Nomad Willy
Guru
We went to Ketchikan last week for doctor, shopping and eating out. Was the first really nice ride to Ketchikan we've had so when it came time, since the weather was to remain good for several days we went to Metlakatla on Anette Island and on to Moira Sound. Metlakatla is a Tsimshin Indian village on Anette Is much larger than Thorne Bay (where we live). Thier real estate is their own, to the extent that they tell the Coast Gaurd to stay away** ..* and they do. It appears they live by tribal law, have thier own police force and thus, are quite independent. How they came to be there and the story of Father Duncan is quite interesting and when I commented that they must have been rebels of some sort they all laughed at the comunity pancake breakfast. We enjoyed our time there. The next morning we made the 15nm crossing to Prince of Wales Island and Moira Sound. Few places assessable by boat in Alaska could be more wilderness like than Moira Sound. We saw one other boat (a shrimper) from Wrangell and He hailed us to offer shrimp and information about where the bears were** .. but they weren't. We went all the way into Aiken Cove (part of Niblack Cove) where the mountains were steep, sunlight was a little scarce and at times the channel was 14' deep and about 50' wide. I love to go into these deep holes. Someday I spoze I'll get bit and suffer hull dammage or grounding but so far I've been lucky. Our anchorage was extreemly small, dark and quiet. We drank one of our favorite wines under the stars (Malbec) and felt very special to have the experience. We expected to spend another day there exploring but incomming gales sent us home. We left at 7am and did'nt touch the throttle for 50 miles and about 8 hours. I hope you enjoy the pics.
