Venture to Alaska 2012 Part 3

[Music] e after leaving glacia Bay our next destination is Sitka situated on the exposed outer coast of Southeast Alaska Cape th weather to I see Cape today West Wind 15 knots Becoming Salt 20 knots in the afternoon sees 4 ft building to 6 ft in the afternoon areas of fog with visibility one nautical miles or less tonight Southeast wind 20 knots C6 ft rain Monday Southeast wind 20 knots C7 fet Southwest as well rain it's not like a normal day where it gets windier in the afternoon it's going to be a front coming here after digesting the weather forecast we make the decision to take the outside and most direct route from glacia Bay bya icy straight into the Gulf of [Music] Alaska a strange and rather beautiful Mist lies across our route and blots out the Sun we are soon enveloped in a gray blanket we turn into lanski straight and the sun returns when we reach the isolated Hamlet of Pelican on chichagov [Music] Island [Music] Cris backs into the dock using the after control [Music] station the main street is a boardwalk built out over the water Whimsical touches abound [Music] the harsh climate soon takes advantage of neglected boats halet fishing requires a large pair of lead balls but can result in a catch like this at 196b and 72 in Long float planes provide an essential Lifeline just two fairies per month call here during the summer reducing to only one per month during the winter they carry cargo people and the all important charter fishing clients Mery Ry with a schedule to keep our Australian guests leave us here by float plane after the latest weather forecast for the outside route to Sitka predicts conditions which could delay our [Music] departure we go anyway and conditions are no worse than those we are used to handling on Route we spend the night in a secluded Bay where only a few ruins are all that remain from a once Rich gold [Music] mine prominent Mount edcom overlooks the town once the capital of Alaska Sitka displays ample evidence of its Russian Heritage the Russian Orthodox church has an elegantly simple exterior but its interior offers a feast of riches and color [Music] I visit the overgrown Russian Cemetery which lies abandoned and desecrated under the steady rain [Music] on the other side of town the paths through the Sitka National Park lead to Modern totem poles and also the site of the battle in 1804 when the Russians finally rested control of the area from the Tlingit [Music] people we follow the Inland route from Sitka through Peril Strait where water runs fast and furious we meet the highspeed ferry that runs between Juno and sitco our AIS shows her speed at 36 [Music] knots [Music] once we reach chattam straight the rain ceases and we enjoy calm seas and blue [Music] skies a white slash in the trees visible for many miles morphs into magnificent Kash niku Falls in waterfall Cove [Music] [Applause] [Music] we turn into Hot Springs Bay but the dark is fully [Music] occupied so after a look at another magnificent waterfall we decide to continue South to Red Bluff which takes its name from this rock formation the entrance is hard to spot but once inside the scenery is [Music] [Music] spectacular [Music] [Music] the following morning provides another photo opportunity from the tender which gives scale to the Magnificent surroundings [Music] back in chattam straight the sky and sea blend [Music] together even in Late July the scenic mountains on this side of baronov Island carry much more snow than their Western slopes there are numerous inlets to be explored but alas we have no time a white shaped reminiscent of a comet turns out to be yet another huge waterfall we pass Cape decision and anchor for the night in Warren Cove where a full moon casts a path of dancing light across the water we spot disappointingly few bears but we know they are out there in large numbers this whole area has been comprehensively raped off its Timber leaving the hillsides Bal and scarred with ugly clear Cuts littered with the Bleach bones of trees not considered worthwhile to be carried out in places the shoreline is piled high with discarded logs waiting to be floated away on a high tide to become a hazard to [Music] navigation [Music] the amount of logs is astounding and I let this video run unedited to show what is out there you don't want to travel at night or run at speed especially if your boat's propellers are lower and the [Music] KE [Music] [Music] oh Dixon entrance has a nasty reputation but for us it is completely calm this is especially welcome because by following the Outside Inside passage we have 65 Mi of Open Water to [Music] cross we encounter more logs and the approaches to Prince rert this is the only town on the entire trip connected by Roden rail to the rest of North [Music] [Music] America we continue South through the Central Coast of British Columbia and encounter Mor logs often betrayed by the presence of [Music] seabirds [Music] before our next open Crossing of Queen Charlotte sound we stop at the isolated fishing lodge of Duncan be most of their guests fly in by float plane and we are the only visiting boat at the dock again we are blessed with favorable weather and have no problems passing Cape caution to Port mcneel where float planes land at the [Music] marina the Proprietors of the fuel doc Marino generously offer us the unique opportunity of helicopter ride over the Bren archipelago at midm morning these islands remain hidden beneath a blanket of mist our pilot recones Peaks higher than 5,000 ft to await the clearing of the [Music] Mist [Music] oh [Music] sadly the Rocks had moved during the winter so we land instead on connly Peak at 3,651 FT [Music] slowly the Mist dissipates and we fly through the pattern of islands [Music] we Circle peers at Echo [Music] Bay the slips are mostly empty but will soon fill with boats including [Music] Venture all the infrastructure is afloat and was towed into place by Pier every Saturday during the summer pier and his wife Tove organize a pig roast the following day we visit Lagoon Cove and in the evening sit around a crackling campfire listening to ballads sung to a [Music] [Applause] guitar as I brush your and walk So Close To [Music] You Well [Music] I this part of the trip follows a more conventional pattern we meet more boats and cruise short distances dur during the day spending each evening in one of several small [Music] marinas our next stop is Gorge Harbor so called because of the narrow cliff-lined entrance which opens up into a wide [Music] Bay [Music] float planes offer a convenient method of getting back and forth to all these remote marinas lacking any access by Road our last stop is Nimo where a veritable Fleet of float plan suppli services to a multitude of destinations just south of Theo Dodge Narrows as crowded with boats taking advantage of slack [Music] water we are back where our video story [Music] began [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Fleming Yachts

Views: 231,465

Keywords: Alaska, adventure, cruising, Sitka, British Columbia, Canada, Ocean, boating, Fleming

Id: 4c8d08P8HhQ

Length: 23min 50sec (1430 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 11 2012