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Caleb’ Journal From IP Trip

February 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

CALEBS TRUE ADVENTURE

 

 

 

AUTHOR IS CALEB LAW

 

 

 

 

the biggest adventure of my life begins on friday april 15Th. We went to the airport when we got to security and one of are friends named linda got stopped they thought she had some water in her bag. A young man checked her bag and  it turned out only to be some cookies. We got on the airplane and i got to watch tron. We got off of the airplane headed to our hotel and when we got to the hotel we had to us one of the carts at that the hotels have. We got in to the elevator we got in with a little trouble but when we tried to get out it got stuck in the elevator. It took about three minutes to get it out of the elevator.

 

 

 

Saturday april 16Th

 

 

We drove up to are boat and went shopping at wallmart and daddy forgot to get pillows grrrrrrrrrr. we had to sleep on hard cushions that night.

 

 

Sunday april 17Th

 

 

 

In the morning i told my dad we had to get cushions that day or else. So went and got them at about 9:00. After that we went to church. When church was over we me up with some friends named anthony patricia zach timmy sara and rod. We went out to lunch i had french toast which i did not like a cinnamon roll and a waffle. My friend timmy had what i had and mush rooms yuck.

 

 

 

 

Monday april 18Th

 

 

In the morning went with mark to the store and bought some chicken salad and some drinks. We went to the harbors master building because outside there is some picnic tables. We had lunch and saw a crane. We went  to another store and are friends mark and aron left. And another one of are friends picked us up her name was laura. She took us back to are and helped get the boat cleaned up for launch at 3:00. When the time came a humongous trailer came to pick are boat up. I got to ride on the trailer where the controls were. When we got to the ramp we got our boat into the water and tried to start up the boat but the battery’s were dead so we had to bump start it. And that got it going. We motored  over to our slip. Dad and i burned up a bunch of quarters in the shower that we had dearly needed for four days.   Sheesh  time passes fast it seems like over a week has gone when really only 4 day’s have gone bye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

tuesday april 19Th

 

 

 

 

today we are planning on getting all the coast guard requirements and get another fuse. After that i learned how to start up the engines. After i learned how to start up the engines. After i learned how to start up the engines my dad made me clean out  the bilge pump with a sponge it took me about forty minutes. Then we went and got the coast guard requirements and a fuse. After that we went back to our boat and got the dingy down into the water. We had it in the water for about thirty seconds and i noticed that water was coming the plug hole we got it out of there before you could say boat filling up with water. After we got it out we found that there was no plug in the plug hole. So we had to go back to west marine and a plug that we went back to our boat and put the plug in the dingy then we went out to to dinner at terryakia time. the gave us so much food that we had enough food for that night and lunch the next day and maybe dinner to. Then we went back to our boat and went to bed

 

 

 

 

wednesday april 20T

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

today we are planning on taking the boat out for my first real trip at 3:00 or 4:00. Before we went  we put our numbers on the boat we put the fuse in  and we got our fishing rod holders up. Then we went to pick up larry. When we got back to to the boat i asked if when we would go out to friday harbor and he said that he had changed his mind and that we were going to go out the next day. Then i blew up our inflatable canoe and played around for a little bit then i started bringing it back to the boat i got the line and i brang it back to the boat. As i was tying it off on our boat there i got a sliver in my hand and i dropped the line in to the water i hit the window screaming daddy i dropped the line into the water then i realized that wouldn’t be able to get to the boat fast enough flung myself around the side rail and i got my foot on the canoe just in time i got the roap and picked out every sliver and even then i looked to make sure there was none.then we went to west marine and got some more stuff. After that we went to Mcdonalds and had some hamburgers. After we had our hamburgers i had ice cream my dad had ice cream and larry had apple pie. After we had our ice cream and apple pies we went back to the boat and figured out how how to let the anchor down i decided to figure out how to lift things up with the pulley. I started with the bottom pulley things worked out good then i tried the top one and larry was standing underneath the pulley where it has the big boom. So i started undoing the ropes i got it all off and i let go and the boom fell down and just missed larry we talked about NOT DOING THAT AGAIN. After that i pulled it back up and tied it down. Then my dad and larry got the bed set up so that the babies could sleep in it with out falling out. Then we went and took another shower at the harbor masters office. Then we walked back to our boat me and larry played a game of chess and larry won. Then my dad got larry some baby blankets and a nice hard pillow and tucked him in with baby blankets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thursday april 21st

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my day starts out with my dad turning on the moters and jumping out of bed before you can say boat. When i got up to the steering area i found out that we were going friday harbor. When we got there ryan my cousin picked us up and took us out to lunch. After that he took us out to his hanger. Then  he took my dad and larry back to the docks at G30. He took me back to his hanger i got to fly in the simulator . Then i got to fly a real RC helicopter that was $100. When we were done i had a bad head ache. so he drove me back to the boat and layed on the couch in about 10 minutes i went down to the aft cabin and stayed there for the rest of the day except when i went to the bathroom i felt so bad that larry went and got me some medicine to help my stomach and head feel better and it did. 20 minutes later i went to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

friday april 22Nd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

last night i fell out of the bed and my dad had a dream where he realized that he was in a dream and he couldn’t wake up and he moaned and groaned for more than 2 minutes. I said daddy are you ok but there was no answer so i just went back to sleep. In the morning he remembered me saying daddy and he also remembered me falling out of my bed. We went to ryan’s hanger got to go out on a helicopter ride. Then we got some materials to build a baby crib. We also saw the friday harbor mascot a seal with one blind eye. I played a chess game against the computer and lost for about the hundredth time. Me  and larry took the name off the bottom of the so that my dad would rename the bottom of the dingy. We need it because  when we are boating the dingy covers up the name on  the back of our boat.then daddy renamed the boat. After he renamed the boat i made friends with another boat and they had a dog named captain. After that he took a walk with larry i chose to stay at the boat. When they were gone just case anyone tried to rob the boat i had a drill ready to cut through them. When they got back i put the drill back. Then we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

saturday april 23Rd

 

 

 

 

 

When i woke up i had breakfast. And then i played a chess game with ryan and i stomped him. After that we went back to Anacortes. We went to Mcdonalds.Then we dropped larry off at the gas station for him to go back home. Then we got some gas for our dingy motor. When we got back we put the gas in the motor and tried to start it up but it wouldn’t start up. We messed with it for a little while and then my dad looked at the spark plug. And when you tried to start it up it didn’t give any sparks. So we went over to west marine  but they were closed so we decided that we would go and get the spark plug tomorrow. So we went over to safeway and got the groceries that we needed. We went back to the boat and took a shower at the harbor masters office. And then went to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sunday april 24Th

 

 

 

 

 

in the morning we went to church. After church we went to my cousins house to have an easter egg hunt. And it was the first time i got the most eggs. Then i played the xbox. And then we went back to our boat. When we got to the harbor masters office we unloaded the things that my mom had sent down. Then i watched magic school bus. And then went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

monday april 25Th

 

 

 

 

 

