Mother Goose Leg 3, Day 3 – Hydaburg to Craig

We cast off from the docks in Hydaburg at 10 am and motored out of the harbor. Our route would take us through the Tlevak Narrows, known to the local native people as “skookum chuck” which means “fast water.” With every ebb and flood of the tides, vast volumes of water race through this narrow passage, creating enormous whirlpools and, at times, a vertical difference of as much as 12 feet between either side of the narrows. Of course, we timed our departure from Hydaburg so that we would arrive at the narrows just before slack tide. Thus, as we cruised through the channel, the waters were only slightly turbulent and a few small whirlpools and eddies spun languidly. Before long, we had pushed our way through what oncoming current there was, and cruised out of Tlevak Narrows towards Craig.

About half an hour after leaving the narrows, we rounded a rocky point with a large kelp bed growing off its tip. Just outside the kelp bed, a tall, black blade suddenly began to rise up from the surface of the water. It was soon followed by another, this one much more bent and gnarled. It was two bull orcas, cruising through the shallow waters near the kelp bed. One of these large animals had an irregular dorsal fin, giving him a very characteristic appearance. These magnificent animals were traveling the opposite direction as we were, and every member of the fleet was able to get a good look at them as they glided through the green waters. All too soon, they were behind us and disappearing out of sight. Happy to have had such a great encounter, we rounded the point and continued onward.

Craig was visible in the distance when we spotted a humpback whale off the port bow. We had seen at least one humpback each day since we began our voyage. Like the others we had seen so far, they put in a brief appearance, showed us their flukes and disappeared into the deep. The fleet continued onward, and within an hour we were docking in Craig’s north harbor.

The small town of Craig was bustling when we arrived. Commercial fishing boats filled the harbor, mending and coiling nets in preparation for the next opening. The hotels and fishing lodges in town seemed to be doing a lot of business, and cargo was being loaded onto a barge down at the waterfront. Everywhere, eagles swooped and soared in the sky. Some were perched majestically on pilings, while others fought not-so-majestically over fish carcasses. A small general store, a few hotels, a gift shop and a liquor store made up the downtown. We explored until there was nothing else left to explore before returning to the boats for the evening.

Mother Goose Leg 3, Day 2 – Charlie’s Cove to Hydaburg

A beautiful misty morning greeted us when we awoke in Charlie’s Cove. Our scheduled departure time was 10 am, so we took our time and enjoyed a relaxing beginning to our day. After breakfast, we began raising anchor and began our trip to Hydaburg. As our boats slipped out of Charlie’s Cove, we saw a sea otter lounging in the kelp as well as some harbor seals hauled out on a nearby rock. Marine mammal sightings are a very common occurrence in this part of the world, and we felt lucky to be cruising in such company.

Hydaburg is only a short distance away from Charlie’s Cove, so we wouldn’t be cruising more than a few hours today. Before long, a plume of mist appeared off the port bow. This mist was followed shortly after by a large dark gray back topped with a knobby dorsal fin and, finally, by the enormous tail (called the flukes) of a humpback whale. Each animal’s flukes are colored with a unique pattern of black and white markings. By comparing fluke photos, scientists are able to identify individuals and track them from year to year. Unfortunately, this animal only put in a short appearance before vanishing into the still waters.

As we cruised on, the skies went from overcast to partly cloudy, and the sun shone down across the verdant landscape. We reached Hydaburg in the early afternoon and pulled into the harbor. After all the boats were tied up and everyone was settled, we ventured into the small town. Near the head of the dock was a small building which served as the administrative office for the Haida Cooperative Association, a group which runs many of the tribe’s affairs. In this office we met a wonderful woman named Lisa, who gave us a ride to the tribe’s carving shed on the other side of town. Here, master carvers and their apprentices were carving all sorts of beautiful handcrafts, including two enormous totem poles that were being carved to replace older poles which had fallen victim to the ravages of time. The original poles were laid out on sawhorses, and the new poles were laid alongside. Figure by figure, the carvers were creating replicas of the weathered old poles. Everyone was very friendly, and they told us all about the carving process, showed us their tools, and some of their finished pieces.

