Man oh man, do we love playing this tide game. We got up this morning at 0600 to be ready to catch the beginning of the incoming flood tide to get us through the Inian South Pass and on to Hoonah. So, after a cup of coffee and a half bagel, we cast off and were in the channel for the tide. A local fisherman said that if we get out there in time, we could ride the tide all the way to Hoonah, and be there for lunch - which is just what we did. Thanks Kim! Our normal motoring speed is 5 knots, and our calculated arrival for this trip would be late afternoon. So, we didn't motor any faster than normal, but the channel is narrow, the current swift, and we were zooming along at over 8 knots. That may not sound like much, but remember, that is almost twice our normal speed. We arrived at 1330! Lunch at dockside!

We did have to motor. The wind was nonexistent, and to sail and make it worth it with these narrow channels, the wind has to be perfect, so this Inside trip will be mostly motoring. It's ok.

The cruising world once again shows itself to be very small too. As we were coming up to the dock, we saw that we had friends here! A French boat that we met in Dutch harbor, saw again in Chignik, again in Seward, were here, and they took our dock lines as we pulled in. It was nice to see them, but alas the visit was short, as they were heading out in about two hours (catching the right tide current). It was wonderful to see them.

Along the way, we saw animals, a few orcas and a whale of some sort. Nice. So, it was a great day. We fueled the boat, had halibut lunch (remember the halibut?), and went for a short walk. Hoonah is a mostly Tlingit town. The Tlingit are natives who fought the Russians at Sitka back in the early days of white man coming to Alaska. The Russians eventually drove them out of their homeland, and they resettled here in Hoonah. We will explore more tomorrow. Meanwhile, we have internet, can post photos, so here we go. No photos of Hoonah for this posting, so I will post a nice photo of Elfin. It's all so beautiful here. See you!