AKDoug
Guru
I departed Seward Alaska following my good friend Kevin by almost two months on July 3, spent the night of July 4 on the Eastern tip of Montague Island after a 14 hour day cruising at 7 knots.
The following morning I headed for Kayak Island, hoping to get a nap in the lee side of the island, which didn't happen due to there not being a lee side... the weather was running right down the tip and splitting off both sides pretty much equally. So it was push on to Icy Bay in what was pretty much a 24 hour run from Montague.
Than goodness for coffee! The seas were mild, about 2' with the swell on the beam. The autopilot had no problem keeping me on track, and once away from Kayak Island there was very little debris in the water. The Copper River spits out quite a bit of debris, so the stretch from Montague to Kayak was a constant lookout for debris.
Once past Kayak Island, the currents kept the debris further offshore and the waters were clear, which was a good thing running in what passes for the night in Alaskan summers (darker, but not dark). I pulled into Icy Bay about 9 AM and took a nap, then went beach combing. Lots of bear sign on the beach, a few moose tracks, and more strawberries than you can imagine. The beaches were pristinely clean, no fishing gear or plastic water bottles, a pleasant change from most beaches I have been on in a long time.
I am getting weather forecasts by text on In Reach from a friend when the vhf doesn't have me covered, and word had it that a bad spell was coming. So rather than explore Icy Bay, which has marginal anchorages in strong weather, I pushed on into Yakutat, where I currently am waiting until the weather allows me to cross into the Inside Passage.
I am contemplating Lituya Bay, which is a 90 mile run from Yakutat, a comfortable but long days run from Yakutat. If I push to Cape Spencer it would be another all nighter, which I don't find particularly pleasant but also not a hardship.
Everything is running perfectly, making water on a schedule to keep my equipment in good condition, and eating well. I have to admit I will be happy to have more anchorage choices at my disposal once I am inside the islands South of Cape Spencer.
I have a lot of friends following my trip, including Kevin, who has parked his boat for a couple of weeks and traveled back to La Paz. Texting friends has been fun and keeps me engaged while looking out the front watching the ocean go by.
There have been no surprises, no problems, and my weather choices have so far been all good. Likewise anchorages, and equipment choices. As Kevin said, "a long trip is just many day trips joined together". As long as you get enough rest between stretches to keep your focus.
I have heard many times my 30' Willard is too small for a trip this long, this far, but no one would say that if I were in a sailboat. It's odd where people draw their lines about what's large enough and what's too small. With careful preparation and good weather and equipment choices almost any boat is large enough. I have over 1000 miles of range on my 150 gallons of fuel, so range isn the least of my concerns.
I will keep updating my post as I travel, here you go Kevin
The following morning I headed for Kayak Island, hoping to get a nap in the lee side of the island, which didn't happen due to there not being a lee side... the weather was running right down the tip and splitting off both sides pretty much equally. So it was push on to Icy Bay in what was pretty much a 24 hour run from Montague.
Than goodness for coffee! The seas were mild, about 2' with the swell on the beam. The autopilot had no problem keeping me on track, and once away from Kayak Island there was very little debris in the water. The Copper River spits out quite a bit of debris, so the stretch from Montague to Kayak was a constant lookout for debris.
Once past Kayak Island, the currents kept the debris further offshore and the waters were clear, which was a good thing running in what passes for the night in Alaskan summers (darker, but not dark). I pulled into Icy Bay about 9 AM and took a nap, then went beach combing. Lots of bear sign on the beach, a few moose tracks, and more strawberries than you can imagine. The beaches were pristinely clean, no fishing gear or plastic water bottles, a pleasant change from most beaches I have been on in a long time.
I am getting weather forecasts by text on In Reach from a friend when the vhf doesn't have me covered, and word had it that a bad spell was coming. So rather than explore Icy Bay, which has marginal anchorages in strong weather, I pushed on into Yakutat, where I currently am waiting until the weather allows me to cross into the Inside Passage.
I am contemplating Lituya Bay, which is a 90 mile run from Yakutat, a comfortable but long days run from Yakutat. If I push to Cape Spencer it would be another all nighter, which I don't find particularly pleasant but also not a hardship.
Everything is running perfectly, making water on a schedule to keep my equipment in good condition, and eating well. I have to admit I will be happy to have more anchorage choices at my disposal once I am inside the islands South of Cape Spencer.
I have a lot of friends following my trip, including Kevin, who has parked his boat for a couple of weeks and traveled back to La Paz. Texting friends has been fun and keeps me engaged while looking out the front watching the ocean go by.
There have been no surprises, no problems, and my weather choices have so far been all good. Likewise anchorages, and equipment choices. As Kevin said, "a long trip is just many day trips joined together". As long as you get enough rest between stretches to keep your focus.
I have heard many times my 30' Willard is too small for a trip this long, this far, but no one would say that if I were in a sailboat. It's odd where people draw their lines about what's large enough and what's too small. With careful preparation and good weather and equipment choices almost any boat is large enough. I have over 1000 miles of range on my 150 gallons of fuel, so range isn the least of my concerns.
I will keep updating my post as I travel, here you go Kevin
