June 11th -June 14th Ketchikan
7:15 departure 50
degrees mill pond
Forgot that once in Alaska we needed to set our clocks one
hour back. We calculated the tides by Canada time and couldn’t figure out why
the depths were shallower than expected. As we motored out, I stood on “rock
watch” at the bow through the shallowest area just to be on the safe side.
We had brought up our stabilizers so we wouldn’t have to
mess with them just outside of Ketchikan. It got mighty rocky the first 5
nautical miles, and we were regretting that decision, but it soon smoothed
out. Had both a sea lion and whale
sighting along the way.
While in the Revillagigedo Channel, I was watching our AIS
screen closely on the look out for any cruise ships. Ketchikan is a popular
destination for those 14+ story vessels.
For the most part,
cruising the inside passage is like taking a peaceful stroll through the woods,
but entering Ketchikan is like
stepping on a hornet’s nest! It is quite the culture shock of activity. We
needed to take on fuel and headed for Petro Fuel. Once we found it, we also
found a huge yacht at the dock leaving no room for anyone else. Called to see
when we could dock and were told that the yacht would be there about an hour
and a half! So off we went in search for Crowley Fuel. Luckily, we tied right
up and with the help of a very personable young man, We took on hundreds of
gallons at $3.36 a gallon. Gulp.
We contacted US Customs while at the fuel dock and an agent
met us while we were taking on fuel. He looked at our documents but did not
board the boat. That was the first time a US agent didn’t board. We have never
been boarded by Canada Custom agents. Everything is handled over the phone.
All the marinas are “hot berths” meaning that you are
assigned a slip vacated by its owner which often is a fishing boat that has gone out. If that boat returns, you
will be moved to a different spot. No reservations are taken. The radio was
buzzing with boaters contacting harbormasters for moorage. We felt a bit anxious about finding a spot with so many boats arriving at the same time.
The city docks are
where the cruise ships attach themselves so we motored on down to Bar Harbor on
the north side of town across from the airport. We were lucky to be given an
outside dock and were allowed to remain there our entire visit. The drawbacks
were that we were not protected from the wakes of fishing boats coming and
going, we were without wind protection, and we had no dock power. Thank goodness our
generator was working.
The Belle felt quite at home here with all the serious
fishing boats most of them quite active, but there was the odd boat in need of
major repair and a little TLC. I learned about “the grid” where boats can tie
up. When the tide recedes, they are on a dry dock and can work on their boats
until the tide flows back in. I thought that was quite clever.
After getting ourselves organized, we took a walk down to a
place called The Landing where we found a pub overlooking the ferry dock. That
Alaskan Amber hit the spot. We watched as the Norwegian Bliss cruise ship
headed out of Ketchikan. It is the biggest boat that comes to Alaska with 4,800
passengers! The local paper lists the boats that are due in each day and the
number of passengers. Today the town was invaded by over 11,000 tourists.
The Norwegian Bliss
Arrived in Ketchikan two days early taking advantage of favorable
boating weather. Worked out well for us since we had some repairs to deal with
and needed to get the “suite” ready for Bryan, Jessica, Lewis and Ella who would
arrive on the 14th.
A bumper sticker
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