Red Bluff Bay to Takatz Bay

The sun made a rare and welcome appearance this morning—blue skies peeked through as if to remind us what we’ve been missing. The forecast says it won’t last, so we savored every golden moment.

Our neighbor Time to Play, a 37’ Nordic Tug out of Oregon, slipped out early to check their shrimp pots near the entrance to Red Bluff Bay. We lingered a bit longer for photos at the falls, now framed beautifully by the actual “red bluffs” that give the bay its name—clearly visible in the morning light.

The run north was smooth, with a high cloud ceiling offering dramatic views of the surrounding mountain ranges. Except for Time to Play ahead and one big fishing vessel towing a floating fish camp, we had the water to ourselves—unless you count the pair of humpbacks cruising southbound and a pod of porpoises too busy chasing lunch to bother with our bow wake.

We're a bit faster than Time to Play, so we caught up as they were scouting anchor spots in Takatz Bay. Thanks to AIS, we watched them test both of the same locations we’d marked, ultimately choosing the one by the waterfall—where we ourselves anchored back in 2016.

After lunch, I launched the drone to catch some last light before the clouds thickened. We dropped the dinghy to test the repairs and took a slow tour of the bay. At low tide, we swung by Time to Play to introduce ourselves—seemed wise before they filed a restraining order. Tim and Carolyn, it turns out, are seasoned cruisers on their second Alaskan adventure. Compared to our run from Bellingham, their trip from Oregon in a 37-footer is seriously impressive.

We stayed on bear watch through the evening, but came up empty. Light rain returned just as the sun bowed out. Aside from Time to Play, we had Takatz all to ourselves—a rare and peaceful end to a beautiful day.