When i woke up we had mechanic here to help my dad learn how to change the oil filters. I watched a little of it but otherwise i spent most of the day in the aft cabin watching movies. After the mechanic left we went on a walk on the docks. We met a couple who had a 52 GB. They had an engine room that was about twice the size of ours. Then we walked back to the boat and went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tuesday april 26Th

 

 

 

 

 

 

When i woke up we had another mechanic here to help my dad change

the impellers. When the mechanic left we went to target to yuse my gift card. But my mom had also sent my dad a message to buy a ton more stuff. When we left we had two carts filled and we hadn’t gotten all the the stuff that my mom wanted. Then we went to Mcdonalds for lunch. When we were done we went back to the boat. After a while at the boat we took a walk and got some shrimp. Then we went back to the van and played some frizbee. Then we drove up a mountain that overlooked the the harbor. When we were done we went back to the boat and finished one of the movies i started while we ate the shrimp. When we were done it was eleven PM. Then we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wednesday april 27Th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in the morning we unpacked all the stuff we got yesterday Then we went up to the laundry place and washed our clothes for the first time. Then we went to west marine and had them build a new strap for our fly bridge cover. Then we went back to the boat and my dad took a nap but i stayed up and wrote and played a little bit of internet. When my dad woke up he went and got the poop tank emptier. When we were done emptying and putting poop tank emptier back we went to swimming pool. When we were done at the swimming pool went back to the boat and watched horn blower the fire ships. After we were done watching horn blower and the fire ships we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

thursday april 28Th

 

In the morning we cleaned the boat the best we could to prepare for my mom the triplets my brother and linda.Then we went and picked them up went back to the boat and went to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

friday april 29Th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When i woke up we went out to deception pass and played on the beach for a half hour. When we were done we went back to our dock. and went to teriyaki time. After that we went back to our boat and went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tuesday may 3Rd

 

 

I wasn’t able to write for four day’s because i was playing the whole time and when i remembered it was time to go to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

wednesday may 4Th

 

 

 

 

 

a few hours after i woke up we circled huckleberry island looking for a nice bay to have a fire and also so that the people on the boat wouldn’t get sea sick with all the waves. But we didn’t find one so we went back to the harbor and docked up. then we went and picked my aunt up and went to costco. After we were done shopping at costco we went to the park. A few minutes after we arrived at the park my cousin anthony arrived at the park and we played tag for the rest of the time. Then we went back to the boat and watched horn blower the wrong battle. But we didn’t get to finish it all so my dad said we could finish it tomorrow. After that we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thursday may 5Th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When i woke up me my dad and my brother went to star bucks. Then went home and did a few more things and went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

friday may 6Th

 

 

 

 

in the morning we headed out to friday harbor to meet a bunch of my cousins when we got there it was time to go to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

saturday may 7Th

 

 

 

 

When i got up i went to shore and played the rest of the day with owen. When i was done we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sunday may 8Th

 

 

When i woke up we were half way back to anacortes  WHen we got there my mom went shopping. When she came back we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

monday may 9Th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few hours after i woke up i realized that i hadn’t been doing my journal for three day’s so did the journal the next day and i finished it all. Then we went my cousins house to have a mothers day party. At the party i played a few video games then we went out and played on the trampoline. When we were done we went back to the boat had dinner and went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tuesday may 10Th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i woke up at six just in time to go to star bucks with my dad. When we were done we went back to the boat and met my mom at the docks. after a little while she went shopping for seven hours but i chose to stay with my dad. But my brother went shopping with my mom. When she came back it was time for the babes to go to sleep. After we got the babies asleep we had dinner and then me and my brother went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

wednesday may 11Th

 

 

My dad woke me up at six for me to go get the shrimp pot and motor all of it added up t three thousand dollars. We were going to get a four horse powered motor because it would be easier put on than a higher horse powered motor. But we found one that was a six horse that was the same weight. so we bought it instead. After that we went back to the boat when we got there we realized that we had came down with two buoys but we only had one so i ran back up to the van and it was rolling around on the ground. After i took it back to the boat we had lunch. After lunch my dad had a nap. After my dads nap me and my brother watched robots. After we were done my brother went with my dad to get the poop emptier. Then we had dinner. And after dinner we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

thursday may 12Th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the morning me and my dad went to a hardware store And i got a wood carving kit and then went to safeway and got donuts and met rod for some GPS stuff to make it so that we could connect the GPS to our laptops and make the laptops have a map. Then we went back to the boat and headed to roche harbor for the rendezvous When we got there we put the motor on our dingy. After i was done motoring around then i picked my dad and brother up to go to the park. After we were done at the park i took my brother back to the boat and then me and my dad went out of the no wake zone. When we got out of the no wake zone i took it up to half speed and the dingy sprung a leek. So my dad told me to take it up to full speed. I did it and then my dad took the plug out to empty the water. When he opened it up the hole side opened up my dad then told me to slow it down but i was froze in thought because if i slowed the dingy down water would come in the back because my dad had took the plug out. But the second time he told me to i did it. When i slowed down the water stopped coming in the sides and my dad put the plug in. Then we went back to the boat. When we got back i had romen noodles. After that i went with my dad and my brother on a walk in about twenty minutes we found a game named bocce ball me and my brother played one game and then my dad made a new one where you tried to roll the ball at the other persons feet and if you the other persons feet you got a point but also if they moved there feet you would also get a point after that we went back to the boat and had dinner. Then i watched inspector gadget with my brother. Then me my brother and my dad went up to a place where there a lot of sculptures and a beach. After about twenty minutes we went back to the boat and went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

friday may 13Th

 

 

 

in the morning we got up and went to go get donuts. After that we went swimming and the water was cold and even the showers were cold. After we were done we had lunch at the tents where we had the donuts. The we went to the park and made a bunch of friends. Then we went back to the boat and me my brother and one of the friends we made named cameron. After that we went back to the boat and met our cousins and then we played another card game. After that we watched pirates of the carribean. Then we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

saturday may 14Th

 

 

 

 

 

in the morning we had more donuts. Then we went to the park and played at the park for about a half hour. We went to thee swimming. Then we went back to the boat to get ready for dinner. After dinner we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

sunday may 15Th.

 

 

 

 

in the morning i went and got 5 donuts for the trip. Then we had breakfast. After breakfast we went to canada. When we got there only the captain was aloud to get off of the boat until he signed in. Then we went to the aquarium. Then we went back to the boat for a while and then went shopping and got shark boy and lava girl. When we got back we watched it. And then went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

monday may 16Th

 

 

In the morning we went through dodd narrows and saw two whales. And then we went to nanaimo. And then we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tuesday may 17Th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in the morning we cleaned up the boat and then we went to the park. After the park we went to the aquatic center for four hours. When we were done we had to walk four miles back to the boat. And then went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wednesday may 18Th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in the morning we headed to thunder bay. Once we were out of the harbor there was a bunch of waves. When we got to thunder bay us and are friends dropped anchor  but when they tried to pull it up again they had some problems so we headed to a harbor that you could tie up at. A little while after we got there we went to a small restaurant and the lady gave the babies free ice cream bars. After that we went back to the boat and we asked local for advice on crabbing because it was our first time crabbing. so he gave us some advice and told us that you can’t keep the girl crabs and partly how you know if it is a girl crab or not is if you pick it up by the behind it can pinch you with its pinchers i find being a male. And then we dropped our crab pot. Then we went back to the boat and went to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thursday may 19Th

 

 

 

 

in the morning we went to check our crab pot but all that was in it were a bunch of sea urchins. After that we headed out to squirrel cove. And this time the seas were nice. A while after we were on our way i read mystery book. When we got to squirrel cove we wen and got some ice cream at a little village. Then we went back to the boat and went to bed.

