Seward to Fox farm Bay & Whittier.

25/6
Nice wind today as we set off for Fox Farm bay, as usual though it's right on the nose..........darn it.

 Off we go down the East side of Fox Island through the narrow strait then into the strait between Barwell Island and Cape Resurrection......holy polony....the sea has lifted enormously, we had'nt noticed the wind had increased the day before.
We now had a 3m sea running against us.

We turn and head East, this eases the situation somewhat, as we now have the sea beam on (on our side). This is slightly better as you can run along the top of the waves and drop down into the troughs.......still a tad choppy though.
We carry on across the Blying Sound, not getting any respite until we come up the West side of Elrington Island and our anchorage for the night in Fox Farm Bay.
What a beautiful spot.........just stunning.
Talk about the calm after the storm, we had a fantastic night in the bay, just superb.
A large Alaskan motor yacht was already in there and later a small fishing skiff anchored up and promptly started to fillet his days catch.
An otter meandered across the bay to see what he could salvage from the filleting, he did quite well, the fisherman threw plenty overboard for him.........maybe a regular occurrence !

26/6
After a good nights sleep, we had our breakfast and up came the anchor, our next stop is to be Jackpot Bay.
The weather is a bit grim, overcast and bad light.

Bainbridge Fjord came and went, then into Bainbridge Passage. There were fisherman  in aluminium skiffs fishing in the "back eddies", otters lying on their backs eating their lunch......brilliant.....hard to photograph though.

We stopped in one of the inlets to our starboard and had lunch.

Then off we go again, we left the passage behind and came out into the northern section of the passage towards Point Countess................suddenly............................woooooow..................a massive Orca surfaced about 10m on our port side................so quick was it up and down......then out of sight,  we never had chance to photograph her / him......................darn it !!!!

So, diasappointed, we carried on into Whittier.

I called the Harbourmaster on Ch. 16. (later i found out you are supposed to call them on Ch. 68, 16 only in emergencies..................no one, anywhere in the world does that. You always call on Ch.16)

"Yes we have a spot for you, but you'll have to raft up to (tie up alongside another vessel) a 70 footer named Oscar Mike on Alpha jetty"....................... ok that's fine says i.

Steve at the helm we enter the harbour.
Where the chuffing eck is this vessel called Oscar Mike ????.................a guy comes down from the office.......
..."here, here against this landing craft".......
...well, holy polony...............the wind was blowing us off and the tide was running.......what a job we had.

Novara is not the easiest vessel in the world to dock, especially in a cross wind and a tidal flow against you.............she has a flattish bottom and no keel.

As we had very little depth to play with, we could'nt drop the centre board to help us.
The bow thruster was struggling (this normally helps to spin the boat on the axis provided by the keel.) Anyway, after much huffing and puffing we managed to get settled.

AND it started raining................and i mean rain !!!
This persisted for the next 2 days...............very, very, heavy.

Whittier is a port built by the American military in WW2, it is ice free all year round and generally covered in cloud, so easy to hide from the enemy..................you're not joking there matey !!!
I went to the ferry terminal and booked my ticket out of Whittier to Bellingham on the 6th July, hoping i could meet up with Larry & Andrea in Victoria
Until 2001, Whittier was accessible only by boat and the railway, cars etc came in on the train. Then they built the new road tunnel, outgoing traffic on the hour, incoming traffic half past the hour................i joke not !!!
The military pulled out in 1968 after the earthquake of 1964...................there is an enormous derelict barracks building still standing......................all a tad bizarre !!!!!!
We managed to get wifi in one of the cafes in the place, did some emailing etc.

We picked up a new "foghorn" (Steve had ordered it earlier last month). This was to replace the one we lost last year in the Bering Sea....whoops scotties.........yes it was a bit rough !!!

It had been posted to the Harbour master's office.....his name......COLE HADDOCK !!!!  Again .....i joke not !!!!
Really nice lad actually, about Bryn's age (maybe mid thirties)..............cool dude.

AND IT RAINED SOME MORE.......................smoly hoke.......i thought the Lakes were bad...............streuth !!!
The waterfalls coming down the mountains were just incredible to see................my photos don't really capture them well...........they were just torrents............mega !!!



Weather a bit grim as we passed fairly close to Bainbridge Glacier

The motor boat in Fox Farm bay

Panorama of the bay

a shot through one side of the bay

forest all around us..........it's the largest Temperate Rain forest in the world !!

a better shot through the gap the next morning............improving weather

Steve having a swift one

..............................and a close up !!!

Whittier

The accomodation block, the entire town live in here; apart from the one's that live in the hotels etc etc.

One of the workshops.

Another shot the flats.

Another of the large workshops left by the Army.

Walking the pet reindeer................??

The sun does shine n Whittier......................sometimes !!!

Harbour view and some of the fishing skiffs.

Novara berthing up next to the landing craft.

View to the hotel across the harbour.

Nearly done it.....................

closer..............

and closer..............

Terry, telling Steve how to do it !!!! Actually he's like a coiled spring awaiting a line !!!

Waterfalls coming down from the glacier above town...............

The old timber dock.

2:30...............well the Dentist for Steve it is.........Wasilla bound

24/6
Up and at em early this morning, at Mr. Hertz (Robin Barsteward), for 08:00, car collected and i'm designated driver for the day (i know.....mad fools).
Steve is concerned he maybe a bit worse for wear after 2 root canal fillings.

A "Mitsubishi Gallant" is our Limo for the day, a very superior automobile i might add. It's a beautiful morning and looks set to be a hot one.
Wasilla or bust !!

A stunning run down Highway 9 to Anchorage and then on Highway 1 for the trip north from Anchorage to Wasilla.
I might add here, the Alaskan road works are as bad as in Britain !!!! .......SLOWWWWWW !!!
Steve is nearly beside himself, his appointment is 13:25.

We, of course take a wrong turn in Anchorage and end up in the Port, then, waste disposal facility, then downtown (what does that mean??). It's no good, we'll have to ask, into the nearest Petrol station we go. By this time i'm bursting for a toilet stop !!!! I go to the RESTROOMS ??? it's locked, get the key from the cashier..................too late Steve has directions............hurry we're going to be late no time for a toilet stop..............Gordon Bennett !!!
Off we go again doen Glenn Highway (why do they do this ?? No mention of places you want to go to, just Street names............crazy !!! Great if you know it, not helpful at all if you're a visitor)
We arrive in Wasilla.

"Right, we're looking for Westpoint Avenue" says Steve.
"Lets try a right here"
.......ahah a McDonalds, how bizarre...........lets turn in their and get a coffee and ask the way........hang on a mo there it is on the right, in we go and at the end of the street is the dental surgery.

Spot on.....good stuff !! Steve goes in, i'm nearly bursting...............down the road i go...............thank goodness a dirt track to the left....................phew thats better.
Steve comes back out and says alls good we are 20 minutes early, lets go for a coffee. About 300 m away there's a Starbucks apparently. A tad against my religion, but, yes i'm ready for a coffee (never frequent Starbucks normally).

We get some wifi in the coffee shop and do the usual.
Soon time to go back to the dentist. We drop Steve off. Terje and i have a meander into downtown Wasilla......................well.......phew, what can i say............it has lots of modern shops, Malls......... an old (1920's) railway station and an old bar - "Mug Shots"..........that's it !!!
Wasilla has no centre.......nothing !!!!

Well that's the answer then, into the bar.............."Mug Shots" here we come.
At the entrance there's a sign :
"Enter if you Dare"

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, thirst gets the better of us !!!

I have a Sprite and Tel has a Guinness.............guess who gets the sideways look from the barmaid !!!!
"Hey, i'm driving .....OK" ???

Anyway, they all, turn out to be really friendly, one lady from Birmingham (would you believe it), has been in Wasilla for 50 years. It was her husbands birthday.......79 today...and very spritly he looked too. A very nice couple.

The barmaid eventually took to us and had a long chat, was enthralled with our NW Passage escapad and she insisted we had our photos taken with her...................all good craiche.

Ooooooooooooooo...before i forget, as we were drinking there was an earthquake, apparently they happen nearly every day in the summer and now & then in the winter, What a gas, my first experience of an earthquake
Back to pick up the boy..................he looked very sorry for himself when he emerged from the dentist..................3 No. !!! root fillings later........a mere $3600.............and ....and he was'nt charged for the third !!!!
Off we go back to Seward.
Steve was getting peckish so we stopped at the Summit Lake Lodge..........................
We arrived back in Seward about 20:00.


Mug Shots bar

Summit Lake lodge for supper

view from the bench on Summit Lake

my perfect pad !!

.............. love it !!!

