Wrangell to Vixen Inlet

Today we continued our slow slide south, making our way toward Behm Canal and the Misty Fjords.

After two unusually sunny days in Wrangell, we were almost relieved to see partly cloudy skies—cooler air and no greenhouse effect in the saloon. Light winds and flat seas made for an easy ride most of the way.

Zimovia Strait, which looks a bit intimidating on the charts, turned out to be classic Southeast Alaska: wide, well-marked, and scenic. We passed a few fishboats and anchored sailboats, but otherwise had the route to ourselves.

Now, it’s an ongoing joke aboard OceanFlyer that the moment Karen takes the helm, chaos follows. Today was textbook. No sooner had she settled in than the winds shifted, beam seas rolled in, and we were taking green water over the bow. Cue the drama.

Vixen Inlet—our planned overnight—was chosen more for convenience than comfort. It’s exposed to the northwest, and wouldn’t you know it, the wind came from the NW with a solid 15 knots. We dropped anchor in 55 feet, set plenty of scope, and deployed the bridle. OceanFlyer rides well in a chop, but calm it wasn’t.

The forecast calls for the wind to ease below 10 knots by morning. In the meantime, we’re expecting 15–20 knots most of the night. Safe to say we’ll have Vixen Inlet all to ourselves.

On the upside? A gorgeous sunset and the hope of a quieter dawn.

vixen inlet puts on a show at sunset