 

 

friday may 20Th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in the morning we had to go through yuculta and two other sets of rapids. To get to shoal bay. When we got there we hopped out on the docks and saw thousands of baby salmon. We went out on our dingy and caught about one hundred. When we came to the boat my dad went and dropped the crab pot. In a hour we checked it and there were two girls so we had to release them. Then we set them again. And before we went and checked it again some people showed us how to gut it and all and gave us one. Then we went and  checked it we had two females and two males. We released the girls and came back with the boys. We gutted it like they showed us and then we cooked them and ate them. and then went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

saturday may 21St

just the right time at world

 

 

 

 

 

 

when i woke up we were almost to rapids called green point and world pool we past at the right time at green point because there wasn’t any rapids but the book about the inside passage said that sometimes has a world pool three feet down and 60 to 70 feet wide stay away.

But at world pool we got some world pools and rapids. Are friends got pulled into twice and they weren’t moving at all. But we got safely to port neville. A little while after we got there we went to a museum and saw lots of old things. Then my dad and joshua went on a walk and started a fire. When they started the fire joshua came over to me and asked me if i wanted to come. So i said yes and spent about six minutes there and then we went back the to the boat to get some hot dogs marsh wallows and some weapons and then went back to the fire After about two hours we went back to the boat and went to sleep.

 

 

sunday may 22Nd

 

 

in the morning we went to lagoon cove. When we got there we went to something like a workout system but they were more like chores.

Then we went to some some swings and a rope swing.

then we went to a field where the chores workout system was and we met some new friends named jenika emily madison and we played in the field for about an hour and then jenikas sisters left but she stayed and went back to the boat with us and fished for a while and then went back up to the swings.

And played there for a while then we went back to the boat And watched sharkboy and lava girl. Then we went and had dinner.

Then we went to jenikas cabin and stayed there for a half an hour then we went back to the boat and went to sleep.

 

monday may 23Rd

 

 

 

 

 

when i woke up we were at alert bay and we went for a walk.

When we got back my mom had made friends with a boy named jacob.

We played for a while and then he had to leave and so did we.

In about ten minutes we left off to another bay.

When we got there we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

tuesday may 24Th

 

 

when i woke up we were almost crossing queen charlotte.

When we were crossing it everyone except me and daddy threw up.

And i took a little nap and i slept for two hours. About an hour after i woke up we were at fury bay.

When we went to shore we saw tons of clams.

After we spent an hour there we went back to the boat and we watched duma but we didn’t get to watch it all.

After that we went to another beach and we made a huge sand castle.

Then we went back to the boat and watched part of star wars a new hope.

And then we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

thursday may 26Th

 

 

when i woke up we had been driving for thirty minutes.

Twenty minutes after i woke up we were at another open crossing and we all got a little sea sick.

After the crossing we had another three hours before we reached klemtu.

When we got there we went to a store and bought some apples.

After that we went to a place where they dance and have a lot of carvings.

After that we went back to the boat and me and joshua went to the beach and i found a halibut hook.

When i found it i went back to the boat and i showed my mom and dad.

Then i fished for i while and my results were two star fish witch i had to put back and a greenling.

Then i went up to the fly deck and put catchup and mustard on our sandwaches.

While i was doing that my brother almost lost a wash cloth.

Then we had dinner. And went to bed.

 

 

friday may 27Th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

when i woke up we had been traveling for about an hour. An hour after i woke up we were at butedale.

We spent a few hours there and then we headed to bishop hot springs.

On the way we saw a bunch of porpoises and we got some good pictures of them and we could see them under the water it was so cool.

And we also saw a log and i called it the kraken.

And an hour after that we were at bishop springs.

 

When we got there me and my brother were already ready to get in but we had to wait a while for the babies to get ready and my mom and dad so i went fishing while we were waiting i didn’t catch anything but we did see some sun fish.

 

Then we were ready.

It was more like bishop warm springs than hot springs. But we had fun and there was also ropes to spring on wasn’t anything like what i imagined.

When we were done we went back to the boat and had water mellon and hot dogs for dinner yummmmmmmm. Then we met some new friends and they went to the hot springs and my brother wanted to go with them but my mom said no. And then we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

saturday may 28Th

 

i woke up to my dad saying you want to go to the hot springs again with me or stay here.

As soon as i heard hot springs i said yes and got ready in my wetsuit.

When we got there my dad had to go back and get one of the babies.

When he got back were ready for the baby.

And a little while later my mom brought the rest of the triplets.

When we were back at the boat we put a buoy up at the hot springs so that the sundog would be there forever. When my dad got back the pancake batter was ready to make into pancakes man were they good.

when we were done we started on our way to hartley bay.

On the way i carved a tree and i couldn’t wait to get my heat carving tools. When i was done i went back into the cabin and showed daddy and talked to him about the heat carving tools and he said that they were shaped like a pencil and man was i glad because i thought that they were shaped in different shapes.

And then i had to drive for a little while.

After i was done driving i went down to the babies and played for a while.

Then me and my brother went back up to the cabin. When my mom came back up she had a pepsi and when she opened it it spilled all over her.

Then she told a story about one of our friends that he was feeling all handsome and that a cute girl was looking at him and smiling at him and basicaly just bragging and then he opened a can of doctor pepper and it spilled all over him.

me and my brother thought that that was funny.

Then my brother had to drive for twenty minutes but he got to get off early because he faked a stomach ache.

Then i carved a little bit more on my tree. And drew a sun for me to carve when we got to hartley bay.

When we got there i explored the docks and saw thousands and thousands of baby salmon witch we call minnows.

After that we took a walk around town and after that we went over to a small store and bought ice cream.

When we got back to the boat we shared some with our friends and together we ate a half gallon. Then i carved out my sun and colored it out. Then i tried to catch some minnows but i didn’t  catch anything before dinner.

But dinner was really good we had halibut and rice and for dessert we had apple pie.

Then my dad drew out a land scape for me and i carved it all out except for the mountains.

After i was done i tried to catch a minnow but before i did we went to the park and met some new friends and played with them for about twenty minutes.

When we were done we went back to the boat and i tried to catch a minnow.

And i finally did.

Then we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sunday may 29Th

 

 

 

 

 

When i woke up we had been driving for about two hours.

About an hour after i woke up we saw some killer whales And we watched them for about twenty minutes. After they went away i went down to my bedroom and colored in my tree.

When i was done i went up to the main cabin and carved my mountains.

Then my dad added more and more on it and i carved it all out.

But when i was done he was taking a rest so he didn’t add anything else for a while. After he was done resting he drew some more out for me and i carved it out.

