sailing from resurrection to aialik bay

well, we made it back, 4 days outta seward, 100+ miles, and we're here to tell to the tale

joel organizes more than a car full of equipment, dry bags, prawn traps, coolers, general food and provisions

we head out of seward, and joel gets a basic lesson in using a tiller, which he soon mastered

our cruising speed was perfect for trolling for silvers. we had one for dinner by the first night...before

and after

and after that, we had salmon in our eggs for two days

the next morning we awoke to a lovely morning in thumb cove.

took the dingy to shore for a look around...

perfect 2" waves seem to be a reoccurring theme in my life

'merica!

sails down, motoring out of resurrection bay, enjoying the sun

after peeking out of the bay, the clouds and winds filled in.
we were escorted for a while by a pod of dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dally)

horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata)

the second night, we anchored in so called paradise cove, but the weather had other ideas.  willy and i check the radio to see if the storm is gonna clear

the bachelor pad on a rainy morning

despite the weather we set across aialak bay to get to mcmullen cove

cap'n wilbur at the helm

not ten minutes after anchoring, i thought i snagged the diamond jig i was bouncing on the bottom.  soon thereafter, the snag was making its way for the anchor line, and i started to feel headshakes.  we were on a shale bottom, so a big ling was out of the question.  i wondered if my childhood dreams of landing a giant alaskan halibut might come true today.  after not too long we had color, and i saw the tell tale brown and white.  

it looked to be 4-5 feet long, and real thick and wide.  unfortunately no gaff was on hand, and we were left to try and rig a flying gaff out of a tuna hook, a kayak handle and our jib sheet, which we cleated off.  all the while the fish waited, not so patiently on 20# test line.  once i managed to get the hook in its lower lip, we hoisted it part way out, to try to calculate our next mission, subduing it, but this is when all hell broke loose, and it started thrashing, rocking the boat.  and just like that it was gone, we were left with a straightened hook, and another fish story

locals only

Rubus spectabilis-Salmon berry

very artistic self portrait

on day 3 our jib halyard came off, and got stuck at the top of the mast, so willy had to jump in the bosun's chair...scary

holgate glacier

all the melt water was roaring out a vent in the bottom

tasty beverage

the last day we were greeted with blue skies and full sails

and last but not least, i found a new boat to drool over...hewes