Northwestern fjord to Seward

22/6
We arise to a stunning morning, the mountain tops are in what they call "Alpenglow".......beautiful.
The day gets better as it goes on...........wall to wall sunshine.............
Lunch stop just before McArthurs Pass, a narrow gap between two islands, the water was running at about 3.0 Kn.
Then onto Pete's Pass, again  a very narrow pass between two islands...........fast running but not as bad as McArthur. Dolphins are chasing the Salmon here, an brilliant sight to see...........no photos though..............too quick and we did' nt have one at hand............DOH !!!
On we go to Seward....................blimey !!!!..........i've never seen so many RV's !!! (Recreational Vehicles).
Up to Ray's Waterside bar for a few sherbets....................i've got to say the Alaskans do have some excellent micro breweries, they really are first class. Just one complaint, i know they like their beer cold, but, glasses from the freezer...............pppppllllleeease !!!
Steve's teeth are still paining him, so he organised a visit to the local dentist to do some very expensive root canal fillings ($3600 for 2No.) in Wasilla, north of Anchorage !!!! It's about 120 miles away !!! Car hire is required.................the boys are off on a road trip.
23/6
A few jobs on the boat and catch up with friends & relatives on skype etc etc.
Steve organises a car with Mr. Hertz, who very kindly lets him borrow one for the day for the small sum of (by the time the mileage is taken into account) $360..................$360 / day !!!!! robin barstewards !!! Anyway, has to be done.
The furnace was one of the jobs on the list, so i cracked on with that..............Steve and i read up about it , AGAIN and wondered if it was'nt getting enough air flow. There is a large allen key affair to regulate the flow across the burner. I tinker about with it......decreasing it ....................wow.......worse than ever, smoke everywhere...............increase it nearly to the max. that's it !!!!! Running as clean as you like and starting every time...yyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaahhhooooooooooo.

Another job on the list was the Anchor wash (it comes through the deck to the bows next to the anchor.......obviously). Steve had tried to run it but decided it was seized. I played around with it a bit.........opened all the valves, switched her on and off a few times and hey presto..........away she goes !!! Brilliant, we now have the anchor wash up and running again. I think it had got an air lock or hydraulic lock with being closed for so long over the winter., opening the valve on deck appeared to sort that one out.


 "Alpenglow" over the fjord

On the way to Seward

We're through Pete's Pass

Some of the mountain tops and islands onthe way to Seward along the Kenai peninsula

Local fishing boat in the fjord

 Ice finger coming down from the Harding Icefield, just south of Seward

First view of Seward

Panorama of the harbour

Ray's waterfront bar

Kotoi to Northwestern Fjord

..............................................................................................................................................
20/6
Steve and i up at 04:00, anchor up , we are on our way to the Ragged Isles.
Fog comes down........................ggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, it's Labrador & Baffin Island all over again............however, we motor for about 2 hours and we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The fog is clearing as we get further away from the coast, excellent.
There is no wind all day, so motoring it is.
The plan is to anchor in Berger Bay on Nuka Island for the night.
A lovely protected cove with splendid views.

21/6
Up and away fairly early, the plan is to get to Northwestern Fjord this afternoon.
A reasonably uneventful trip until, a young Humpback whale decides to come and say hello...................he passes under the boat and alongside us, blowing air out as he goes...............the mass of air bubbles is astonishing............and no sooner as he came, he was gone.........amazing to see. We could see all the way down his back as he went down our starboard side...........a lifetime tick ....AGAIN.........just stunning. Also dolphins today, bald eagles, Otters in abundance....................phew.............how lucky am i !!!!
We carefully work our way through the narrow inlet into the fjord at the once Terminal morraine (only 5.0m deep in parts)..........now miles away from the carving face
We get into the Fjord late afternoon......some ice about, but nothing to talk about..........not like last year !!!
The Kabola furnace decided to pack in again tonight..............darn it.....what now !!!!
I manage to get it going, but only by taking the photo cell out and flashing a torch at it to start it..........more work is needed!!!!
We anchor for the night and at least have a warm boat........great stuff.


A side glacier coming into the Northwestern fjord

No idea why this is doing this  !!!!!

Northwestern glacier at the carving face

Kodiak to Kotoi bay

19/6/15
Chris arrives at the boat 07:00 and we pile into his Focus and make for the diner. Joe is already there, but no sign of Peter................he eventually arrives about 07:30..........loads of coffee, hash browns and omelette later............i'm stuffed !!!