When i was done he drew some more waves for me and i carved it out.

After that he said i should put my name on it but i said i would wait until tomorrow when i had the heat carving tool. Then me and my brother watched star wars a new hope.

Then me and my brother went down and played with the babies.

When we got to kumelean cove i went fishing for an hour and i kept catching flounder and irish lords.

When i was done i carved for an hour and then me and my dad watched gracie and me and my brother watched part of bolt. Then i did another carving but this time all by my self.

After that me my dad and my brother went and checked out a lagoon that had a waterfall and we spent like an hour there.

When we got back we checked our crab pot and it had two crabs then we went back to the boat.

And watched horn blower the duel.

And after that we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

monday may 30Th

 

 

when i woke up me and my dad went out to pull the crabs and there was six crabs total.

When we got back to the boat we established that there was three boys and two girls that were under size so even if they were boys we couldn’t have kept them.

so we chopped up the boys and my job was to take out the gills.

When we were done chopping them up we left the cove and headed to prince rupert. Lin said it would take about six hours to get to prince rupert.

About five minutes after we left kumealon cove daddy made me drive for a while so that he could cook eggs and make toast. After we finished eating me and joshua watched bolt.

When we were done it was about twenty minutes before we got there.

On the way there we saw a crane lifting stuff into a ferry and we also saw a silo it was pretty cool.

When we got there we docked up and me my mom the triplets and my brother went on a walk to safeway. When we got there i said man i haven’t seen safeway in so long it feels like a year my mom thought that was pretty funny.

When we got there we didn’t buy nearly as much as i thought.

On the way out we met a lady who had twins and she saw the triplets she offered to carry the groceries but she said it might take a little while because she had to pick up her children.

I wasn’t so sure about but my mom said yes       so we loaded hundred dollars and more worth of grocery bags and groceries. After we finished loading the bags into the car we started walking back to the harbor masters office where she said she’d meet us. So when we got there we waited a little while and we wondered if it was such a good idea. But she finally showed up and her and her girls helped bring the groceries back to the boat and she offered to take me my brother and my dad swimming in an hour or to so we said yes. After that we went to a park with the girls and played there for an hour. Then we went back to the boat with the girls and we played there for the rest of the time.

Then we went to the swimming pool and played there for an hour and a half. When we were done the girls mom showed us around town and then took u back to our boat. And when we got there she said that she would take us to the swimming pool again tomorrow or take us to a beach that we could play and cook hot dogs on. Then she told us a story about an old house and then we went to the boat and went to bed.

 

 

 

 

tuesday may 31St

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in the morning we went to the park and played there for a while and then me and my dad went back to the boat but my mom stayed at the park with the triplets. When we got there my dad took a nap and i played on the computer. When i finished playing on the computer my mom my brother and the triplets were back and my brother had a bird that couldn’t fly. When they got back me and my brother played with the bird for a while and then my mom my brother and the triplets went to put the bird back and go back to the park but i stayed with my dad to go get my tool because i didn’t get it yesterday.

When they left instead of going to get a heat carving tool we washed the boat.

Then we saw a couple of police officers that checked out us and our friends. Then we met jordan kennedy and morgan the girls that helped bring the groceries down to the boat.

And they told us that there mom was here to pick us up to go swimming.

And we had a great time.

then there mom picked us up and took us to the store to buy some ice cream.

When we got it we went back to the boat and  ate the ice cream.

Then we played rat on the run.

And then i wanted to get a popsicle but it was all melted.

Then we played more rat on the run.

Then we said good bye to the girls. And then we went to bed.

wednesday june 1St

 

 

 

 

 

 

when i woke up my mom was sleeping and  the triplets and and my brother and my dad was gone at safeway doing some billing.

When he got back he brought back some cinnamon rolls and by the everyone was awake except my brother.

When we started up the engines we had the cinnamon rolls.

And after a while my brother woke up.

And he had a cinnamon roll to.

And then we headed off to a bay that was right before the dixon and on the way i took a three hour nap and my dad said tomorrow we would cross. the dixon.

When we got to the cove we had lunch. And then i went fishing for a while but i didn’t catch anything.

After that i played with the babies for a while all refreshed from my nap. And then we had some more lunch.Then i played with the babies for a while then we had dinner.

And after that we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thursday june 2Nd

 

 

 

 

i woke up to my dad pulling anchor at four a clock.

But i stayed down in my bed for an hour and played some iphone.

Then i went up to the steering area and layed down for a while and my mom went down to my bed and went to sleep and i rested for a while up stairs.

I rested for three hours and then woke up.

A few minutes after i woke up the babies did to.

So then i had to wake my mom up to watch the babies because my dad said to.

Then i drove for a little while while my dad made lunch.

After we had eaten my brother woke up.

Then me and hem played on the iphone for a while.

After a while my brother had to drive for a while.

After he was done my dad drove for a while and then i did shift for ten minutes.

By that time we were almost to ketchikan.

When i was done with my shift my mom made a call about something i didn’t understand.

Then i played some more iphone.

After i was done we docked up and then my dad had to clear customs. And then we took a walk around town and went to a place that showed a lot about things that live in alaska.

After that we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tuesday june 7th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

at seven i went with my dad to a coffee shop.

and then my dad asked me if i wanted to do my journalling and i realized that i hadn’t been doing it for five days. But what i really enjoyed doing a few days ago was that we met a few new friends and we ended up going to there house but it wasn’t an your ordinary house it was on the water and it had logs under it to support it.

And the way you got on was it had a little log and you pulled yourself across on a log.

And they had tone oh perch on there porch. And after we were done fishing i got to drive a boat out of where they lived and it had a sixty horse powered motor and it wasn’t a very big boat and we also saw some whales.

After i finished typing we went to a store and i bought some hooks at a store.after went to see the petroglyphs.

After that we went back to the boat and my mom my brother and the triplets went to a park but i stayed with my dad.

When they got back my mom told me that a russian girl had invited them over to have cupcakes.

When we were done we went back to the boat and went to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

wednesday june 8th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in the morning me and my dad went out fishing for haring and we caught thirty of them.

After that we went swimming.

then we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thursday june 9th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

when i woke up i had breakfast and fished next to our boat and i caught a rock fish.

And i lost a hook to.

After that i went out to the end of the docks and caught ten haring and a few other people that i was fishing next to filled a whole five gallon bucket full of fish.

After that we met a new kid and his name was elliot and we played a game of monopoly.and then we went swimming.

after that i fished a little more and then i went to see if my friend could play poker but he said he couldn’t cause they would be having dinner for a while.

So i went back to our boat and we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

saturday june 11th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i woke up at six and convinced my brother to go back to sleep. After that i went upstairs just in time to see us leave the bay.

What i really enjoyed doing yesterday was going halibut fishing even though we didn’t catch anything.

A little bit before we got to the place we were going to my dad saw a whale fluke and we all saw a really big waterfall.

An hour after that we were at the bay we were going to spend the night at my mom and joshua went to check out the hot springs but i stayed with my dad.