When we were finally able to tear ourselves away from the carving shed, we explored the rest of the town. Besides a little market and a park with a number of incredible totem poles, Hydaburg consisted mostly of small homes, friendly dogs and even friendlier people. We returned to the boats in the evening very happy with our visit to town. After dinner, the crew from Inside Passage went out in their dinghy and set their crab pots. An amazing sunset turned the whole western sky a rosy peach color and we were all in bed long before it had faded into darkness.

Mother Goose Leg 3, Day 1 - Ketchikan to Charlie’s Cove

Our latest adventure began at 7 am, on an incredibly calm morning in Ketchikan, Alaska. The weather for the past two days had been horrendous. Strong winds blew the continual rainfall sideways, as whitecaps covered the Tongass Narrows. So, everyone was very pleased to wake up to partly cloudy skies and not a breath of wind. The weather conditions made our departure easy, as everyone cast off from the docks in Bar Harbor and motored out into the still waters of the Tongass Narrows. Each of the goslings fell into line behind Deception, and thus Leg 3 of Mother Goose 2010 had begun.
We began our day by cruising south, away from Ketchikan and out into Clarence Strait. Because of the foul weather over the past few days, we expected to see some bumpy seas as we cruised through the straits and into the exposed waters of Dixon Entrance. As we cruised along, however, only a few small waves rippled the ocean’s surface. The seabirds were out in full force. Everywhere we looked, we saw groups of common murres floating along the surface. These handsome tuxedo-print birds “fly” underwater to pursue the small fish on which they feed. In this part of the world, the chicks had recently grown large enough to leave the nest. When this happens, the males lead their single chick out to good foraging grounds and teach them how to fish. As we cruised along, we saw several of these father-juvenile pairs fishing in the still waters.

As we rounded the southern tip of Prince of Wales Island and became fully exposed to the Pacific Ocean, a bit of ocean swell caused the boats to bob up and down. Still, the wind remained low and the ocean’s surface smooth, giving us a ride that was smooth overall. Along the way, we spotted several humpback whales feeding along the rocky shoreline. We weren’t able to get as close a look at these animals as we might have liked, but we took it as a good sign of potential encounters to come. Before long, we moved in behind the protection of the barrier islands. We rounded a headland called Point Marsh, and wove our way through a series of small islets and exposed rocks until, at last, we reached Charlie’s Cove, our anchorage for the evening. Immediately after we pulled in, we spotted 3 Sitka black-tailed deer on the shore, a bald eagle soaring over the boats, and a sea otter frolicking in a kelp bed.

After everyone had dropped anchor, we all took time to get settled in, nap, read, and just generally relax in the beautiful setting. As dinnertime rolled around, we all gathered on Deception to enjoy appetizers, cocktails, and a wonderful potluck style dinner. We feasted on freshly baked bread, wild rice, salad, wild Alaskan salmon, and boysenberry pie. We dispersed for the evening well-fed and ready to crawl into bed after our long day of cruising.

Mother Goose Leg 2, Day 7 - Punchbowl Lagoon to Ketchikan

Early this morning, the crews of Deception and Mystic Eagle joined together for a now-traditional pre-departure breakfast. With bellies full of bacon, eggs, and coffee, we raised our anchors and left the beautiful Walker Cove. It was now almost second nature for us to turn left and continue our trip through Behm Canal. Once again, Deception was towing the Miss Claire and our crew had the pleasure of Stan and Cheryl’s company for our longest day’s cruise. The seas were calm, but the Misty Fjords were certainly living up to their name. Wispy clouds threaded through the trees, giving the forests an almost ethereal appearance.

Shortly after leaving Walker Cove we passed the famous New Eddystone Rock. This towering spire thrusts 237 feet above the water’s edge. A few hardy trees cling to the top of the rock, but other than that the only vegetation is shrubs and grass. Captain George Vancouver named the rock for its resemblance to the lighthouse rock off of Plymouth, England. He described the rock as looking like a ship under sail, and it wasn’t too much of a stretch of the imagination to see the silhouette of an old tall ship making its way up the canal. We left the impressive landmark behind us and continued on toward Ketchikan.

