Who goes fishing with a ski goggles on? Well Sara did and Wade thought her perhaps slightly a dork, yet shortly after taking off to fish in the dinghy it began to sleet, then snow, then a snowstorm. Who was laughing then? Well it wasn’t Wade and it might have been the fish as they wouldn’t bite, but we tried and that is how it goes sometimes. Couldn’t catch fish, couldn’t catch crabs in Japanese Bay either, but at least we didn’t catch colds, knock on wood. We did have a lovely walk along shore where Sara scored some driftwood and shells to her liking. As we walked the shore a bald eagle decided we were close enough as it flew ahead to a new perch a couple hundred yards further down the shore only having to move again as we got closer. With an inch or two of snow sitting on the floats of the dinghy, we returned to the sailboat for the evening.
By the way, when we awoke yesterday morning the ice on the water in the bay had all disappeared. We are not sure if the increase in wind or perhaps rain during the night drove the ice away. The crab fishing boats were also gone. We thought we might as well leave too as a gale was approaching in a few days and we considered we might rather be some place new like the south end of Kodiak when it hit, and also in an anchorage with reputably better holding according to the book of Coast Pilot 9. So we set off sail for the the south end of Kodiak in fine mid January conditions of dreary overcast skies and rain. Only one direction looked moderately lighter on the horizon and fortunately that was the direction we were going. Along the way there was some rolly seas and by the time we got to the area of brighter skies the conditions had changed to intermittent rain there as well. We thought the current should be with us, which it was for the first three hours, but then there was an hour where it drastically wasn’t and we were only going three knots. Fears are a funny thing for they are healthy and they can keep you safe. Fears of sailing Alaska seas should prudently invoke some apprehension, and winter sailing Alaska is another step beyond. This morning Sara found herself concerned of possible conditions at the south end of Kodiak of big seas stacked up against big currents causing frightening conditions. So we necessarily had to balance the fear of the unknown against an analysis of what our information at hand told us we should expect. In conclusion, our passage to the south end of Kodiak was about as exciting as the rain. Later in the afternoon we anchored in Rodman’s Reach near the cannery in Lazy Bay. Not so Lazy was the current as there was little need to reverse when we let go the anchor. We were delighted to find internet from the cannery reachable to our boat via our WiFi amplifier (The Wirie). Wade was excited to read the news, but unfortunately or predictably, nothing seemed “new” in the realm of trade tariff’s or government shut-downs. So perhaps again like fishing, that is how it goes sometimes.
Sara is making chicken curry for supper-Yummly. After three days of we devouring Wade’s wonderful pressure cooked roast.
Cheers,
Wade and Sara
Rodman’s Reach Anchorage Mud Bottom Heavy Currents (VHF Weather) 56° 53.187N, 154° 14.983W
Iridium Go is working amazingly for text and getting weather via Sailmail; SSB did not work due to COM port failure.
