Brundige Inlet to Bullhead Cove: A Border Crossing and a Boat Rescue

This morning, our neighbors pulled anchor in sync, likely heading all the way to Ketchikan. We had more modest plans—just a short hop across the border to Bullhead Cove.

Karen nixed another stop at Foggy Bay (been there, done that), and though Kah Shakes Cove came highly recommended, its narrow, shallow entrance isn't ideal on a minus tide. So, Bullhead it was. Less protected, but a better fit for our schedule—and with a calm forecast, we were confident it would be a peaceful stop.

bullhead cove feels open but perfect in settled weather

The crossing was smooth, and our Customs clearance through the CBP ROAM app was fast and easy. Once anchored, we launched the dinghy to explore Bullhead and neighboring Kah Shakes. The entrance is straightforward, with most of the guarding rocks dry even at mid-tide, though we did spot a few shallow patches—definitely one to time right with the tides.

Bullhead has a couple of tempting beaches, but the tide schedule didn’t cooperate for a full-on shore excursion.

Back aboard, we were stowing the dinghy when a small sport fisher slowly approached. We’d seen him earlier near Snail Rock. Turns out he’d wrapped his anchor line in the main engine prop and was limping along with his kicker. We offered to help.

We tied him off to our swim platform and relaunched the dinghy as a work float. Since his outboard didn’t tilt fully clear, it took some careful maneuvering and a bit of tugging, but we finally freed the line. As it happens, he’s the Chairman of the Board of the Native corporation that owns Ketchikan’s largest hotel and several other operations. He was beyond grateful—not surprising, given the difference between a 55-minute ride and a 6-hour crawl home.

mother nature brings out the colorful paintbrush in late evening

With our good deed done, we settled into a stunning sunset, anchored in solitude. Not a bad way to wrap up a day in Southeast Alaska.

Sunset at Bullhead cove

Yes it did really look like this