Today was the start of Mother Goose Leg 2 2019!  This week long adventure will take us from Ketchikan to Sitka, Alaska.  Along the way, we will travel through remote and wild cruising grounds, portions of exposed water, narrow channels and passageways, visit small isolated villages, and experience some of the most scenic parts of Southeast Alaska.  With our crews assembled, provisions purchased and boats stocked, we were finally ready to depart!

We cast off our lines around 7:30 this morning, with Captain Brian leading the charge!  We were all anxious and excited to be on our way.  While we enjoyed our time in Ketchikan, it felt good to wave goodbye to the town and the cruise ships and head out into the wilderness of SE Alaska.

Today’s route took us across Clarence Straight and around the southern end of Prince of Wales Island.  This large, mountainous island is largely uninhabited except for a few small towns.  The ocean swell smashed against the rocky cliffsides, and the beaches full of lumber made us glad we were cruising by on a calm day.  As we drew closer to the island, we began spotting lots of wildlife.  Pods of Dall’s porpoise rode in our bow wake and fished along the current lines.  Humpback whales spouted and dove along the shore.  Stellar sea lions and Sea otters bobbed in the water checking out the parade of Grand Banks traveling by.

The final section of today’s route took us through a winding passage with rocks and reefs.  Captain Brian led us through with the confidence that comes from over 11,000 hours of cruising in these waters.  We then found a nice little protected spot to raft the boats for the night and proceeded to set up a five boat raft with three anchors and shore ties holding us in place.  The afternoon was overcast and drizzly but it didn’t stop Chris on Patos from donning his dive gear and exploring the surrounding kelp beds with his speargun.  He had lots to report from the depths, but no fish for dinner this time.

The rest of us stayed on board and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings.  Later, everyone gathered on Deception for a happy hour.  David and Leize from Mystic Eagle joined us from their anchorage one island over.  We shared some delicious food and had a great time getting to know one another.  One of the great parts of these trips is all of the wonderful people you meet and we look forward to spending more time with this crew!