Walker Cove to Punchbowl Cove

We slipped away from S/V Kaulana with quick goodbyes—petting Colby and waving to Keith and Carl. No long parting though; they’re also bound for Punchbowl Cove in Rudyerd Bay, likely to raft alongside us again if the mooring ball is open.

Punchbowl is the star of Misty Fjords tourism. Unlike Walker Cove, with its glacial moraine blocking large vessels, Punchbowl is accessible to just about everything—floatplanes, fast cats, and even cruise ships. Being the closest fjord to Ketchikan makes it an easy target for sightseeing traffic.

For scale, Rudyerd Bay stretches more than 16 nautical miles from the North Arm to the South Arm, but neither offers easy anchoring. That leaves Punchbowl carrying the load, with just one USFS mooring ball and limited anchoring room.

Luck was on our side. The cove was empty when we arrived, and fresh from practice in Walker, we made quick work of securing the ball. Arriving at low tide was a bonus—shoaling was clearly visible. As expected, Kaulana pulled in shortly after, and we repeated last night’s raft-up.

OceanFlyer and Kaulana on the ball in Punchbowl

The quiet didn’t last long. Sightseeing floatplanes buzzed overhead, while tour cats blasted past at 25+ knots, their wakes setting us rolling. By late morning, the fjord had built up its own weather. What started as calm in Behm Canal turned into 15-knot gusts funneling fetch down the bowl. We’d hoped to dinghy out, but the chop made exploring unappealing.

you can see how punchbowl got its name

We settled instead into a lazy afternoon of bear-watching (none showed), while traffic trickled in and out. A lone sailboat anchored well off to the side, and later a Nordhavn nosed in, discovered the shoals, toured the bay, and left without setting the hook.

It feels like we’re in a lull—fewer cruisers around than expected. No doubt that will change in a couple of days when the southbound migration converges again in Prince Rupert.