also counters, table, and another bunk. |
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| Inside bathhouse, hot springs pool overlooking the bay. |
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| Outdoor hot pool. |
We enjoyed our hot bath, and then a hike back to the dinghy. Seems like I just got sweaty again, and needed another bath, but (shrug), been there, done that, no T-shirt.
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