The warm evening gave way to a smattering of rain last night, which falls intermittently throughout the morning. We head in to town early aboard our dinghies to visit the Nolan Center Museum, which houses a wonderful collection of artifacts from Wrangell’s history. Wrangell has the unique distinction of existing under four cultures and three flags throughout its history; Tlingit, Russian, British, and American, and the museum dues a wonderful job of telling the town’s story.

In the late morning, we cast off and cruise around the northern tip of the Island and down into Eastern Passage. As with nearly all the passages in SE Alaska, we have the water nearly to ourselves, and see only one or two small boats as we cruise down towards Berg Bay. Harbor seals rest on sandbars just north of the Narrows, where flocks of Surf Scoters play in the current.

The trip to Berg Bay is a short one, and by early afternoon we are all happily at anchor in in narrow inlet. We have constructed a six boat raft tonight, and the crew of Deception helps secure all the boats, running three lines ashore and three anchors out into the bay to lock the raft securely in place. With that job done, Greg the Naturalist leads a nature hike out into the moss draped forest and out across the broad grassy flats of nearby Aaron Creek, where wildflowers grow among the tall grasses. Kingfishers flit across the narrow tidal channels where herons stalk small fish.

With bellies full of wild berries and mud on our boots we return to the boats, where in the evening we enjoy a potluck dinner and take advantage of the raft to tour each other’s boats. In the twilight, the crew of Koa Lanai heads out to drop in a couple crab pots across the bay to try their luck overnight, the rest of us converse and play cards in the gathering dusk before heading to bed with the soothing pitter pat of raindrops falling on the cabin-top.