There are a lot of challenging task to cruise on a sailboat and especially on a fishing vessel. Some days you think the list of issues needing attention will never end. Then there are the days etched in your mind forever. A scenery so beautiful no picture can capture and only if we were a poet could we begin to describe the majestic of Anita Bay.
Anita Bay has steep low level mountain ranges outlining the bay. There is a couple of rivers that flood the bay and each river has long deltas snaking into the a forest of tall green pines. The mountain silhouette came alive as the sun set behind the ranges. The sky illuminated with pink then purple soft colors. When the sun was fully gone the sky became extremely black with millions of stars. Watching carefully we noticed several stars or meteors falling across the sky. Into the night temperatures dropped so that everyone put on extra warm clothes and a stillness fell over the bay. It was if the tide and currents stopped moving and the water became motionless. The stars that shone so brightly above then reflected off of the water. Late into the night the mountain silhouette grew brighter as a very faint green glow came and went softly behind the northern mountain range.
We finally caught a couple of crabs off the back of the boat. As we have to paddle to drop the crab pot because the dinghy outboard is still inoperable. Dropping the crab trap off the side of the boat and checking it once an hour seems much easier.
Early this morning Sara made potato and egg quiche to get the day started. Justin and Jeff slept, in so we, Sara and Wade, rowed across the bay to check out a fish hatchery and see if we could finally catch these elusive salmon. As we were headed back to the boat we stopped to watch a gill net fisherman, named Randy, haul in his net. He saw we were watching and invited us onboard. He was so kind to let Sara run the net to bring in a few fish. We talked fishing tips and he even gave us a silver salmon. Sara baked one filet with in the oven with lemon pepper and paprika and the second filet grilled with wood chips to add smoke flavor with lemon pepper and fresh squeezed lemons on top. We boiled our crab and had frozen sweet corn Wade’s mom prepared for us before we left. Absolute feast!
We left Anita Bay a little late but enjoyed our freshly caught salmon lunch/dinner. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get to taste the famous Meyers Chuck cinnamon buns.
Cheers,
Wade, Sara, Justin, and Jeff
Meyers Chuck Anchorage 58′ Mud 55° 44′ 25″N, 132° 15′ 30″W