When they came back my brother had two frogs so we put them in a bowl for a while and then me my mom and my brother went to the hot springs and and returned the frogs.

When we were done me and my brother went to a place where they had some tubs and we enjoyed the tubs for an hour.

After we were done we went back to the boat and my mom and dad went up to the tubs with the babies and stayed there for an hour to.

When they we done they came back to the boat with the babies.

A while after they got back we went over to another boat that my dad said did carvings.

So we went to the boat and he did masks.

So we spent a while at his boat and when we left we went back to the boat but before we left he gave me a new carving tool.

When we got back to our boat i used the new carving tool to smooth out one of my carvings.

After i was done my brother wanted to get one so he went back to the boat to ask for one but he didn’t give my brother anything i wished he did but he didn’t.

After that we went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

sunday june 12th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i slept until it was ten and when i got up i had breakfast and then my dad said it was only a couple of hours until we got to the place we were going.

After that i went down to my bedroom to listen to music.

Then i played some iphone.

After i was done playing on my iphone my mom spotted some dall porpoises.

I watched them for a while and then i got my camera and took two videos when i was done i went back down to my bedroom and played some more iphone.

WHen i was done playing iphone we were at the place that we needed to get to.

After we got anchored me and my dad put new line on all of the fishing poles to get ready for catching salmon in sitka tomorrow.

After that we had dinner and after that me my dad and my brother went on a walk.

When we got back i played a little bit more iphone and said if our friends didn’t have brownies soon we would cut the ropes.

But they made them just in time.

And man were they good.

After we had finished them we watched the next karate kid.

After that my mom and my brother went to bed but me and my dad stayed up a little bit longer and watched ice age three.

After that we went to bed.

 

 

 

monday june 13th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

me and my dad slept in for a long time.

After we were done sleeping in we headed to sitka.

On the way me and my brother played iphone and watched the karate kid.

And we also saw a sea lion.

After that my brother played some more iphone and i watched him play it a little bit.

After my brother finished we were in sitka and docked up. After that we checked out town for the rest of the day and we went to the park.

After we were done at the park we went back to the boat and went to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tuesday june 14th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in the morning i had breakfast and after we had finished eating breafast we me and my dad went outside in the pouring rain in the dingy to catch a few fish we got soaked and we didn’t catch anything.

After that me and my dad went to Mcdonald’s to have lunch and so that my dad could get some work done and so that i could play on the computer and do my journalling.

When we were finished at Mcdonald’s we went back to the boat pick my brother up and take him to kung foo panda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thursday june 16th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in the morning my mom took us to Mcdonald’s to eat breakfast.

After we were done eating she took us to the park for a while.

And after we had finished at the park we went to a place like value village.

After we were done there we went back to the boat and our grandma was there.

After a little while my dad took me and my brother out fishing in the little boat.

We were out there for about an hour  and my dad had already caught something and he said it looks like i will have caught the only fish and right as he said that i had a fish.

I was bringing it up and i thought it was a rockfish and when i got it up to the surface my dad said it was a king and a few seconds after he said that it zoomed away with my hook still in its mouth and it stripped me of line and a good bit of it to.

And to land it we didn’t have any net or stick  so we had to take the oars off of the dingy and use them to whack it.

And we finally got it up to the surface and got it in the boat and it was the first king of the year caught by our family and we were all suprised because it was a little early for them to be coming out.

So that night we cooked it up for dinner and we invited some of our friends to.

And after dinner we played some poker.

And then we to bed.

 

 

friday june 17th

 

 

 

 

 

 

My dad woke me up in the morning to go to Mcdonald’s

with him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Inside Passage Spots

Bubba Hut 2

October 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Bubba Hut

http://gallery.me.com/sundogjoe#100847

Those of you who saw the last several years of my 22′ C-dory boat saw my $40 dollars worth of materials and 1 afternoon build of what I called the bubba hut out of wood and tarp that covered the whole back of my boat. In fact – here is a picture of the bubba hut 1 – http://gallery.me.com/sundogjoe/100325/IMG_5120/web.jpg?ver=12999614040001 – I loved that hut and amazingly got several great seasons of use out of it without the wind blowing it off while towing it down the highway.

So, as I was boating up the inside passage, my mind kept wandering off to Bubba Hut 2 and how nice it would be if the aft portion of this boat was covered with a nice roof. Heck, maybe it if was strong enough I could throw dingies and shrimp pots up top…, and maybe even tents or a good diving board – Yeehaw – I really need someone to hold me back sometimes.

I considered tackling this in wood but one day at West Marine I stumbled onto a business card of a welder, Mr. Jason Neyman and contracted him to build the roof. He came down with his family and we pulled measurements. Several weeks later Bubba Hut 2 was done beginning this last Saturday’s adventure. Here’s Jason’s email if you need a great welder – jsneyman@hotmail.com

Well, as usual with me, the project grew some and by the time I added hand rails and extended the roof to extend over the swim step. So let’s just say this was not something to be lifted by a couple people! You can see by the pictures I had a lot of help from some great friends to get this roof into position. A hearty thank all those who helped! It means a lot to us and I truly could not have done it with out you.

So after the brawn part was done, we had the roof sitting on 2/4′s and the process of welding the vertical supports and tying in the roof to the top of the cabin began. It was a very long day, working with the tide moving the boat and truck so that we have enough power to run the welder and tools. We were blessed with good weather and just after the boat was back in it’s birth, we were hit with a nasty small craft advisory.  The weather and the snow came in sideways!

We still have some cross bracing to do to stiffen up the roof but I am very excited about the project. It changed the boat’s lines and, in some ways, detracts from the Grand Banks Classic lines.  However, with 5 boys and lots of rain and northern weather, I am forced to lean more on utility and comfort than a classic line. To tie the design into the boat better I am going to paint the outer trim piece the almond white to match the boat and we intend to canvas in the entire back-end. The finishing touch will be adding a small ceramic wood stove for a warm dry space to dry clothes and have a wonderful place to hang out, fish and enjoy family and friends.

I finished out this trip with a nice ‘fix-it’ ticket from a state trooper on the way home – but, well, that’s another story. :)

Again, thanks to all those who helped – I look forward to sharing time on the water together with you.

Cheers from the Sundog Crew

Filed Under: Prince William Sound

ADAK ALASKA ADVENTURE

October 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

ADAK ALASKA ADVENTURE

http://gallery.me.com/sundogjoe#100834

When I learned that you could take a round trip from Anchorage to Adak for 15,000 air miles, have inexpensive lodging and truck rental and a high probability to shoot some caribou from the road system I knew that it was something we had to do. Somehow what was brewing into a guy’s hunt turned into a Family Adventure and before I knew it I was on a plane with the whole family and our Alaska “Granny” bringing enough food and tubs to cook for the entire village of Adak. The other camo clad hunters on the plane looked a little perplexed at the sight of triplet infants on board and I could see that everyone was excited as I was with all the extra seats aboard to allow folks to settle in quieter parts of the plane. Well, why not?  According to our host, it was the first time in the history of Adak that triplets have been on the island.  Well we couldn’t pass up an opportunity like making history, and in fact, maybe that will be our next set of adventures…. finding unique places that triplets have not been. What do you think, triplet 2 year olds summit Denali, Triplets make the North Pole and well you get the idea… and now back to reality.

