Day 38 Warm Springs to Appleton Cove

June 27^th  to Appleton Cove

7:00 departure  cloudy  51 degrees

Turned back on to Chatham Channel for a smooth ride. We were able to sit up on the dodger with a great vantage point. Dolphins joined us once again and a couple of whales appeared, as well. There’s a depth indicator on the dodger that has a “fish finder”. David was in the wheelhouse when he called me on the walkie talkie asking if I was seeing anything. We had suddenly gone from over 1,000 feet to 10 feet in depth!! The “fish finder” was showing continual patches of grey across the screen which meant that there was definitely “something” in the water below and very close to our keel. Whatever it was, it stretched for some distance. This "sudden loss of depth" happened more than once. It does get your attention!

We have been keeping our stabilizing poles outstretched on each side while cruising. This saves time if the waves start to get angry. If they do, all we have to do is drop the “fish” in the water to smooth out our ride. Luckily, we have not had the need to use them in quite some time.  Remembering to haul the poles back up if we are tying up to a dock is a must. Forgetting would be very embarrassing.

Our anchorage is off Peril Strait whose name does not instill confidence. The yacht that was docked in front of us last night raced by us without even a “how d’ya do”.  Many more pleasure boats were cruising along this strait and plenty of fishing vessels. We even spotted the National Geographic boat lazily bobbing off the strait.

                                                        Sigh...no bears appeared           

After six hours of running time, we dropped anchor in Appleton Cove. It’s like being anchored in a large pond…so calm. I expect frogs to start croaking. There’s a crab boat tending to his mass of pots and so far, that’s the only neighbor we have.

Rain found us around 3:00 but swept by quickly. We sat out on the bow reading until it got too cold for me. I have been keeping vigil watching for bear. We are surrounded by a shore which is the perfect grassy stage for a bear show.

On shore there is what we believe to be a public government cabin with a mooring buoy for boats to tie up. In the morning the tide dropped at least 15 feet and the buoy was grounded so any boat attached would be sitting on shore, as well, at least until the tide rolled back in.

We have been storing some food in the lazarette below the stern. It’s a small compartment just above the propeller shaft. While retrieving something, David discovered a fair amount of water and started pumping it out. It’s more water than David has ever seen in that space…about 2 ½ buckets worth. We are puzzled. When we get to Sitka, David wants to set up a pump and float and that should take care of things. 

                                                                   A cabin in the woods