Chris drops us back at the boat.....cheerios all round, Chris says any problems during our time in the USA, get in touch and he''ll try his best to help...............real good bloke !!!
Get ourselves sorted, lines dropped, a few fishermen wish us well and we're off, 11:45am.
I try to call the Fuel dock, no response, so we just meander up past the fish cannery and pull in. Steve runs alongside a bit too fast and bursts one of the big black fenders off the port side...........no major problem, we can fix it later.
We take on about 500 US gallons of diesel (20galls in jerry cans / jugs).
Peter has promised to put a plane up to take some photos of Novara under full sail about 13:30 to 14:00..........just in good time, we are taking on fuel at 12:30.

Under the bridge and out into the bay to the North of Kodiak, we tack back and forth in light airs awaiting the float plane to arrive. A few pass us close and we're not sure if it's Peter or not.
Then a wheeled plane comes swooping in about 14:00..........it's them, nearly taking the masts off !!!
They do a couple of fly pasts and they are gone.......hope they got some good pickies !!!!

We decide to head for Kotoi bay for the night.........we see whales everywhere........a big Humpback ??? swims within 50 feet of us..................then flicks his tail ........amazing !!!

Into Kotoi bay............there are 2 boats fishing with nets, we call them on Ch. 16......
......."can we get past without disturbing you" ??
......"no problem is the reply, just go to the north of our nets, we'll take them in a bit"
..................what stars !!
We pass them with no problem and carry on to the head of the bay..............anchor down.....i have supper on..................FRESH, FRESH salmon....mmmmmmmmmmmm with courgettes and baked potato.
Soon the fishermen are at the boat in their skiff...............3 huge salmon for us..................wwwwwwwwwwwwooooooooooooooooooooowwww
1 sockeye and 2 dog salmon...............i can hardly see the difference until i fillet them.
The sockeye is far more pinky and subtle...................the dog, very red indeed.................beautiful fish though.
The guys come aboard for a few sherbets, they are from Kodiak and know Peter.........we have a great craiche.
Wynn (skipper, is about 25 i would say), Mike the deck hand (ex Afghan veteran) and Dieter (?) the engineer.........really ace guys, they stay for an hour or two.
During this time we see a couple of otters and next minute a Kodiak bear in the trees next to a clearing behind the beach. Unfortunaely only there for a minute or so and nobody had chance to get a photo.....darn it.


A humpback breaks surface and we see the fluke..........good shot terje

From left to right.........Steve, Mike, Dieter? (in yellow), me kneeling, Wynn.

A couple of shots taken by Peter from the aircraft, as they passed by us coming out of Kodiak

Around kodiak

30th May.........Peter comes around to the boat, we have a place for you both on the 13:00 flight to south of the island, if you're interested............."does the Pope wear a funny hat "?? too right we're interested..........wow, just great..........mountains all covered in snow. We deliver the US post to South of the island and then pick up a fisherman on the way back, Paul Dungan from Homer........good craiche, came round to the boat later.
I'll not bore you with all the boat issues...................lets just say, i was busy sorting.....STUFF !!
Until..................
5/6/15
Fisherman gives us 2 crab, boil for 15 mins in saltwater & then wash in cold fresh.......get as much meat out as possible. Gorgeous !!!!!!
Kabola photo cell arrives, connect........boiler fixed......the unburnt fuel encompassed the dock in smoke.............whoops scotties
Stak paks sorted
Blew up Peter's battery charger last night..........DOH !!!!
More work on the boat

14/6/15
Steve arrived in from France around 18:00.....made him a Salmon and rice..............fresh from one of the fishermen ..................just superb.

18/6/15
Getting everything ready for the off tomorrow.
We all meet up with Chris Johnson, Peter, Ben, David & Joe in "The Brewery".........then onto the Powerhouse Sushi restaurant, where Gill and the rest of Chris's family meet us + Joe's wife and daughter.
Good time had by all, Chris sneaked off and paid the bill for us all.......................what a dude.
Steve not too happy though, he likes to pay.......we all agree to meet for breakfast in the morning at King's Diner.........Chris will pick us up.




Terje and i doing some specialist tasting at the B&B bar

 A local pickup

A display by the Kodiak coastguard just off the pier at town dock

 Dungeness crab for lunch then ??

One of the "skiffs" used by the local fishing boats.....................retail $200,000

The boiler is fixed.................some of the passing fisherman were'nt too sure, they thought the boat was on fire

A few shots from our flight down the island to deliver the US mail with Ben.

Ben & i back at base

 Part of the City dock pier 2, some fish and mussels on the piles

Moored up at City dock, waiting for the crane

Steve aloft, re running the halyards to the foremast

Crane in position, fog clearing from behind

A diver cleaning the undersides before we leave Kodiak

Woody, our salmon supplier

Bit short of horsepower here i reckon