Wishing you all a....

A Moose on the Loose!

Merry Christmas

Are you nuts??

A friend called me this morning and asked if I'd like to join her for a quick swim. I would have loved to but.... I had to wash the dog, scrub the decks, fish for dinner, clean the carpets, rebuild the computer, change a tire, build a bird house and plant a garden.

At least it was a beautiful day.

Natural History Seminar Series :

http://www.alaskahumpbacks.org/


Jan Straley, Marine Biology professor at UASpresented “A Thirty Year Perspective on Humpback Whales in Alaskan Waters” revealing the mysterious lives of humpback whales, including why this migratory species lingers in Sitka Sound throughout the fall and winter.

Presentation was fantastic!!!

Check out the web site. It's a must see!!!

Happy Holidays from Our Home to Yours!!

Can you find Cape St. James??

Out For a Drive

The sun was out and the day just beautiful so we headed to the mountains- which was exactly a 10 minute drive from the marina.

Happy Hoildays

Jim and I put up our tree and hung the stocking with care in hopes

that St. Nick soon would be here.

After sailing around the world and having Christmas in other countries, I decided it was necessary to have a Christmas tree suitable for a sailboat. So I hand quilted this tree. It's decorations are family photos, antique pins, plus special treasures we've collected on our trips. Perfect for a sailboat on the move.

Sitka Deer

Thursday Jim brought home his first Sitka deer. We are both very excited and ready to try this meat that we hear so much about.

The Sitka Deer or Sitka Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis), is a subspecies of Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and similar to another subspecies the Black-tailed Deer (O. h. colombianus). Their name originates from Sitka, Alaska.

Weighing in on average between 80 and 120 pounds (36 and 54 kg) , Sitka deer are characteristically smaller than other types of black-tailed deer. Reddish-brown in the summer, their coats darken to a gray-brown in the winter. They are also good swimmers, and can occasionally be seen crossing deep channels between islands.

Their average life span is about 10 years but a few are known to have attained an age of 15.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! It is a bone chilling day here. We are watching the snow crawl down the mountains.

Lunch at airport with friends.

Lunch at airport with friends. It was great seeing Margie and Neen at the airport for lunch before heading back to Sitka. Never enough time in Seattle to see everyone I want to see. Maybe next time.

Baby fix.

It was so much fun seeing my good friend Susan and meeting Annabelle while in Seattle. Nice to know I have a little girl to knit for.

Necklace in hand!! Yippee!!!!

All in one!!

What an invention!!!

Best friends!

Best friends!

.

Thank You Rich and Elaine!!! You saved the day!!!

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Keep going!

Keep going!

So far so good.

So far so good.

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Nike!

Nike!

Nike

Sam I am is on the walk.
Even though he still can't talk.
He'll walk with Gram and have some fun,
And someday do the Nike run!
By Sherry

Returned to Sitka for the winter

Our last week out sailing was fantastic, more bears, otters, whales, fishing, hiking, reading and just relaxing. It is amazing how Alaska just gets in your blood.

Now back in Sitka we are both getting things in order. Jim is getting ready to take Cape St. James back out while I head south to Seattle for a visit then on to San Francisco for the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon.

Leaving Baranof Warm Springs

Leaving Baranof Warm Springs- headed north. Loved the hiking and of course the hot springs.

Unexpected Summer

We were sure summer had pasted us by while we waited and waited and waited for engine parts to arrive but we were wrong. We are enjoying an unexpected hot spell that is giving us sunburns and sailing winds. Perfect Timing!!!

September 9
Red Bluff Bay is perhaps the most spectacular combination of mountains, waterfalls, ice fields and brown bears. The view of the steely gray high peaks of Barnof Island is breathtaking. During our 3 day stay we sighted 28 brown bears (fishing, wrestling with each other, mom with cubs and big males.)Of course the pinks were running so it was a free for all.

September 13
From Red Bluff we headed to Kake, a Tlingit community of 497 and boasts Alaska's tallest totem pole (132.5 feet.) The community stretches along the waterfront of Kupreanof Island and each building has an unbelievable view of the mountains of Baranof Island. The marina is a 3 mile walk into the heart of town, which is the only location our cells phone would work from. Moose season opened the day we left.

September 15-17
Chapin Bay was our next destination on Admiralty Island. This quick hop from Kake provided whale watching and to our great surprise ice burgs!!! Here we have recuperated from the "Big City", fishing, (more halibut for dinner) exploring and more bear watching. I'm happy to report it has been nothing but hot sunny days since we arrived.
At some point we leave here and head to Barnof Warm Springs- natural hot springs.

