Schultze to Appleton
29 September 2010
Bill in wet gear
Boy, has a day of moderate weather changed things! We got off the mooring buoy in Schultz at 8 AM, but that did require that I be up at 6:45, Oh, boy, it's been a while since I've done that! We slipped our lines off the mooring buoy at 8 and were motoring through the Sergius Narrows at 8:54, exactly on schedule. The day was pleasant enough to restore our enthusiasm for continuing the trip. At least we'll get to Baranof Warm Springs tomorrow and re-evaluate from there.
Really, the whole passage from Sergius to the main part of Peril Pass was smooth as glass. Our timing was perfect and the tides were simply no problem. For most of the way through, we had a tad of wind to help push us through, so we made especially good time. We arrived in Appleton an hour early: about 2:30. We set our new crab pot, had a beer, and oozed below to sleep for a few hours.
The crab pot is Canadian contraption that's very clever. When expanded, the trap is a stainless steel rectangular cube with mesh sides, and when collapsed it "accordions" down to a flat bundle, easy to store. We put some old icky food into it and dropped it over the side. Dungeness crabs are supposed to like the detritus that flows from freshwater streams, so one places the trap in the mouth of a freshwater stream, in about 45-60 feet of water. That's supposed to be in the "fall line" of crab food filter from the stream. Well, we'll test the crab theory, the crab pot, and our bait. We'll raise it this evening and see what we might have. Whether yes or no, we'll dump it back in overnight.
The contrast here in Appleton with what we endured last night is extreme. Here, it's calm, rain in intermittent squalls, and smooth water, while in Schultze it blew hard all night, we leaped on waves, and it rained continuously and hard. We are both anticipating a good and early night of sleep tonight.