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.