Schoppe Lagoon to Cedar Lakes Cove

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Awoke to a beautiful sunny day. It was a good day for the “easy” hike to Mueller Cove that was written up in the guidebook. We waited for the right tides, and went back to the east side where we had seen the bear the night before. It was a great landing spot, but a very tough and steep climb to…nowhere. We couldn’t find the path over to Mueller Cove, and it was really buggy.

Nice anchorage at Schoppe Lagoon

OceanFlyer in Schoppe Lagoon

At low tide the entrance looks very narrow..it is

So, we changed plans and once again exited the lagoon, heading for North Anchorage. It was really nice and definitely a great place to kayak.

A word about the next photo. Dinghys range from utilitarian to luxurious. Ours is the fromer. It came with the boat and it does just fine. However, the seating is not very comfortable. I sit on a hard 4 inch bench and Karen has no dedicated seating. So we rigged one of folding "beach chairs" we have on board and secured it to the dinghy. Karen is in heaven.  A bit cobbled together looking; but it works. For me, my eyes dry out and tear when we go fast. And our 20hp Honda can push the dinghy to over 16 knots. So I found a pair of sky diving goggles to wear. Very light and very effective. So their you have it, the Geeked out dingy ready for long and fast exploring.

Geeked out dinghy

Once back at the boat, we saw a black bear on the west shore of the lagoon. The sun was shining on him and Bob got some great pictures.

Bear in Schoppe Lagoon

We left in the early afternoon on a high tide, and headed for Cedar Bay. There were lots of porpoises today, and they made a beeline for us and then played in our bow wake for about 15 minutes.

Karen plays with the porpoise on our bow

These guys make fast look easy

As we headed towards Cedar Bay, we saw the Mother Goose AIS signals back in Granite Bay, so we motored up to a good line of sight with Deception and chatted for a while with Brian, and talked a bit about how to change the fuel filters on our Onan generators.

From afar, it's easy to understand why it is named Granite Bay

Karen planned to overnight just outside the head of Cedar Bay in Cedar Lakes Cove, where we could dinghy over to the tricky entrance to the head of Cedar Bay and reconnoiter. This anchorage felt quite exposed, but was actually peaceful. You anchor in the middle in 30 feet, about 500 feet in from the mouth. It feels close to the rocks and reefs, but it’s fine. We watched gulls chasing an eagle, and stayed inside avoiding the late afternoon bugs.

After dinner, on about a +4 tide (which is the minimum the guidebook suggests for entering the head of Cedar Bay), we took the dingy over to the head entrance to check it out. Confusing! The rock in the Lethcoe photo didn't show except for the very tip, and we hit an unexpected 4’ shallow spot near a rock with a market on it.

The entrance otherwise was deep, not in the teens that Lethcoe notes. Inside was lovely and we found a maroon hulled sailing vessel Trinket from Whittier at anchor in the best spot. We circled Trinket, but no one came out to say hello. It was about  9:30, so maybe they were asleep. We agreed – we are definitely coming back with OceanFlyer in the morning!

Brave Harbor to Schoppe Lagoon

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We had a lazy start to the day, and watched as the bowpickers all departed about 8:30.  Each one moved slowly, coming close to take a good look at OceanFlyer. I don’t think they’re used to many pleasure boats up here.

Looking out from Brave Harbor

A small private fish boat called Jokemon came in shortly after, and the Dad and his son got off right onto the bow of a bowpicker and headed off for the day. From our anchorage, we could see bowpickers at the mouth of the bay putting their nets out to catch salmon. It was still overcast, and once again we didn’t go out exploring even though there would be good walks in the area, especially at low tide.

Clouds continue to kiss the mountain tops

Today’s destination is Schoppe lagoon. We searched high and low for critters on our journey, but to no avail. We knew there were anchorages outside the lagoon, but hoped to enter with a favorable tide. We timed it to enter at high slack to be extra cautious. It’s a pretty straightforward entrance, but the rocks and shelf noted in the Lethcoe guidebook are definitely there, and the clear water makes them seem closer than they are.

The lagoon is large and lovely, and we were all alone. We scouted out Lethcoe’s preferred anchorage, but didn’t like it, and pretty much dropped the hook right in the middle of the lagoon with great views all around.

It started to clear up after dinner. We saw a black bear on the east shore of the lagoon, and shortly thereafter hopped in the dinghy and exited the lagoon to check out the “South Anchorage”. There was great exploring, and some cute spots for future trips as well as some very shallow areas.

Another calm and peaceful night under the stars.

Disk Cove to Brave Harbor via Lake Bay Hatchery

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We couldn't leave until the tide rose, so we started our day with a great breakfast of pancakes and sausage. It was overcast today, after such a sunny day yesterday…and then it started to rain. It was no issue departing Disk Cove (we never saw below 19’), and we saw a humpback as we passed Passage Point.

Can't go out there at low tide

We’re crossing one of the deepest parts of Print William Sound. I saw 2532 feet as our deepest sounding today.  It was a long day for us, about 30 miles, and it continued to be rainy with low visibility. We had planned to go to Perry Island for the day, but the weather was a bit too icky for much exploring. We saw the Klondike Express both on AIS and as a hazy visual target, and the ever-present ferry Chenega.

Getting very deep

It was lightly raining when we entered Esther Cove to visit Lake Bay Fish Hatchery. Karen read in one of the guidebooks that they gave tours and that there was some great walking, and we were looking for something to do.

