A ELEVEN DAY CRUISE AROUND REVILLAGIGEDO ISLAND

Tuesday, May 28, 2013.   You gotta love these names in Alaska!!  We didn't realize when we pulled into Ketchikan that Monday was going to be a holiday so the stores we needed to go to for some steering fluid were not open.  But we were able to get some this morning at the local NAPA, so after fueling up we continued on our trip.  We were looking for a place to go salmon fishing so we headed north for Clover Pass.  The guide book we are using said there was a public marina in Knudson Cove with a size limit of 65 feet. So we tied up and were greeted by a marina employee that said the size limit was 40 feet.  This is the kind of thing you run into when the guide book was printed several years ago.  So we cruised another 8 miles to a place called Helm Bay and are tied to a small dock behind a small island.  Not another person or boat for miles around.  Tomorrow we will set the shrimp pots, and crab pots out then go fishing.

Ketchikan waterfront

Coast Guard station in Ketchikan

Ketchikan Duck Tour amphibious boat

Wednesday,  Rained all night last night but has stopped this morning.  Del, Orlaine, and Russ set the crab pots and shrimp pots then went bottom fishing for awhile.  No luck with the fish.  When we were in Ketchikan,  Russ and Del worked on the Honda outboard that quit on us earlier.  So today we launched it and it seems to be working alright after buying new fuel and changing the spark plugs.  Not going to go to far until we know for sure it is OK.  No luck in the pots.

Thursday, May 30,2013.  This morning we cruised back across Behm Canal and anchored up in a small bay called Deep Water Bay by the local residents.  There are about a dozen summer cabins surrounding the bay but we saw only one person when we got here.  Later they came over and welcomed us and we found out where to set the crab pots and shrimp pots.  We fished for salmon but no luck there.  But we scored big on the crab and shrimp.

Summer cabin at Deep Water Bay

Russ and Del back with crab!!

Orlaine holding some Hugh prawns.

Saturday, June 1, 2013.  Continued our journey around Revillagigedo Island cruising in a clockwise direction.  We anchored up in Fitzgibbon Cove for a few days of fishing and wildlife watching.  Saw several whales today, both humpback and Orcas.  We are sitting in the pilot house tonight looking out the front window at the snow caped mountains in front of us waiting for a grizzly bear to wander onto the beach.  This area is closed to salmon fishing so tomorrow we will see if we can catch a halibut.

At anchor in Fitzgibbon Cove

This was Orlaines favorite rock of the trip

Sunday, June 2, 2013.  In the morning Dell and Russ went bottom fishing but still no luck!!!!! But we were treated to a show by several Dall porpoise who swam and dove around the boat for several minutes.

Monday, June 3, 2013.  Left this morning for Walker Cove located in the Misty Fiords National Monument.  Consisting of over two million acres of wilderness, this cove is considered one of  the top 5 places to see in Alaska.  Countless streams and waterfalls plunge down the granite walls to the saltwater from mile high summits.  We were lucky enough to get tied to the one and only  mooring buoy located where a small stream enters the bay.  People have reported seeing grizzly bear here so we are on watch today.  I thought the smell of burgers cooking on the barbeque might lure one out of the woods but no luck so far.  Another boat , Loose Wire II, is tied along side of us tonight.  We first met them on a trip up here in 2009 and have seen them in several bays we have stayed in this year.

Lots and lots of water falls in Walker Cove.

Grizzly bear on the beach in Walker Cove.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013.  Loose Wire II left this morning but we will see them again soon.  We waited all morning for a bear to come out on the beach but he was a no show.  After lunch Del, Orlaine, and Russ jumped in the fishing boat to explore further up the inlet and look for bears.When we got back, there was a bear on the beach right next to the boat that had been there since we had left for the ride.  Pat had been watching him for over an hour!!  Later, about dinner time, he came back out and dined on some clams that he easily smelled out and dug up.  We certainly don’t want to have any kind of problems in a place like this as today no one else came in and the mountains surrounding us are so high that the VFH radio does not work.  This is definitely remote cruising up here.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013.  This morning we cruised down to Punchbowl Cove and tied up to a mooring buoy, only boat here.  The mountains  are even higher here and there are float planes flying all over the place.   When the cruise ships come into Ketchikan, the tourists can get off and go on several different side trips.  Some go on boat sightseeing trips, bus tours, or airplane sightseeing trips.  The ones on the airplane trips all come here to see the sights.  This afternoon another boat came in and we invited them to tie next to us.  Tonight after dinner we saw a grizzly on the beach.

Thursday, June 6, 2013.  Watched bears on the beach again today but they have all been across the bay from where we are until this evening when one came out on the beach in front of us.  We think it was a very young bear, maybe two years old.  He kept looking over his shoulder looking for another bear.  Our theory is that he probably just recently was booted out of his mothers territory and has just wandered into this new area, wondering where the local bear is at.

The clouds hid the mountain tops most of the time.

Looking west toward Revillagigedo Island.

Friday, June 6, 2013.  Up early this morning for a long cruise back to Ketchikan.  We decided to go back a day early and rent a car Saturday to see some of the sights around the island.  Besides, we ran out of bread two days ago and can’t make any sandwiches for lunch!!!   We ran into a little rough water on the way in but did not have to stay in it long.  Tied up in Ketchikan at 12:00 noon and will spend the next four days here.  Our daughter Chrissy will fly in Monday morning and Del and Orlaine will fly out Monday afternoon.  Chrissy will spend the week with us and then fly out of Petersburg and back to Seattle.

This little boat followed us everywhere we went.

Russ and Orlaine cleaning crab for dinner.

Walking the dogs on the beach.

Del and Orlaine posing for the camera .