Pavlof Harbor to Neka Bay

Today we have a long trip planned. It’s 46 nautical miles from Pavlof Harbor to Neka Bay. One of the characteristics of Alaska is there are not a lot of anchorages. Therefore some legs, like this one, are such that the “next” suitable anchorage is 5-6 hours away. We try to keep these long days to a minimum, but sometimes you cannot avoid them.

We leave Swamp Fox in Pavlof Harbor

The waterfall on the river that feeds into Pavlof Harbor

The wind was as forecast from the south, and our heading was north, so it was a comfortable ride. We passed a couple of boats heading in the opposite direction and they were bouncing their way into the waves.

After passing Point Augusta, we found a small fleet of seiners. Not nearly are large as the last fleet we negotiated, this was a less complicated navigation challenge. We also passed a small group of pleasure boats fishing. Some trolling for salmon, the other were stopped and fishing deep for halibut.

 

I l0ve to watch play amoung the mountain tops

A few humpbacks made an appearance but they were mostly just traveling by and not feeding ,so there was no reason to stop and observe.

Karen and I traded helm duty on a two hour shift schedule. This makes the passage much easier for each person.  However, when things get busy,as when transiting the seiner fleet, we both are at the helm to maximize the number of eyes.

Our course to Neka Bay takes us right past the town of Hoonah, so we took a small detour into the harbor to get a preview. We plan to return there in a day or so to partake of the reported fabulous Halibut pizza.

The first thing you notice as you round the point into Port Frederick is “Icy Strait Point”. This was the site of an old cannery operation in Hoonah’s heyday. The cruise ship industry has created a large recreation area out of the operation. The passengers are entertained with tours, native displays, long walks to town and around the point and, I’m sure, other opportunities to part with additional cash. Normally I do not like having a cruise ship in port when I am, but as this operation is only open when the cruise ship arrives, I hope they are at Hoonah when we stop there. I would like to play tourist and see what it is all about.

Icy Strait Point

An hour after leaving Hoonah, we approached Neka Bay. There are three fingers that make up Neka Bay. The main bay is too large and open for us. The south bight looks just perfect for us, but there is not enough published information for us to try the narrow and shallow entrance narrows. That leaves the North Bight as our destination.

Six boats were already there anchored in four rafts.  The rafts were dispersed along the north shore leaving us a nice spot at the head. All these bays are lined with crab pots, so the exact location of our anchor stop was centered among the pots ringing the head of the bight.

Our neighbors in North Bight

The bight received one more boat a after we arrived. The sailboat that had been shadowing us for the half of our trip anchored in the small indent on the south shore.

To satisfy our curiosity about the South Bight as a possible anchorage, we launched the dinghy despite it being cloudy and misty, and proceeded to work our way into the bight. The South Bight is really beautiful. Protected on all sides with steep mountains all around and fed by numerous streams. There is even a waterfall on the south side. It was high tide, and we were able to work our way over the drying falls at the head and explore the mouth of the stream in the northwest corner.

As we reversed course, we spotted the dinghy from the sailboat working its way toward us. I steered a course to them and we exchanged greetings. They asked if we had seen any bears. “No” was our reply, but they had seen a couple of cubs playing in the North Bight when they entered earlier.

Just before we worked our way out of the South Bight, we noticed what was either a very large black boulder or a very large opening to a cave about 200 feet up the side on the mountain to the south. An eagle was flying in the vicinity of the cave, but didn’t enter.

We would love to come back here, but without a sounder on our dinghy, we did not have a chance to take depth readings. However, my assessment is that with a high tide of 6 feet or more, I would make an attempt to enter. There is a 5 fathom hole plotted on the charts that would make a great anchorage. Something to look forward to on our next visit. If any of our readers have more information on the South Bight of Neka, let us know and we’ll share it on this site.

We continued our exploration by circumnavigating the North Bight. This area is also fed by multiple streams and is flanked all-around by what appear to be perfect “bear beaches”. Karen has worn out her eyes today searching for the elusive critters. I think we’re a little too early for the salmon runs and the bears are just not out and about on the beaches.