Before long, we saw the signature rooster-tail splashes of Dall’s porpoise racing through the green waters. These little marine mammals must have been feeling playful because they didn’t take long to swim to our boats and frolic in the bow waves. Once they had their fill, they darted off across the channel and disappeared in the distance. The rest of the day was smooth sailing. High wind warnings had been issued for the surrounding areas, but when we left Behm Canal and cruised up into Tongass Narrows, the seas were flat and the wind was calm. It was only a few short hours before we began to see the southern edge of Ketchikan. Upon arriving, we tied up at the fuel dock and refilled our boats before heading to the Bar Harbor Marina, just north of downtown. Everyone met up for one last (outstanding) dinner at the Bar Harbor Restaurant. We shared stories and reminisced about our adventure, each of us sad to have our adventure ending, but leaving with memories we would treasure forever.

Mother Goose Leg 2, Day 6 - Walker Cove to Punchbowl Lagoon

Before leaving Walker Cove, we checked our crab pots and were pleased to see that this too was an excellent spot for crabbing. Between all of the pots we caught 17 crab. These, like those we had caught over the previous days were promptly cleaned and cooked to be ready for the fleet’s consumption. This trip had made us experts in crab cuisine. We ate cracked crab, crab dips, crab salad, crab louie, crab omelets. The list goes on and on. So, with our newest supply of crab taken care of, we hauled anchor and continued our journey, this time with Miss Claire in tow behind Deception.
Punchbowl Lagoon is only a short cruise down Behm Canal from Walker Cove. It is actually a small offshoot of the much larger Rudyerd Bay, which extends much farther back into the mountainous mainland. We turned into Rudyerd Bay and then into Punchbowl Lagoon where we were blown away by the incredible scenery. Here, the huge rocky mountains were scooped out in a large glacial cirque, creating the bowl-like landscape which gives the area its name. Sheer cliffs rose up all around our anchorage, dwarfing our boats with their towering heights. All around, thin streams of water leapt from edges of the mountains, free-falling for thousands of feet and splashing down into the bay. We decided that this anchorage would be suitable for our purposes, and dropped anchor.

After a short break for lunch, we hopped into our dinghies and embarked upon another dinghy exploration. This time, we left Punchbowl Lagoon and headed inland, up toward the head of Rudyerd Bay. It was a long trip, so we opened up the throttle and sped up the length of the bay. All around us, the scenery continued to amaze with its beauty. Here and there, wide grassy expanses spread out along the shoreline. We watched intently for bears, but did not see any on this trip. When we had thoroughly explored the bay, we turned around and headed back to the boats. Shortly after our arrival, Inside Passage again spotted a bear on the beach. This time it was a large black bear, which lumbered down the beach for a few minutes before disappearing in the forest.

As this was our last night at sea, we rafted Mystic Eagle and Deception together and held our traditional last supper and talent show. The food was incredible and as usual there was far too much for us to possibly finish. The main course was all we could eat of freshly caught Dungeness crab. After dinner, we began the talent show. We were a talented group, and the submissions had us laughing, tearing up, and grateful for the wonderful experiences we had been able to enjoy over the past week. When the talent show wound up, we said our goodnights and returned to our boats to get some much needed rest.

Mother Goose Leg 2, Day 5 - Fitzgibbon Cove to Walker Cove

Any trace of the wind that had blown the day before had disappeared when we hauled anchor and left Fitzgibbon Cove. Our day’s run was not a long one. We again turned left into Behm Canal and continued onwards, keeping Revillagigedo Island to our right and the mainland to our left as we had been doing throughout our expedition. The scenery continued to impress us, with rocky crags towering thousands of feet above us and the seabed more than 1800 feet below us. We passed the mouth of the Chickamin River, which flows down a broad, densely forested valley before emptying into Behm Canal. The silt from the river gave the water an incredible blue-green hue. It was not long before we passed Hut Point and turned into the mouth of Walker Cove.

If everything we had seen before was beautiful, Walker Cove was nothing short of gorgeous. It is difficult to put into words the grandeur of this setting. Mountains higher than any we had yet seen soared up from the water’s edge at vertical or near-vertical angles. Hanging lakes high up on the mountainsides fed raging waterfalls which cascaded and tumbled nearly a mile down exposed rock before plunging into the sea. The area’s glacial history was readily observed here, with a multitude hanging valleys and glacial cirques all around us. The sheer rock walls on the either side of the cove were marked with long horizontal grooves, remnants of deep gouges dug thousands of years ago by large boulders frozen into the glaciers and dragged for many miles against the underlying bedrock. Despite the inhospitable conditions, life thrived here. Trees and shrubs clung to the impossibly steep slopes. Seabirds and seals swam in the deep water of the cove.

