Sandy Dreams

 On our first day we made it all the way to Petersburg. We went through the narrows at low Tide. My previous two runs through the narrows were at high Tide. It was quite a bit difference at low Tide.  The narrows at low Tide. Dan and I went Halibut fishing. That is a 12 oz can in the middle to give you an idea how big they are.

 I am finished with the job. We said our goodbyes to all the production crew in Ketchikan.  Now I have to meet up with the Integrity in Myers Chuck and escort her back to Hoonah. Should take around three days. We plan to do lots of fishing.  It is really foggy this morning. That is an island in the picture. We put the skiff on it's trailer yesterday and it will be shipped back to Juneau. Seems weird not towing it anymore after towing it for a month.

 Today they are filming in a small cove called Myers Chuck. It is a small community with about 40 cabins or so, they do have a dock that gets to most of the cabins. Some are accessible only by boat.  My route from Ketchikan to Myers Chuck. Local saw mill. They cut all their own lumber.

Tuesday July 19th we left McHenry Bay for Ketchikan it is 54 miles. It will take most of the day to get there because the integrity only goes 5 to 6 knots. For now we are skipping Myers Chuck I'm not sure if we will come back to that location or not.  There has been lots of logs in the water probably because we just had a few really high tides. To give you an idea of the logs in the water. Some are massive and would definitely damage a boat. Micah frying up some fresh Halibut. Halibut and potatoes for dinner. Thanks Brian and Micah for your hospitality. We parted was from Silver Lady this morning. On the move! That's Katos in front of me and way off in the distance you can see the integrity. I still have the skiff in tow.  This is the last leg for the skiff. We are going to put it on a ship and ship it back to Juneau. I am definitely going to miss the skiff. What a great little boat.

 We have been staying I'm McHenry Bay. It provides better protection from the south than Mosman bay. We have to commute to Mosman to film every day it's about 8 miles to where we go.  They hired a yacht for 6 of the crew to sleep on. The rest take sea planes back and forth to Ketchikan everyday.  Russell and I are still staying on our boats. He's on Katos and I'm on Sea Duck. We probably have it best. Here you can see McHenry harbor and our route to Mosman. The squiggly lines down south was getting footage of integrity in a storm.  Sea Duck rafted up to silver lady, she is the yacht they hired to be a floating hotel for film crew. Sea Duck rafted to Katos rafted to integrity watching film crew commute to Ketchikan by sea plane via skiff via van to hotel. And you thought your commute to work was hard! The cove behind Mosman Island during low Tide. I'm driving the skiff back to Katos and Sea Duck. Our route in the skiff to the cove behind Mosman. There are rocks every...

 We got to Mosman Island today. It was like going back in time we have places like this in St Thomas as well.  Trees growing right out of the rocks. Me filming the film crew! I had to dock up with two sea planes so everyone could fly back to Ketchikan. That was my first docking with a plane!

 We finally left Petersburg after many delays. We ran up the narrows to do some filming a couple of days ago. The current really rips through there. This was our route from Petersburg to St John's harbor. We went on high Tide. I would have liked to go through at low Tide. I hear some places get really narrow.  Maybe next time. There is the integrity with a few other boats in.  There is my skiff in tow with integrity in the background. I am really lucky we have a large crew around 20 and most of the time I am on the brand new boat by myself.

 We are still stuck in Petersburg we were supposed to get back to work today July 11th but was delayed again. I am going to become a resident here if we stay much longer. We have been somewhat productive while we are waiting. We fueled the integrity and filled with water. Then the propane hot water heater went hay wire and almost caught the boat on fire. The only replacement in this tiny town is an on demand 110volt heater. It doesn't work very well but better than cold water I guess. Joe got a great sunset photo the last time we were in Thomas Bay. This photo was taken at 11:15 at night and it's still light out. Other than that I watch the fishing boats come and go. I have also been studying the Wrangle narrows. I am going to have to go through the narrows possibly three times. In the next few days we have a plus 19 feet and negative 4 feet tide that's a 23 foot tide swing.  The narrows are about 22 miles long. The tides floods from both ends to a point in the middle and e...

 We made our way to Petersburg today. It was foggy and raining all day.  I was sent ahead to find docking space for the Integrity. Once the Integrity was docked we had our celebratory Apple Crown and glacier ice. It's going to be rough going back to normal ice! Captain Dan cooked pork chops with baked potato and salad. While we were eating a huge Sea lion had his dinner right next to the boat. That is a halibut carcass he is eating.  Lots of fishing boats in Petersburg.