Coming down through the clouds and wind unveiled an amazing landscape that has the feel of recently erupting from the volcanoes below the sea and is equally rugged as it is beautiful. After we scrambled out of the plane into the airport it was clear we were not in Kansas any longer and in fact this island is one of the more bizzare locations I have ever explored. In fact it turns out the group that filmed the blair witch project will be coming to Adak in the spring to film a zombie film around the old abandoned military bases that are all around the island. We were met by Cynthia Galaktionoff from http://adaklodges.com/ and quickly loaded the family up for the short truck drive to the fourplex where we would be staying until the flight out come Sunday. The neighborhoods are all old military housing and every house looks pretty much the same with only a few of the fourplexes occupied making for a strange abandoned leave it to beaver looking neighborhood or maybe more an apocalyptic movie like a scene out of the movie mad max. The strangeness of the atmosphere is more than made up by the friendly people of Adak and the rugged beauty of the surroundings and I was excited to jump in the truck and start exploring.

At its peak, the station housed over 6,000 naval and Coast Guard personnel and their families. In 1994, the base was downsized, and both family housing and schools were closed. According to Cynthia their are only 150 folks living in town now and about 18 children are at the huge school that is also the clinic, city hall and even a church – how is that for separation of church and state – I love it:) You can learn more about Adak at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adak,_Alaska and you might even consider moving out as we were told you could bid on and purchase one of the 4plexes for around $15,000 which is likely the lowest you can buy multi family dwelling for in the united states and the quality of the construction is actually quite good. I tried to explain to Granny Linda that we were moving out and that this was where she would be spending her final days and she would have none of it, something about not being close enough to Costco – but for me – well it is an intriguing idea but I think I might just settle for a yearly visit to chase the caribou.

Well you might be wondering if we actually shot some caribou and I have to admit that in this area we were unsuccessful as the 3,000 plus caribou that live on the island were still more on the south side and don’t move across the road system until the snow drives them down a little further. If we had wanted to we could have walked up into the area about 3 miles and taken one but since we have a fair supply of bear, deer and moose this year we decided we would just explore the road systems and see if we could stumble onto a less intelligent wandering boo. Our neighbors actually had a caribou run across the gun range where they were sighting in their rifles and things did not end well for the caribou so I believe they found the one we were looking for.

I would have liked to have seen Adak back in it’s heyday when the school was full of children and all the buildings were buzzing with life, what an amazing contrast that must have been to the now wind blown and rusty buildings that used to be so filled with life and stories. I am not sure what the future holds for Adak but from the people I sense pride, a wonderful history and an expectation for future commerce including opening a crab fisheries plant, selling water overseas and many other new dreams and ideas that come from the wonderful people of Adak. I know one thing for sure, our family will be back to spend time on this isolated island to learn more about the people the history and to bring home some the islands caribou.

Here are some photos of the trip – until the next adventure cheers from the Sundog Crew!

http://gallery.me.com/sundogjoe#100834

Filed Under: Across Alaska

Green Island Deer Hunt

October 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Green Island Deer Hunt

Just back from a great fall hunt out in PWS on the Sundog.

We had been planning on going out to Green Island to chase some deer around on the 1st of Oct. when Doe season opened up but 9′ seas kept us from it so when we had an opening this last weekend we jumped on it and just got back today from our adventure. It ended up turning a little nasty weather wise coming home yesterday and today but we made it home without to many dents in the boat.

The biggest highlight for me was being with Caleb as he took his first deer, and then his second and then his third all in a matter of minutes and he was calm cool and shot well. What can I say, it makes a Father proud. We ended up with 4 deer total and had a wonderful time exploring, eating like kings and generally enjoying our floating deer camp on the Sundog.

I hope you enjoy some of the photos and thanks to Larry and Charles for a great trip!!!

http://gallery.me.com/sundogjoe#100831

Joe

Filed Under: Prince William Sound

Last Family Trip 2011

September 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Blueberry Pecan Pancakes

Hello All,

Just back yesterday from a wonderful trip out to Bettles and Granite Bay.

Photos: http://gallery.me.com/sundogjoe#100824

Highlights:

• Nice weather – flat calm seas until the last day

• Fixed my deck lights and anchor light – thanks for the help Charles – we even stepped the mast again with a coin – after all one must try and adhere to traditions.

• Blueberry Pecan Pancakes and sausage – does it get any better than that, especially with Bettles glacier as the backdrop.

• Caleb caught a wolf eel at about 20 feet of water in Granite Bay – quite the surprise and great to eat.

• Pretty good pile of fresh shrimp for my birthday feed.

Well this was the last family trip of the year and this summer with the trip up from Washington has definitely been one for the books for us. It was with some sadness that we pulled a lot of the gear from the boat as we start to prep it to be up on blocks for the winter. I am planning on getting one more trip out to chase some deer around with some guys and that will likely be the last trip of 2011.

Cheers from the Sundog Crew

Joe, Cathy, Caleb, Joshua, Daniel, Gabriel & Josiah

Filed Under: Prince William Sound

Hard Top Idea

September 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Hoping to build something like this so that we can be dry and toasty on the back deck and have room for a dance up top.

 

 

 

handrails

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Gulf Crossing Map

July 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Gulf Crossing Map

We had no print maps for the gulf crossing, counting on digital maps but we did have this one map that we got while we were in Yakutat and we kept it at the helm just to make sure that we did not end up in Japan.

Cheers,

 

Joe

Filed Under: Inside Passage Trip

Dipnetting Nirvana

July 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As I type this email the skin from one finger is rolled down like a sock from being caught in the gill net trying to get a salmon out – isn’t it great!!
We are back and cleaning up after what is truly an Alaskan experience and one that will give everyone involved wonderful memories for a life time and freezers, smokers and jars full with the bounty.  This year has been a record setting for numbers of sockeye coming into the Kenai River and with a little bit of effort we managed to be on the water amongst the other couple hundred boats when a huge slug came pouring in making it so we could not even walk around in the boat without having to slide your feet through a pile of fish – hooorahhh!
Anyway – just wanted to share some photos from the harvest.  http://gallery.me.com/sundogjoe#100810
Blessing from the Law’s
Filed Under: Uncategorized

Ziegler Cove & Coxe Glacier

July 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

http://gallery.me.com/sundogjoe#100807

Had a wonderful trip out in Ziegler Cove and then onto Barry Arm to dance around with the ice bergs and calving glaciers.  The glaciers were not very active but it was great to hang out amongst the majesty and share the experience with friends and family.

Cheers from the Sundog Crew

Joe

Filed Under: Prince William Sound

Gulf Crossing Story

June 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Calm Gulf Waters

Photos: http://gallery.me.com/sundogjoe#100791

Today felt like slowly crossing the finish line of a long and beautiful race. As we motor along on flat glossy seas and the familiar mountains that scream out – you are home “Sundog”, I feel indescribable joy. Years of memories in our C-Dory flood my mind and I can close my eyes and remember so many joyful experiences exploring these waters that I love so much.There  is also a huge release of tension and worry now that we have the gulf crossing behind the stern. I am only a few days from home and family and look forward to the time of sharing the joy of a safe crossing with good men.