We anchored up near the mouth of a stream, next to a long, low grassy shoreline which looked like perfect bear spotting territory. After everyone was all settled in, everyone climbed into their dinghies and Casey led a tour up to the head of Walker Cove. The bears did not put in an appearance, but judging by the scenery they couldn’t have been too far away. At one shallow beach we landed the dinghies and got out to look around. A stream flowed onto the beach from back in the forest and tall sedge grass grew all over the top of the beach. Huge rocky peaks sat on either side of the beach, dwarfing the meadow, the forest, and us with their gargantuan slopes. We poked around the beach for a while longer, then climbed aboard the dinghies and returned to where the fleet was anchored.

Anchored next to us was a small aluminum boat called Miss Claire. When we returned, her crew came over to Deception in their dinghy and told us that they were having engine trouble and asked if we would be willing to tow them back to Ketchikan. We were more than happy to oblige, and so our fleet gained another boat for the next two days. Miss Claire’s crew consisted of Stan, Cheryl, and their dog Oly. They were very friendly people and they made a good short-term addition to our crew.

Shortly after dinner, an excited Morgan of Inside Passage got on the radio to tell us that she had spotted a bear. Sure enough, over on the beach right by where our boats were anchored, a large brown bear was lounging in the sedge grass. The bear did not seem at all bothered by our presence and he remained on the beach a while longer before ambling up into the forest. It certainly was a good way to end a fantastic day.

Mother Goose Leg 2, Day 4 - Yes Bay to Fitzgibbon Cove

This morning we pulled our crab pots one last time and once again found them filled with a multitude of delicious crabs. With that done, we left the beautiful Yes Bay behind and cruised onward toward our next anchorage, Fitzgibbon Cove. We motored out of Yes Bay and turned left to continue our voyage up Behm Canal. The sun was shining and the waters were pleasant and calm. We hadn’t traveled more than a mile when suddenly, off in the distance, a misty column appeared that could only be the blow of a whale. Soon, a tall black dorsal fin cut through the surface of the water, then another and another. We had spotted a pod of orcas swimming, fishing, and frolicking in the waters of Behm Canal. As we approached, the whales switched directions and traveled along with the fleet, coming very close to the boats. At one point, two of the animals swam directly below Mystic Eagle! It soon became clear that there were more animals than we first believed. There were at least two large bulls, their enormous black dorsal fins towering 6 feet or more above the water’s surface. A mother and calf swam with the group, as well as a number of females and an adolescent male. All in all, there were likely 10 or more animals spread out around the boats and across the channel. These magnificent animals stayed with us for around 45 minutes, swimming alongside us as we cruised onward. They treated us to quite a show, tail-lobbing and spyhopping right near the boats, giving us an incredible view of their enormous black and white bodies. All good things must come to an end, and as we turned right and continued on into Behm Narrows, the whales dropped back and went back to fishing.

We pressed on toward Fitzgibbon Cove, elated after our incredible encounter with the orcas. As we cruised between Bell Island and Revillagigedo Island, we passed the site of the now closed Bell Island Resort. This remote lodge has been around for a very long time and was once a favorite destination of celebrities such as John Wayne and Bing Crosby. The facility looks like it could use remodeling, but all of the original buildings are still standing. All day, the mountains around us had been increasing in height and they were now consistently capped in snow. We turned into Fitzgibbon Cove in the early afternoon and dropped anchor. The wind had picked up a bit, so we were glad to hole up in our sheltered anchorage. Encouraged by our prior success, we set crab pots immediately upon arriving. Our afternoon was spent relaxing and enjoying the beautiful scenery around us. Across Behm Canal, two particularly magnificent peaks rose up, cloaked in crisp white snow. Before long, the sun was setting and the moon hung high over the mountains. Once again worn out by an incredible day cruising in Southeast Alaska, everyone went to bed and dreamed about what the next day would bring.