Home Cove on Nuka Island

On September 18^th we pulled into Humboldt Harbor on Popof Island, feeling every bit the stranger in a strange land.  This small, tucked in harbor was all but filled with fishing vessels of every length and description going.  Docking Bagan among them was a bit intimidating as we were just about the smallest boat in the fleet and perhaps the only pleasure boat.  In short order we were off of Bagan and exploring the town, Sand Point, a small, self-contained, fishing village which is seemingly dedicated to one thing and one thing only; fish.  Every home exhibits gear in some form or another and the fish processing plant is a study in streamlined production.  Having just turned the cornet from the Bering Sea we were all delighted to be back ashore again and actually making use of our legs.  Yet it was with even greater delight that we met Dan Veerhusen.  Dan is the owner/captain of a couple of fishing boats, the “Shady Lady” being the one he and his wife live on.  Dan greeted us like long lost friends and in short order was filling us with local knowledge to help us out on our next leg.  Dan is one of those people who you immediately take a liking to as he’s a straightforward and very generous individual who, when he says he’s glad to meet you, means it… he wouldn’t say it if he didn’t.  Soon Dan was aboard Bagan poring over our charts showing us places to hide from weather as well as cautioning us about capes to avoid and cuts to utilize.  He quickly became so involved with our trip that as we dropped the lines the next morning at 6:00 a.m., there was Dan to see us off. Truly one of the great individuals we have had the opportunity to meet on this trip.

That day found us heading northeast up Shelikof Straight, a wide, open body of water that separates Kodiak Island from the Alaskan Peninsula.  When the ebb or flood tide are at their peak the currents can run up to 4kts through the straight and twice that day we had to endure 25-35kts winds against a counter current.  Nasty, nasty conditions.  (Half way up we were called by a fishing boat on the VHF.  The captain of the boat explained the he was a friend of Dan’s and Dan had asked him to keep an eye on us… very comforting to say the least!). That night we beat the sun and dropped the hook in Dakavak Bay surrounded by large, jagged mountains, some snow capped.  But it was the next morning that we took Dan’s advice and motored into Geographic Harbor for the day.  It was magnificent; deep pockets of water, grizzly bears ashore, otters, snow capped mountains in every direction an very protected.  Regretfully we could only stay for the day as we had to take advantage of a weather window and get to where we are now, Home Cove on Nuka Island, another one of Dan’s great suggestions.

So, here we sit, waiting out a gale and will try to head off at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.  We’ve only a few more open-water passages to make and trust me when we say that all fingers and toes are triple crossed that the weather holds.  This time of year the gales come through here fast and furious and can pin you down for weeks at a time.

On a very proud, fatherly note; I have to say that Sefton has become wonderfully adapt at studying the weather charts and finding us great windows in which to travel.  With the added value of Dominique poring over the Coast Pilot and charts, we have been seeing some amazing scenery and having a wonderful, if not a tad bumpy, final third to this trip.

By the way, we’re aiming for Seattle perhaps sometime between November 5^th and 10^th yet even though it’s too early to call it, let me formally invite any and all who might want to see five very happy individuals take to the land!!