 Yesterday Joe and I took the skiff up the river made from the Glacier. We had crazy currents and sand bars our depth sounder wouldn't work because of all the ice and debris in the water. We estimate the current to have been 7 to 8 knots we had the power set on the skiff at 2400 RPM and we were barely moving. The goal is to drive the boat through that gorge and look at the Glacier. Lots of ice floating down the river. The current isn't too bad, but lots of ice. Here the current is picking up a little. I went to the left the current was ripping to the right. The yellow line was our route. Scenery Cove.

 Today I escorted the Integrity from Steamboat Bay to Thomas bay. Then I went to Petersburg to get fuel and a few groceries. When I got to Petersburg they had a street closed off and a big party and most of the stores closed. I didn't realize it was the 4th of July. I did the same thing in New Orleans for Mardi gras this year. Guess I need to keep better track of holidays. I passed my second iceberg. Guess I'm doing better than the Titanic. A cruise ship hit an iceberg on June 23rd. My route today. Some of the squiggly yellow lines are from yesterday. I went to Petersburg today. Downtown Petersburg. The marina and that is Sea Duck at the dock. I guess this is the Beverly hills of Petersburg.

 We spent two nights in Steamboat bay. Mainly fishing on July 3rd Captain Dan and I took Sea Duck to Thomas bay to look for a place to anchor the integrity.  Scenery cove is super cool. We picked up some glacier ice and did lots of fishing.  This was our route exploring.  We filled the cooler with glacier ice from Baird glacier. Apple Crown and 2000 year old glacier ice. Try ordering that in a bar. While we were fishing a humpback popped up right next to the boat. Amazing how different it is when you aren't actually trying to watch them. Our view off the integrity in Steamboat bay. Joe cooking Halibut. This is where the Baird glacier meets Thomas Bay. Scenery cove. Captain Dan with a flounder he caught. Funny thing is I took that flounder and caught three Halibut with it. I gave him half credit for my fish for catching my bait.

 We made the trip from Taku to Steamboat bay on July 2nd. The trip was uneventful. I saw my first iceberg. I ran into a pod of orca's. Once in Steamboat bay we caught a lot of fish. We kept 5 Halibut.  Our route the zig zag at the end is me checking out orcas. Orca's because there wasn't 50 whale watching boats and tourists I was able to get some really good pictures. Just me and the orca's. My first iceberg! It was huge.

 We left Juneau yesterday around 1100 heading to Taku Harbour we arrived around 1730. The weather was beautiful and the trip was mostly uneventful.  When I filled the boat up with water I didn't know it was still winterize and the valve on the hot water heater was open. So as I filled the tank it ran right into the bilge. I was wondering why the boat took so long to fill with water. I was already underway when I realized what happened.  I spent about a hour pumping out and drying the bilge.  I had to leave the Integrity and scout out a place to dock. Taku Harbour has two docks. We had to grab the dock that doesn't go to shore. It's just a big dock in the harbour to tie up to and sleep. Sea Duck on the dock to no-where. Integrity Integrity, Sea Duck, and the dock to no-where The current rips through the harbour when the tides comes or goes. Captain Dan cooked fresh Halibut that we caught a couple of days ago. We also had steak, baked potato and salad. I guess I'm not ...

 I finally left Juneau I am in "Sea Duck". She is a 30 foot duckworth and brand new! Well almost 2021. I feel like I'm the Captain of the Enterprise, beam me up Scotty. Probably a little too fancy for me. I have an auto pilot and bow thruster. She has a full kitchen, fridge, bathroom, dinette and v berth. I even have an aft steering station outside. It feels really good to be back out to sea. I don't have a crew member so it's just me and the computers. I also have to tow the skiff. Our first leg is from Juneau to Taku Harbour it's about 35 miles. The weather is beautiful. I could be there in about an hour but I have to escort the Integrity and tow a boat so we are running about 6 knots. Bye Juneau. You can see my skiff at tow and if you can see that red dot that is the Integrity trying to catch up with me. My helm station two Garmin touch screen very similar to the Lear 75. My galley and fridge.

 My cousin Dave left early this morning, we said our goodbye last night. Safe travels I'll see you in Key West or St Somewhere soon.  The Integrity is the vessel I am escorting from Juneau to Ketchikan then back to Hoonah. We have lots of stops along the way. Most of the time I'm going to be on Sea Duck or Katos and Captain Dan and Joe on the Integrity. I will be the safety boat and run film crew to the boat and back to the hotel. We are supposed to leave tomorrow morning but who knows we are already late. Our first stop is going to be Petersburg we are planning on three days to get there. I should be back around July 25th so almost a month.  I said goodbye to my Mom and Sis tonight I see lots of hiking in their future. They have been hiking about 6 miles a day since they got here. I see lots of fresh Halibut in my future!  I am a little sad leaving my Ambulance and Sis but also super excited about the adventure/S&$t show am about to embark on.  I am really ...