As we pressed across into Hitchenbrook entrance after a 30 plus hour run from Icy Bay I chatted with a tug boat pulling a huge barge and across the radio came the familiar voice of Charles McMourough from the “Margeret Ann.” Amazingly, Charles and a friend of his were right where we were planning on pulling over at to try and fix our port motor that had stopped working at 2:30 in the morning; 60 plus miles out in the gulf. But that story comes later. Ahhh the great feeling to not only be home but to have friends to raft up to and help with our mechanical issue plus to share some fellowship and lunch. As I write this we are following them to one of our favorite bays for our last evening at anchor on this 2 plus month adventure before we slide into our slip in Whittier and breath a sigh of contentment – but wait – let me not jump to the end without sharing more about the crossing from where I posted last in Sitka.

Here goes, I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as we enjoyed living it.  You have the advantage of no sea sickness and no 4 dollar per gallon diesel to pay.

North From Sitka

 

 

Day 1 – Sitka to Double Cove
Sunday, June 19th

Cathy and the crew were off on the plane and I was antsy to follow them so as soon as the taxi drove away we were fired up and on our way. It was a nice 3 hour drive north to Salisbury and the open gulf. We were all excited as we talked about the trip and I worked to familiarize everyone with the systems so that we could share the work. In hind sight, it was a bit of a rough day for my crew ~ they did not have the benefit of 2 months getting sea legs and building a comfort level for what the boat was capable off. Once out in the Sound, the sea grew to a taller but far apart 5 feet and we worked north on the outside of Chicagof making for some pretty good side to side movement.  It did not take long before the crew was looking pretty green and I was feeling it as well. We pushed hard up until dark and it was exciting working around the jagged coast line into the dark with sea swells smashing onto the rocks adding to the intensity. We rode the sea swell into Double Cove behind a small island and the contrast of flat calm was very much appreciated by my crew.

 

Alaskan Harvest

 

 

Day 2 – Double Cove to Elfin Cove
Monday, June 20th

Out of Double Cove we decided to take advantage of the White Sulphur Hot Springs and nosed into Mirror Bay. That was one of the more exhilarating passages of the trip with big sea swells, leading in through thick sea kelp littered with rocks and then once in a labyrinth of rocks and shallows to work through to get to a safe anchor within walking distance of the hot springs. It was so shallow that I needed a bow watch and we used the boat pole to test depths as we went with it getting as shallow as 6 feet under our hull.  The entry required lots of turns and twists to make it in. Moral of the story is don’t go into Mirror Bay at low tide with a deeper draft boat.  However, it was worth the challenge once we made it to the springs. On route we enjoyed a really cool adult size swing going high into the air allowing you to almost kick the limbs.  It did not take long for all of us to be acting like little kids and under-dogging each of us as high as we dared. The hot spring was awesome with a view of the open gulf. We had to jump in the ocean once to savor the contrast of sea water and hot springs. Other than stumbling onto a clothing challenged bather, the trip in to the springs was well worth the effort.

After taking a little rest at the boat and waiting for some water to fill up the route out, we repeated the slalom course through the rocks out back into the open sea working through Ogden Passage and then Lisianski Strait over to Elfin Cove. My new “shipmate”,  Mike Phelps, had a good friend just outside of Elfin Cove on his large boat the Alaskan Harvester and we were invited aboard for a tour and a luxurious dinner put on by Jay the chef. I joked that it might be hard to get my crew back on board the Sundog after experiencing the 5 star accommodations of Bruce’s boat. Bruce and Jay – big hearty thanks for the tour and the wonderful dinner.

We continued to Elfin cove and tied up at the Gas dock adjacent to the no overnight moorage sign where we spent the night and explored the town. Elfin Cove was very quaint and I would have liked to spent a couple of days when the town was not asleep.

 

Working Up The Coast

 

 

Day 3 – Elfin Cove To Yakutat
Tuesday, June 21st

Coming out into Cross Sound and around Cape Spencer my spirits soared with the ruggedness of the area and the gentle seas that greeted us. The extended forecast was very good and with good cell coverage I made a round of calls to let everyone know we were headed out into the big blue. It could have just as easily been Baja as the day progressed and I did not prior have a real perspective of how large the area is. Land on our Starboard and off to the port Hawaii about 2,400 miles away and Japan a little farther at 3,500 or so. Driving slowly along for hours you are alone with your thoughts and without a remote control, or “Iron Mike” as the commercial guys call them, it requires your attention and you settle into a peaceful groove giving your mind time to reflect and to pray and to slow down life taking in the majesty of the moment. My crew pretty much had their sea legs now and I was thankful we did not have any sea sickness to deal with. I am very thankful for these guys and though we were blessed with good seas it did not escape me that with this much open water that they had signed on knowing that much of the way could have been a fight and more an exercise in endurance than enjoyment. I really admire the folks who make their living on the water. This last few months have allowed me to be among them and to be part of that fellowship in a small way. Amazingly on our Gulf crossing we only saw 3 boats the entire way and only one small boat so it felt like we had the entire ocean to ourselves and Larry asked if they knew something we did not and it did make you wonder.

Lituya Bay

Up the entire inside passage as I shared our plans many people would say – be sure and stay away from “Lituya Bay” I have seen waves build up the size of pyramids, people die there all the time, it is very dangerous!. I am not making light of their warning but I realized that if the weather was right I had to go into the bay. It is sort of like a big bully on the block you don’t want to be afraid of and as we came along all looked good and I flew in on the flood with the water boiling under me and surfing waves off my port side. I took a moment to go “Neener neener to the big bully,” then tucked my tail, ran out to deeper water and kept on motoring to Yakutat.

Yakutat

We did not reach Yakutat until 3 in the morning and the seas built to a reasonable 3-4 feet and steep with the wind on top. We were nosing into them for hours on end with the spray hitting our window. It settled down some near evening and on our port side the mountains all of a sudden came alive with a giant red/orange moon rising above the mountains. What a great way to spend summer solstice, slogging our way into Yakutat. It felt so good to tie up at the dock and slump into a hard sleep wakening to a friendly visit from Teresa Hunt who took the time out to show us the town and feed us the best spaghetti dinner I have had in a long time.