September 18
This morning Jim decided to go on deck and enjoy his coffee in the unseasonably warm weather, with the sun beating down on deck he called for me to join him. Focusing on visual cues I immediately asked if I should bring my binos. When I reached his side, he simply said "listen", the whales were signing in Frederick Sound outside Chapin Bay, their voices echoed through the tall trees surrounding our anchorage. It was simply a treat, one that makes you stop to think about all we miss on a daily bases.

Never A Dull Moment

The past week has been very eventful.
September 3, still in Thetis Bay, 5:45 am a ruckus outside awakens us and demands someone investigate. Jim sprang from our bunk and called for me to join him. On the beach was 4 wolves howling as they ran through hundreds of gulls who were very vocal about the intrusion. The wolves stayed on the beach for a good ten minutes giving us a great view of each of them.

Later that same day we headed off for a bay simply called the Rapids on the chart. It was a beautiful small enclosed bay with a stream at the end of it with many pinks attempting to go up stream. We walked along the beach and it was not long before black bear paw prints were spotted. There were of course many salmon in varying stages of spawning along with numerous carcasses on the shore and in the water.

Next up fishing, we headed out to a spot Jim thought would be good halibut fishing. With lots of encouragement I landed my first halibut 30 inches long and enough for 3 full meals.

September 4, another beautiful sunny day so we headed out again to Petrof Bay about 10 miles from our anchorage. On the way we passed what had to be at least 30 sea otters floating together, I waved and to our surprise some waved back or at least it sure looked like that- Go figure!!! Once inside Petrof we headed to the back stream where pinks were headed up stream and to our delight saw an xxlg black bear fishing. He slapped in the water, looking as if he wanted to step on a fish, then he bent over and grabbed one in his mouth. As he lumbered out of the water, another sm black bear came into the stream keeping a very watchful eye on the big guy. Some time later the big guy headed back for more fishing and the sm bear high tailed it back to the woods. We watched these two repeat the procedure many times.

September 6. Hiking around Thetis Bay gave us an opportunity to see thousands of pink salmon grouped together headed up stream. I've never before seen so many fish in one spot, it was if you could walk across the stream and only step on salmon. We found many wolf tracks, bear signs and various stages of salmon. If you wanted to view nature at it's best this place gives you everything you could image.

September 9, Anchor up and on to Red Bluff Bay. The sail to red Bluff was fantastic the wind perfect, the 2 glaciers and 11humpback whales gave us plenty to view, fluke and flipper slapping, breaching, we never get tired of seeing these magnificent creatures.

Red Bluff is located in the back of a 4 mile cut through steep mountains with many water falls sprinkled along the way. The water inside the cut is like a still lake. Once in the bay there is a large area of marsh, and the first thing we spotted was a grizzly bear fishing in the stream.

September 10, a full day of bear watching. It seemed every time we looked out we spotted another grizzly. We saw mammy and cubs, a big black with a silver saddle male plus many others. In all for the day we counted 13 sightings, I wonder how many we missed. I'm not going hiking here!!!

September 11, It is a stunningly beautiful day, the sun on the high mountain peak shows off the glistening snow while the grizzly's fish below the tree line. This place truly is a wonderland.

Scanning The Beach Again

5 days in Thetis Bay and the sights just keep getting better. Each day this jewel of an anchorage brings sea otters, harbor seals, salmon (jumping) and numerous eagles by the boat, but today we got a rare treat!!!

At about 9:15 am, Jim was scanning the beach, it wasn't long before he called for me to come look. There in the tall grass stood two stunning wolves. We watched them run back and forth along the stream bed then on the beach shore and could hear others howling in the distance. Once this pair left we tried howling which seemed to get their attention because they came back to the beach and continued to howl. WOW, what excitement to see these animals in the wild.

P.S,
Fresh halibut for dinner last night- (why would anyone leave here?)

Scanning The Beach

5 days in Thetis Bay and the sights just keep getting better. Each day this jewel of an anchorage brings sea otters, harbor seals, salmon (jumping) and numerous eagles by the boat, but today we got a rare treat!!!

At about 9:15 am, Jim was scanning the beach, it wasn't long before he called for me to come look. There in the tall grass stood two stunning wolves. We watched them run back and forth along the stream bed then on the beach shore and could hear others howling in the distance. Once this pair left we tried howling which seemed to get their attention because they came back to the beach and continued to howl. WOW, what excitement to see these animals in the wild.

P.S,
Fresh halibut for dinner last night- (why would anyone leave here?)

