Merry Christmas

T’was the night before Christmas and anchored afloat,
Not a creature was stirring, inside of the boat.
The anchor was set with quite enough scope,
So the yacht would stay put… well at least that’s the hope!

T’was the night before Christmas, the boat gently rocking,
And hung on the mast were the holiday stockings.
No tree, wreath, or candles, but lots of good cheer,
It’s joyful enough that we can be here!

We wondered if Santa would somehow appear,
He can swim surely, but do his reindeer?
Do sleighs have EPIRB, AIS, and good charts?
We hope he is carrying sufficient spare parts.

T’was the night before Christmas when we heard an “ahoy!”,
It brought to our hearts such a feeling of joy!
We could be mistaken, the red light we saw,
Was it nav lights, or Rudolf, we watched it with awe.

Whether sailboat or sleigh, dancing waves with such ease,
Moving so swiftly with quite a good breeze.
Then heard in the distance as it seemed to take flight,
Merry Cruising to all, and to all a good night!

From the crew of S/V Cape St James

Flying Kruzof Island with friend George Campbell. Thanks for the photos George!

Qiviut Musk Ox Fiber of the North!

Custom,  luxury,  handknit, qiviut socks. Made from Musk Ox fiber. 8 times warmer than wool, doesnt scratch, or felt.
Treat your feet or someone EXTREMELY special to a pair of heirloom custom socks.
Made in Sitka, Alaska.

Big Day in Sitka tomorrow! !

http://nyp.st/2xJ5hRw

Alaskan Goodie Bag!

End of the season thank you from Sitka Wildlife Tours. We had a great season, lots of visitors and this is the appreciation gifts for all of their drivers. Yum!!!
Pumpkin roll, freshly caught shrimp, smoked salmon.

Cross Fox Kodiak Island

Alaska Peninsula Bears 2011-2013

Saltery Bay, Southeast Alaska 2017

Deer hunting Kruzof Island in Sitka Sound.

Summer sailing 2017

Bubble netting Humpback Whales in Icy Strait and North Chatham Strait at the top of the Inside Passage Alaska.

Fantastic!

Fabulous in every way possible! ! Daily Brown bear sightings, deer on the beach, fishing, 17 humpback blows all in one row!
And then picking up our crab pot on the way out!! 10 legal sized males!!

I traded for trade beads

I traded for Trading Beads!!
From left to right fossilized ivory, old Russian blues,  old red whiteheart trading beads, giant black muscle,  dark blue glass trading beads 200+ years old and Brown bear bone.
Now to decide what to make with them.

A little history.

Russians had little to do with the Russian Blue beads. Produced in Bohemia, the Russian Blue bead did not appear in Alaska until just before Americans bought Alaska (1867). Russians traders acquired these beads from the American and English traders in exchange for furs. The Russian Blue beads are shaped into six-, seven-, or eight-sided tube before being drawn. After the tubes are cut to bead size, the ends of the ridge between the adjacent sides are ground off. Produced in Bohemia, the Russian Blue bead did not appear in Alaska until just before Americans bought Alaska (1867). Russians traders acquired these beads from the American and English traders in exchange for furs. The Russian Blue beads are shaped into six-, seven- or eight-sided tube before being drawn. After the tubes are cut to bead size, the ends of the ridge between the adjacent sides are ground off. The result is a bead with eighteen, twenty-one, or twenty-four facets. Some deviations resulted in more or less facets.

Rain collection

We haven't had to use the watermaker once this summer. 
Talking with a long time resistant Steve Henninway, Jim was informed the summers seem to being getting wetter and wetter. We sure have had our share of rain this summer!

We did get one dry day to leave Fern Harbor and photograph a few whales along the way.

Nothing like Fresh halibut!!!

My kind of fishing...a beautiful anchorage, hook hanging from the handline,  crew reading and knitting while waiting for the snap of the line!!
Yahoo, 22.5 lbs, 40"!!!

Looking for adventure!

After 4 days of big city life...(population maybe 50) we are ready for more peace and quiet.

We did have a great time making new friends and celebrating the 4th with S/Y Su An from East Germany and S/V Proximity, from California.

4th of July

Happy 4th from Elfin Cove! What a day, community breakfast, parade, Humpy toss, bobbing for Humpy heads, the greased pole, chili cookoff and of course a potluck!!
Biggest prize over $$1,300 for grabbing the flag at the end of the pole.
Two long distance crusing sailboat crews joined us for a memorable day!!

Perfect in every way!

Peaceful,  beautiful,  relaxing and Yummy all rolled up into one anchorage.

The weather has  been on and off sunny. The view has been obscured with rain and fog but the wildlife pays no attention, harbor porpoises,  eagles, brown bears, loons still visit.

Halibut for lunch and dinner- now this is fresh.

Reading, fishing,  Ham radio, making pretzels,  playing chess and of course knitting has kept the crew occupied.  Then there is the daily boat maintenance.

Awwwww, perfect in every way.

Close Encounter of the whale kind!

We dropped the anchor and were greeted by sea lions, harbor porpoises, loons and a humpback whale!

All of which were extremely close to the boat and of course neither of us had our cameras ready.

Can't get enough of this stunning view.

We'll be anchored in front of this glacier in 2 days.

Brady Glacier, Fairweather Mts.

Leaving Zhilo Cove

Good Times

Rainy day activitie.

Playing in the galley! Yummy!!

Captain

Heading out!

Summer sailing

Did You Know??