The problem with Esther Cove it that is very deep. We could handle the depth with our 400ft of chain, but there are many large moorings in the cove for the fishing fleet to sue. The boats on the moorings drastically restricted the amount of swing room we could have,  such that we never found a place to drop the hook after 45 minutes of exploring every opportunity.

As we were only going to be there a short while to take the tour, I would have gladly tied to one of the moorings ourselves, but every one was in use by the fleet. The next opening was not for another two days, so they were going nowhere.

The cove was full of salmon jumping about. As a result, the trees were full of eagles looking for some easy picking. If only we could have found a place to drop the hook and the rain had stopped, I could have spent hours taking photos of the eagles as they fished the cove.

Skunked at the Hatchery, we changed our destination for Brave Harbor in Squaw Bay. There were 2 bowpickers at anchor (Guinness and Nemo) when we arrived. It was a pretty cove, and very calm. There was a heavy downpour as Karen stood at the bow to drop the anchor.

We spent a quiet afternoon reading. The coolest thing we saw was an eagle that caught a salmon, and because the salmon was so heavy, it actually swam to shore using an Olympic-style breast stroke.

The rain never let up, and we had a peaceful night.

Disk Cove - Lay Day

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Today was planned as a lay day in Disk Cove. The more we cruise, the more we find that spending a second day or even a third day in an anchorage multiplies our enjoyment. You have more time to take in the venue during the cycles of tide and weather.

So with the sun shining and the hills above calling us, we set out in the dinghy. I have very few photos of OceanFlyer from viewpoints other than water level. Here is our chance to get a bird’s eye perspective of OceanFlyer in Disk Cove!

Good landing spot to start our explorations

We employed our usual MO of finding a small stream with a good dinghy landing spot nearby, on the east shore. From there, we walked up the stream bed without too much bramble and within 50 feet we’re back in the “open” and able to make our way up the areas with low vegetation.

Looking back from the small creek that is our access point

Disk Cove did not disappoint when it came to great views. We were able too the whole Cove and enjoy the view with OceanFlyer peaceful at anchor.

Even though the “open” areas look solid with their grassy cover, it is more boggy than solid. Our Neos boots continue to perform well. You wear your own shoes inside, so hiking boots make for secure trekking, and they are waterproof yet easy to take on and off. For all this wonderfulness they are a little, or make that a lot goofy looking, but that’s a price worth paying.

Are those Neos really so goofy looking? Yes, but the work great.

We really enjoyed the views of Disk Cove and Louis Bay. We took lots of pictures and then decided it was time to go dinghy exploring outside of the Cove. We headed first to Louis Bay, and it was pretty lumpy. We took the dinghy back into an interesting lagoon. Then Karen made me circumnavigate Disk Island via Foul Passage (not something we’d ever try with OceanFlyer), and we reentered Disk Cove via False Pass as the tide was just high enough.

Karen at our Disk Bay overlook

This will become a large panorama over the forward berth

Dinner was leftover pizza. Bob changed both fuel filters on the engines, and I got the rust that had been bugging me off the bow hawlspipes and spread out our soggy lines to dry. We lazed about, and watched the last season of Damages, breaking occasionally to watch all the little boats come back into the Cove as the evening wore on.

As the sun sets in Dick Cove we get a few neighbors

As the sun sets in Dick Cove we get a few neighbors

Lower Herring Bay to Disk Cove

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It was a nice morning, and we were ready to move on and see some wildlife. Off to Disk Cove!

Our Ultra Anchor does well in the kelp

The radio has been very quiet this whole trip. All we would hear was the occasional chatter between fishing buddies. All of a sudden, clear as a bell we heard the U.S. Coast guard Sector Anchorage. They reported a 7.1 earthquake in the Aleutian Islands. A tsunami warning was issued for that location but nothing for Prince William Sound. Over the next couple of hours a few of the Glacier Tour boats called the Coast Guard for an update and eventually the Coast Guard issued a statement that there would be no tsunami warning issued for Prince William Sound.

Not long after leaving Lower Herring Bay, we spotted a pod of Orca north of Channel Rock; we were able to watch their movements for a couple of miles as they made their way north. There were 6 to 8 animals, and Karen spotted a mother with a calf. But they were hunting in the shallows, and there was no way we could get close enough for good photos.  

Orca on our heading until they went fishing in the shallows

As we proceeded up to Lower Passage, we were accompanied twice by Dalls Porpoise that ran in our bow wake. One group made a very short stay, but the other lingered for 5 minutes or so. They even stayed with us as I made two course changes on the approach to Disk Cove.

Disk cove has a very narrow, but relatively deep entrance. Once through the doglegged channel, the Cove opens up to a circular bay. The bay is well protected on all sides.

There was a small boat already in the cove as we entered. We anchored in the Northeast corner in 60 feet and got a good set. (Love that Ultra!)  While waiting for a lower tide to be able to make a good landing in the dinghy and try out some of the hikes mentioned in the Lethcoe guidebook, the rain started. It never let up until after 10pm.

That was our signal to do a load of laundry and make pizza.

Around 8 pm we received some visitors into the cove. It was a small converted fishing vessel that was marked “research”, called NoTea. Apparently they do some sort of research on the whales. Shortly thereafter two very small recreational fishing boats entered and anchored in the northwest corner, named Firefly and Save the Day.  All this activity provided us with another “Alaska TV” moment as we tried to write the script behind each of their journeys.

We watched more of Season 2 Homeland before we turned in. As we went to bed, the sky started to show some signs of brightening. If the current weather pattern continues, we might see some sun tomorrow.