We were casting off dock lines within minutes of Sophie stepping onto the boat. Vince, Ray, and Cinco came over to say their goodbyes.
Although rainy, the seas were smooth heading over to Cleveland Passage. We didn’t take any photos during the cruise, as it was a wall of weather and not much to see. Cerise was already there enjoying cocktails.
We saw a pod of 6 humpbacks off Fanshaw. We got to enjoy them for a good 15 minutes before rounding the corner into Cleveland Passage. That is the most that we have seen together. This is whale central in the area, we have seen at least 20 and counting.
Jim and I slept fitfully. The anchor was making dragging sounds throughout the night. We kept checking the chart plotter and we weren’t really moving. Jim thinks maybe the bridle was moving against the boat. The noise definitely read “anchor dragging”. My anchor alarm told me we moved 52 feet throughout the night. So, if we were dragging, we didn’t drag far.
There is a gale-force storm moving in, so we skipped our plans to stay at Tracy Arm. We’ll catch it on the way back. After Cleveland Passage, we headed to Taku Harbor and a short trip to Juneau in the morning. The dock at Taku Harbor was nice! Although we did get quite the swell!! We took a little hike to stretch our legs.
We got a little escort from some Dall’s porpoises. I’m glad that Sophie got to share this experience. Now we just need to see some breaching, some sea otters, and a puffin. (I know.. the puffin is unrealistic unless we go to Glacier Bay).
Good thing Frederick Sound and Stephens Passage was lousy with whales, as we traveled all day in a wall of weather obscuring the view. That softened the blow quite a bit.
We pulled into Juneau at 9:30 Saturday morning. No one is moving because of the storm. The only availability the Harbormaster had was on a working fishing dock. We are fine with that! There is no power, but we have a generator, so no big deal. We are so happy to be secure and tucked in.
We’re going to hang out, watch some movies, play some games, and enjoy our time together. Hopefully the weather clears up enough to venture out and see some sights. But, for right now we are cozy and safe. Since nothing that interesting will be happening, you probably won’t hear from us for a few days.
Talk Soon.