This morning started with flat calm and brilliant sunshine. I had breakfast in the cockpit in T shirt and shorts. Thirty minutes after departing the anchorage we ran into thick fog, visibility less than two cables and it persisted all the way down Chatham Sound to Venn Narrows, the northerly approach to Prince Rupert. The... Continue Reading →
FAIRWELL ALASKA
Last night I didn’t anchor, I found a nice bit of empty sea and drifted for a few hours. The sky was clear again, magnificent stars, shooting starts and the northern lights came up behind the mountains. Today I crossed Dixon Entrance, a sometimes tricky stretch of water that is open to the pacific Ocean... Continue Reading →
SAILING WEATHER
Vixen Harbour was flat calm last night, there was no light pollution and the heavens were on full view. I got an early start at sunrise and headed down to Meyers Chuck to await the forecast afternoon wind. Meyers Chuck is a small harbour with numerous holiday home scattered around. I couldn’t find a vacant... Continue Reading →
BEAR ENOUGH
A wonderful day of bear encounters of the best kind. I have been pumped up all day, exciting stuff. This morning I followed the forestry workers to the trailhead leading to Anan falls. I checked in, handed over my permit and received the safety briefing. Then I headed up the trail, I was a bit... Continue Reading →
TRUCE HAS HER MOJO BACK
This morning I was running around doing last minute chores and paying for ladder and tarpaulin hire, pressure washer rental, and steelwork. When the time came to lift the boat off the blocks the rain came, just in time to upset the antifouling touch up where the pads and blocks had been. I would not... Continue Reading →
LAST DAY IN WRANGELL
Today I walked up to the Ranger Station and obtained a permit to enter Anan wildlife observatory. All very formal. Then I went down to the hardware store to get a can of bear (deterrent) spray, its expensive stuff and I almost didn’t buy it – but then I thought, what if? The spray only... Continue Reading →
LINGERING IN WRANGELL
This morning I decided to stay a couple of extra days in Wrangell. It’s a friendly little place so it’s no chore to linger a while longer. I also want to get a couple of stainless bits made up for the boat for an autopilot modification I want to try out. The handy engineer guy... Continue Reading →
TRUCE ANTIFOUL COMPLETE
Another early start and full day in the shipyard. The body was a bit stiff this morning and it took a while to up to full speed. Wonderful weather for painting, nice cloud cover, not too hot and no rain. By four this afternoon the antifouling was complete, just the patches to touch up when... Continue Reading →
STRUT FIX
An early start today, got to get working, got to get out the shipyard. The weather today was perfect, just a bit of drizzle, not enough to stop work. All day I have been cleaning, scraping, sanding and painting. Truce is now almost ready for antifouling paint. After a couple of glasses of amber nectar... Continue Reading →
TRUCE, HAULED OUT
The rain woke me up at five this morning, it was pouring cats and dogs. So funny there is a water shortage in Wrangell. I took Truce around to the travel lift and got hauled out. The hull fouling was pretty surprising, lots of crustaceans stuck limpet style to the hull. Apparently the spat for... Continue Reading →
The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson 