Ketchikan to Prince Rupert 1
07 June 2017 | Boat position at noon: 55 01.04'N; 131 06.29'W
Pam Lau and Ted Berry
Picture: A last glimpse of Ketchikan as we motored past the downtown area where two cruise ships were docked. It was still early so there will be more cruise ships that day.
Noon to noon miles: 29 Miles since Mexico: 25,466
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Showers and Sunny Motored with main sail up all day Wind - Southwest 0 - 5 knots. Boat speed: 4.5 - 5.0 knots.
On the way to Prince Rupert from Ketchikan we have to cross the notorious 20-mile wide "Dixon Entrance" where winds and waves can be very high, so it is wise to pick a good weather window. We had several conflicting weather reports, the "Grib" file (from Sailmail) and NOAA (US government) said the weather would be good; while the Canadian (government weather) and the various weather web sites said the opposite. We decided to go with the Grib and NOAA forecasts and motored out of the Tongass Narrows at 6:30 a.m. on 7th June, one year and one day after we left Japan. We saw a cruise ship already docked at the downtown area and we passed another on our way out. We were told that the small town can have as many as five cruise ships at one time!
There is lush green vegetation dotted with few houses and some machinery on both sides of the narrows. Small fishing vessels were hurrying by. Meanwhile we had to dodge occasional logs and patches of floating weeds. The narrows is relatively short and we went through quickly.
There was no wind and the sea was flat. I took a seasickness pill just in case, since it was my first sail for the season. I usually take it at night but we did not know when we were leaving so I took one after breakfast. It knocked me out and I slept nearly four hours! I made lunch and immediately started researching anchorages where we could spend the night. Ted said that he did not want to cross "Dixon Entrance" that day because there are not many anchorages on the other side. Also it was getting late in the day by the time we got close.
We anchored in Fox Cove which is behind Fox Island on the northern side of Dixon Entrance. We could not find any information on the anchorage and felt somewhat apprehensive so Ted set about three anchor alarms. The charts indicated the bottom was "wd" (weed) which usually means kelp so the anchor would not grip very well. Ted remained on "anchor watch" for a while but when he saw everything was in order, he went to bed. We both had a restful night.