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| Appleton Cove |
We leave Sitka for our voyage to Juneau to fetch our younger
daughter and her family. Our anchorage
on the way last night was Appleton Cove.
Kind of charming when a mama brown bear and her black baby cub poke
their heads out of the woods for a brief appearance. That was followed by another grizzly with her
two nearly adult cubs. Otherwise, it is rainy and we are spoiled now by weeks
of sun. Plus, the wind picked up and our
boat is swinging wildly, the shore flashing by like a movie on fast forward, and
we feel ourselves drifting.
Even with an anchor watch alarm it turns out to be an
all-nighter for Jim who gets up hourly for anchor watch – I do my part and
sleep through it all – hey, someone has to be alert tomorrow to operate the
boat. And now, this morning, we hoist
the anchor in wind that is blowing steadily.
I am happy to leave.
As soon as we exit
the cove, radio reception kicks in and
we hear that Chatham Strait has a small craft advisory – winds of 30 mph (a gale
is considered 35 mph) and 6 feet seas.
Oh, I don’t like this at all and suggest turning right back around. But since we are already under way, Jim counters
– we should continue our trek east through Peril Strait (that’s right Peril) and then check out Chatham Strait
when we get there – he calls it “sticking our nose out.” Already, we are experiencing rain, fog, white
caps, the unexplained presence of some sun, and a heck of a ride.
The waves collide with our boat, drenching the pilot house -
it is like being doused by a fire hose.
Two hours later, and a little woozy, before we even get to the
lighthouse marking the entrance to Chatham Strait, I can see the 6 feet waves building in the
distance – it looks like a two story wall of water aiming right for us. We swerve the boat 180 degrees and hightail
it out of there.
Jim searches the chart for a place to lay low until this
blows over and we head for Hanus Bay, its name alone a warning. We drop the anchor, wait for it to bite, but
it just clatters across the rocks. Maybe
if we go a little closer to shore we’ll find some mud to catch the anchor. Anchor up, anchor down – no go.
Well, there is another bay an hour farther west, Saook, so
off we go, in the rain and 25 mph winds – and a rainbow. Yes, this place looks perfect – the bay is
deep so we are fairly well protected from the worst of the fetch building now
in Peril Strait. Jim braves the rain yet
again to drop anchor. Twenty minutes
later, the anchor is clanging like its being dragged across a concrete parking lot.
We try another spot and repeat - anchor
up, anchor down -nope.
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| Rainbow in the middle of the storm |
I fantasize about a sturdy dock and stable internet, maybe a
little tapas and a stiff drink or two… Sitka.
But I snap out my reverie as we need to relocate. Well, Appleton Cove is just another 3
nautical miles, and I remember it very fondly now – I loved it there! When we get to the mouth of Appleton, it is
clear and somewhat sunny, while all around us it is still windy, foggy and
rainy. We drop the anchor and it holds
tight. Ten hours after we left, we are
right back where we started our day…, now, about that stiff drink.
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| A Calm sky outside Appleton Cove |
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