Craig and South-West side of Prince of Wales Island.

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24^th  – 26th  August 2016

Next day we motored further down to Craig, which is the largest town on the island. It was more of a town than we expected from a way-out spot with its 1200 inhabitants. The fishing harbor was smelly with lots of fishermen busy  preparing their boats for the winter as the fishing season is now mostly over.

After Craig we had to wait 2 more days for favourable weather to cross Dixon Entrance to get to Prince Rupert in BC, Canada. From Craig we went thru Tlevak Narrows and down Tlevak Straight to anchor in Dunbar Inlet on the west side of Sukkwan Island. It was a beautiful day with almostly clear skies and no rain (for a change!) That to me means a time off from cooking. A couple of steaks on the BBQ and a great bottle of wine with curtsey of our friends Josh and Natasha, was the perfect complement to the steaks and lovely sunset.

Waterfall resort – Once an old deserted cannery has become a lovely fishing lodge

Cassa Inlet was our next stop south of Dunbar inlet. For the first time we have experienced the relentless attack of williwaws (gusty wind pockets that bomb down over a hill into an anchorage – which is appropriately called “Bommies” in Australia). The rain and williwaws never eased off that night. We were relieved to leave Cassa Inlet the next morning, continuing on our path south. Nichols Bay, on the south side of Prince of Wales Island has a very scenic entrance and all along the way windswept trees tell the tale of strong winds around this area.

Nichols Bay would be our very last anchorage in Alaskan waters and we hoped to make it a memorable one. The bay has a river mouth and that means a possibility of bears and salmon. Although it was still drizzling, we went to investigate with the tender.

To our surprise, after a few minutes of watching the large numbers of Pink Salmon schooling up in the shallow waters, Johann spotted two black bears (the only black bears we have seen in Alaska) scavenging along the shore. Well that made the 15 minute cold and wet ride definitely worth it.  As soon as they were gone, we got out and stretched out legs, walking around the piles of driftwood and some plastic rubbish that had washed up on the shore line. It was mainly ropes and nets scattered everywhere. It would be the first time we have seen one of the “rubbish collecting” spots anywhere in Alaska, which is an indication of how pristine the waters are all the way through Alaska.

We had an early start the next morning at 0400  to cross Dixon entrance with and flood tide helping us along. Dixon Entrance is open to the Gulf of Alaska and its influences so therefore demands planning and respect.

Craig and South-West side of Prince of Wales Island