Picture: Houses along the banks of Wrangell Narrows became visible as the fog lifted.

The morning we left Petersburg was extremely foggy. S/V "Liv" arrived there three days earlier but we were there for nine days. They cast off a few minutes before us and disappeared into the thick fog. The passage from Petersburg to Sumner Strait is called "Wrangell Narrows". It is a narrow channel about 21 miles long with 66 navigation markers. At night, those markers flash a myriad of red and green lights, so the channel is known as "Christmas Tree Lane".

One sailing blog stated that they had to count each marker to stay on course because outside the channel could be dangerous with rocks and shallow areas. They even wrote down the number of the marker as they passed each one to make sure they did not miss any. When we went through we were lucky to see any markers at all because of the fog. For some of the time I stood at the bow and strained my eyes trying to see any oncoming traffic. We were using all our instruments; GPS for our position in the channel, AIS to see other vessels with AIS transponders, and radar for land, rocks and other vessels. One time we did not see a barge passing until it was a short distance from us. It was an exciting but scary trip.

Gradually the fog lifted and we noticed how gorgeous the surroundings were! The settlements along both sides of the channel looked interesting. The place seemed remote but there were roads, small harbors, fishing boats, float planes and elaborate houses. We were impressed. Since the current was favorable we went through quite quickly. At the end of the channel we did not turn east towards Wrangell but headed south, straight towards Prince of Wales Island. The water was calm with very little wind so we motored all the way. It was one of those peaceful days, first the fog then bright sunshine and blue sky. The surrounding islands added to the peaceful ambience. What a paradise! That night we anchored at Coffman Cove near the top of Prince of Wales Island. After dinner there was a beautiful fireworks display on the dock just across from where we were anchored. We enjoyed the show.