The sun tries to make a comback in North Bight

I multitasked during dinner preparation. I made orange-glazed salmon with rosemary potatoes and prepared curried chicken salad so we had lunch for tomorrow ready to go. A little extra work makes for a more leisurely day to follow. We hoped that the other boats might set off fireworks, but we didn’t see any preparations, so we headed off to bed.

The clouds fight back and strat to dominate to heavens again

Tenakee Springs to Pavlof Harbor

We were back at the Party Time Bakery precisely at 8 am when the doors opened. They promised me pancakes today and that was what I had on my mind. Our timing was mostly driven by the fact that the fuel docks open at 10 and we wanted to be there when they turned on the pumps, because the tide would be going down and we wanted all the extra “tide” we could get to avoid the aforementioned bolts and stuff. Karen had the same egg, ham and cheddar breakfast sandwich and my pancakes were just what the doctored ordered for a rainy morning. I ordered a bowl of the corn chowder to go and Karen took a piece of chocolate torte back to the boat. We also made a quick 2^nd stop at the Mercantile to grab a few more items.

Arctic Star getting ready to cast of from Tenakee Springs

Tenakee Springs docks sits behind a floating breakwater, but the fetch can still get in.

The fuel docks at Tenakee are not floating. The fuel hose is dropped over the side of the pier. Depending on the tide, that can be a long drop. Opening time, 10am, was only two hours from low tide so not only was the distance from the pier to our decks on the order of 20 feet, but the pilings that are revealed at low tide are barnacle-encrusted with a few protruding metal bits exposed.

In anticipation of the hazards on the pilings, we lined the port side of Arctic Star with every fender (9) on board. As it turned, out the wind was such that we were held off the pilings for most of the 45 minutes it took to take on 400 gallons of #2 diesel.

 

Bob fuels Arctic Star in the rain

Eve, the fuel mistress at Tenakee, is a doll and helped us through the process, calling out target fuel quantities as we approached our limit. Luckily, we got to the fuel docks just at 10am, and I felt sorry for the boats that were hovering just off the docks as we took on our large load of fuel. However, the $1400 sale probably made the day for the economics of this small town.

I had been admiring the hoodie sweatshirts worn by the staff of Alaskan Seaplanes during our stay at Tenakee. At the Bakery, one of the staff came in for coffee, so I asked if they sold the hoodies. They did and both Karen and I came away with a practical reminder of our pleasant stay at Tenakee.

As you walk the “path/road/main street” on Tenakee, you’ll pass a number of resident dogs lying along the path, each in front of their masters’ doors. Most of they are grey haired older dogs, and most are friendly and are happy if you reach down and pet them because getting up is almost too much for these senior citizens. On our stroll back to the docks, I noticed a large fellow I had seen a couple of times. He looked just like the others I have petted, large, old, part wolf and a bit forlorn. I bent down and as I started to let him give me a smell, he tried to take a bite out of my hand. I was quicker than he was as he bared his teeth and growled, but he was not able to muster the energy to stand and pursue the attack.

We were cold and wet from being out in the rain, as we left the boat for breakfast and then spent the whole time on deck for the fueling process. Once the fenders were stowed and we were underway to Pavlof, we turned up the boat’s heat in an attempt to feel warm and dry.

Pavlof Harbor is a short (15 mile) trip to the northwest of Tenekee, in  Freshwater Bay. We did spot a humpback making his way SE as we rounded the point into Freshwater Bay. Pavlof is known for bear, so that influenced our decision to make it an overnight stop. We arrived at low tide, perfect bear viewing time. However, we never did see any of these elusive critters. There is also an interesting waterfall at the head of the stream that runs into the bay. Normally we would launch the dinghy and go exploring, but the previous time we spent out in the rain earlier today dampened our desire to brave the wet and cold yet again.

As I was preparing dinner, I spotted Northern Songapproaching the Harbor. I made a call to the bridge and we exchanged greetings with Mike and a few updates on travels and bear sightings. We had not talked with them since we visited the boat in Port McNeill last September.

Northern Song sits in Pavlof Harbor

The rain finally stopped as we went to bed and the harbor was flat. About 2:30am, I was awaked by the sound of the wind blowing. I made my way to the helm and checked the wind direction and speed. It was south at 10 to 12 knots. We were holding well and the winds were as forecast, so it was back to bed.