Aug. 26, 2010

After 4 days of pure laziness we decided it was time to head south. Anchor up and continuing down the coast of Baranof Island on another clear beautiful day, perfect for rounding Cape Ommaney.
Total Count for the day:
40-50 Humpback whales, with calves, plus singing-(a first for me),30-40 Sea Otters with young, lots of Tufted Puffins,Harbor Porpoises,
Common Loons, a huge Stellar Sea Lion, and a Northern Fulmar.

With a humpback escort into Tebenkof Bay we dropped the anchor for days of fishing and exploring. To quote our friends from S/V Sherry Lynn "Yippee!!"

P.S.
What does it say about us that we don't even mention the eagles anymore- which are just to numerous to count.

P.S.S.
Fresh Salmon dinner tonight!!!

No Name Cove

Tucked away at no name cove swinging on the anchor at last! We left Sitka on Aug. 20th putting the new engine to the test, it was great. This first day was wonderful, we saw humpback whales, sea otters, harbor porpoises, seals, eagles, then spent the night in Kanga Bay.
Continuing south down the coast of Baranof Island we were witness to at least 3 different humpback group feeding frenzies, flukes, spy-hopping, flipper slapping, lob-tailing went on and on, it was just spectacular. The day was crystal clear, hot and sunny. WOW!!

Visitors and Engine Parts all Arrive!!!

S/V Marcy makes land fall in Sitka after a 4 year circumnavigation!!

Yippee and Congratulations!!!
Teacher friends Hillary and Kris from Everett and London travel through Alaska on the Alaskan Ferry Highway system stopping in many of the beautiful cities Alaska has to offer. Of course they could not miss Sitka.

The parts are all installed and YES we are now ready to go--
Happy sailing at last.
Fair Winds everyone!!

So we wait again!!!

So while we wait we did a little fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing.

We thought it was going to be a short wait. Not true as it turns out. We are once again waiting for a part, this time a muffler that was suppose to be here 2 weeks ago, come to find out it is being made and maybe will be shipped on Monday August 9th- but really who knows.

In the home stretch!!

We spent the day getting the inside of Cape St. James ready to sail again. Lots of little things to do to make our home a boat, not a dock queen. We are in the last stages of engine work, hoping all of the parts for the muffler system arrive by Tuesday, then Jim will install them and off we go.

Jim is working on Ham radio as I type getting it ready to send and receive while out sailing.

It's been a long hard summer of waiting, but finally we think we will be off soon.

Fair Winds!!!

4th of July 2010

Weather doesn't stop the town of Sitka from celebrating. Many turned out for the local parade fully dressed from head to toe in rain gear. The fireworks however have been postponed until next Friday- hoping for better viewing weather.

Raptor Center

Sherry and Craig from S/V Sherry Lynn

We stopped waiting for the mechanic and headed to the Raptor Center here in Sitka. eagles have been taken off the endangered list, there are now 100,000 eagles in North American, 50,000 in Alaska and 25,000 in S.E. Alaska. (We think half of that is in the parking lot here in the marina.)

The center receives injured birds of pray and hopes to set them free again after rehabilitation. It was an interesting program, well worth the visit.

6-28-10 / 10:00 P.M.

Mt. Edgecumbe through the rigging.

Hard to go to sleep with so much daylight available. But since we have had such hard days (still waiting for the mechanic to show up) we manage to fall asleep, so we can get up and wait again the next day. Keep reminding ourselves that waiting in paradise is better than waiting in the big city.

It's a big job!!

But at least I don't have to cook!!!!

New Engine!!!

Yippee!!!!

Which is Worst??

The tourist or bears??? It is that time of year when both have returned to town. Be sure to check out the pod cast at the link below.

Image by John Steedman
Starrigavan bears last year.SITKA, ALASKA (2010-05-07) Brown bear activity around Sitka is off to an early start this spring. Over the last ten days, Sitka police have fielded a number of calls from residents who have seen bears in trash cans, on streets, on trails, and in the occasional chicken coop. Alaska Department of Fish & Game biologist Phil Mooney is Sitka’s go-to man for bears. So far this year, Mooney estimates that there could be three or four sows on the road system, and like last year, possibly one large and very furtive boar. KCAW’s Robert Woolsey spoke with Mooney about his department’s approach to the bear issue this season:

http://kcaw.org/modules/local_news/index.php?op=centerBlock&ID=770

Sam I AM

Snoozing Sam!!

Welcome!!!!

View from The Grocery Store~ April 11, 2010

Two Gray Whales feeding very close to shore.

Website follows Humpback Whales in SE Alaska

http://www.alaskahumpbacks.org

April 8, 2010

Mink Tracks