Icy Bay

Day 4 – Yakutat to Icy Bay
Wednesday, June 22

We spent a leisurely day in Yakutat with Teresa exploring and were off by 1:00 so that we could make it to Icy Bay before dark, about 10 hours away. The seas were nice and again the wind was right into our faces with the AK flag flying right at us all day long with 15kt winds. We slowly closed in on Mount Saint Elias and it is hard to express the majesty of the second highest mountain in North America, seeming to shoot straight out from the edge of the ocean. As we came around the corner we thought we saw another whale ~ we had seen them throughout the day and even almost ran into one it was so lazy on the surface ~ but this one did not move.  It turned out to be a dead whale floating along. We motored up close to inspect and it was interesting to look at the decaying mass floating along the surface and we had to wonder what caused it’s death. Larry wanted to cut off a flipper and strap it onto the aft deck. There was some talk of climbing aboard and cutting off some muktuk but with the evening upon us we turned the corner into Icy Bay, worked our way into some shelter and set anchor. The sky was clear and the sunset was to die for. We were the only ones that we could see it; what a glorious anchorage with a backdrop hard to capture with photos or words. We all wanted to head back deeper into the bay as we hear the seals were pupping and the orcas were on the hunt but like many things we added to the bucket list along the way we had to table it for rest and the continuation of the Gulf Crossing. I let out a lot of scope and set the hook hard so that we could sleep well as if the wind switched direction we could have had a beating even in the bay as it was so wide with limited shelter. Sitting on the flybridge in the calm of the bay you could hear the light roar of the surf working the outside of the bay and it made you appreciate a break from the open gulf travel even more.

Kayak Island

Day 5 – Icy Bay to Prince William Sound
Thursday, June 23 – Friday, June 24 – 30 plus hour run

This was to be our biggest run yet and also our most challenging. If the weather was good and we could find an anchorage our plan was to sneak behind Kayak Island and anchor up to explore the exposed part of the island looking for glass balls – we really wanted some of these treasures for our collection. However once we were behind Kayak we realized it was not practical and for sure, this would not work for an overnight anchorage so we continued to work through the shallow water behind the island hoping to get a bit of shortcut towards Prince William Sound entrance at Hitchinbrook. Our plans were dashed once we were in 6 feet of water and poking around with the boat pole trying to find the channel that our maps were inaccurately showing.  So after several hours of trying, we decided to back track out and around Kayak Island. This cost us quite a few hours and it was 20 miles to the outside of Kayak Island and we approach it near dark with 60 plus miles ahead of us once we rounded the corner.

The Northwest end of Knight island looked like something out of the Pirates of the Caribbean or a medieval movie with a massive rock mound and a smaller sharper rock that was missing a castle with a princess who had been trapped and awaiting us intrepid explorers to save her! O.k. – I had been away from Cathy for a while. :-) The seas and clouds cooperated greatly with the ominousness of the surrounding and Brandon quietly said, “so what are the odds of dying on this trip?” He mentioned he just wanted to know and really did have some serious living yet to do. We gave it pretty low odds after some merry discussion but we did keep our survival suits a little closer just in case.

Once around the corner with a straight 60ish mile run to the entrance we decided to run in 1 hour shifts. Larry was up first and I went down for some rest. Once I woke, I stumbled to the helm where Larry had the compass light working with its red glow, bouncing around with the seas as we worked along. It was just barely light enough to see approaching logs and our progress along the chart plotter was pretty minimal with a good 8 hours yet ahead of us and several hours until better day light. A half hour into my shift, 2:30am, the port motor monitor shot to the top of the RPM’s and then the motor went quiet. My first thought was to call up the guys to help figure it out but directly after the motor died I was surrounded by a group of Dall Porpoise putting on a show and distracting me from the stress of the motor loss so I relaxed and decided to wait to worry the guys. As I watched the porpoise, I had a surreal sense of peace and truly felt like, “you know what – God is in this trip and behind these men. I just need to enjoy the moment and work the problem.” Since the seas were fairly sloppy I decided we would run in on the starboard motor now going 5kts instead. It would add some hours but trying to diagnose the motor in the swell did not excite us and we settled into the slower and quieter run working 1 hours shifts.

Finally we had the entrance in sight and started seeing fishing boats and traffic for the first time in days. I was truly excited to be near home. Prince William Sound is truly home for our family and having the new to us “Sundog” almost into these home waters was exhilarating; even after 30 hours straight working toward the goal. I raised a tug boat to make sure I was not in his way, more to talk with someone not on our boat than really a concern to know. :-) Returning to channel 16 we were raised by Charles from the “Margaret Anne” and amazingly he was anchored up on the point of Ziakof Bay, Montague where we intended to Anchor up and fix our motor. Wow, what a blessing to hear a familiar voice and to raft up and work through the motor problem together; not to mention having the option of another boat if needed. I really felt like this was a gift from God and a great “welcome home”. We swapped out the primary fuel filter and decided to bleed the system. After clearing one injector the motor fired right up and we were back in business. Larry and Brandon took the opportunity to explore the exposed side of Montague for shore treasure and we enjoyed lunch and fellowship and just the joy of being in sheltered and home waters. As we were preparing for departure a Orca family, bull, cow and calf, surfaced right off our boats adding to the fun of the moment.

Off To Daycare Bay

Our goal was to be home Saturday afternoon so we needed to press on and continue another 6 hours or so to the backside of Perry Island to one of my favorite anchorages ~ DayCare Bay. We actually didn’t know the name of the bay the first year because it was not in the Lethcoe guide book so we laughed after using it a bunch of times with our new born triplets when we found out that it was named DayCare Bay- how appropriate! With the energy of being so close to home and good weather we (o.k. I) hatched the plan to don our survival suits for a dip in the water. It was not long before we were doing jumps and dives off the fly bridge and working out synchronized swimming in the bay. This was a nice stress reliever and good practice (Cathy pointed out) that we should have done before the Gulf crossing. But, better late then never!

Day 6- Home to Whittier
Saturday, June 25th

Waterfall By Whittier

It was a peaceful run to whittier with our usual stop over at the big waterfall across from town. I found myself just wanting to stay there and hesitant to end the journey – all kinds of emotions flooded my mind and heart ~ Joy, excitement, sadness, majesty, wonder and just a thankfulness to have shared this trip with great men, not to mention to have brought the whole family safely from Anacortes up a thousand miles of ocean to Sitka. We were blessed and the weather was exceptional the whole way. I know that it could have been a much scarier and dangerous trip, but that was part of the draw of the adventure to press into some unknown and live in a full way. Charles, while anchored at Ziakof said, “Sometimes you just have to go do it. Heck so many people dream and talk about things and then they all of a sudden find themselves old or dead and missed the moment.” He has a way with words and is a fine storyteller but to quote one of my favorite quotes “All men die but not all men truly live.”

We were truly home today. Back at church – Immanuel Baptist Church – and my close friend Pastor Al gave the message on David and Jonathan and how they were cut from the same cloth and were also adventurous and trusted the Lord for victory against great odds. He also talked about Saul who he described as a man of comfort who just waited around for others to deal with things and to take the action. There were wonderful parallels in my mind with the trip. And, as I enjoy the memories of the adventure with my family and friends I hope that I can take some of the same boldness into all areas of my life.

Well, I just want to close with a huge thanks for all the prayers that have gone out for us on this 2 and half month adventure and just say that we really felt it all the way. I hoped that you have enjoyed the photos and the posts that I really tried to share from my heart and in a way that someone else planning an adventure with their family might be inspired knowing that someone with my limited experience was able to complete this journey.

Thanks also for all the friends that supported us in so many ways and my team members at work who held up my part of the work while I was gone.

Blessings from the Sundog Crew

“Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” – Joshua 1:9 Bible

 


Filed Under: Inside Passage Trip