May/June 2011 Alaska Cruise Notes

We uploaded our boat off the Dockwise transport ship in Nanaimo B.C. on May 28th. This was an uneventful evolution. We stayed in Nanaimo for a couple days as we needed to put refrigerator type foods on the boat since we were not able to run our refrigeration as we were transported from Mexico to here. We actually arrived a couple days before the boat so we had time to "tour" around Nanaimo, mainly riding the bus system. When we left Nanaimo we decided to make the 581 mile trip as quickly as possible as we want to maximize our time in Alaska, and in particular in Ketchikan. Since our usual speed is about 9 knots you can understand this takes a number of hours to make this trip. Consequently it was not uncommon to have 10-12 hour runs. Longer than we usually do. We were about 150 miles from Ketchikan when we got into a pretty bad wind storm. The winds we up to 40 knots and we were taking spray over the top of the boat when we ducked out into an anchorage for a couple days waiting for the wind to die down. Our arrival into Ketchikan was on June 9th. We had a few mechanical problems that I fixed when we got to Ketchikan. First we had air in one of the diesel fuel lines, then our electric compass went out so I replaced that and finally fixed the UV light function of our fresh water filtration system. We have tanks that hold our fresh water, and when we draw from those tanks we have two filters plus the UV light. The light sterilizes the water and kills and "bugs" that might be in the tanks. There are probably none there, but it is a just in case thing.

While in Ketchikan now on June 25th, we have had a GREAT time. Chuck has enjoyed fishing with other guys who live here and have been kind enough to not only take him fishing on their own boats, but also to teach him the techniques and tricks to be a successful fisherman. We have really enjoyed getting to know everyone much better here at the yacht club. There is a great group of people here.

We are leaving here on the 26th and our next posting will be from Sitka so we will update you on those travels at that time. Here is a recap of the trip from Nanaimo to Ketchikan

MILES                                          581
ENGINE HOURS                           67
AVERAGE SPEED                      8.67 KNOTS
GALLONS OF DIESEL               432
M.P.G.                                           1.34
COST OF DIESEL                        $1,894
$ PER GALLON                           $4.38

Check out the pictures in the next section.

Chuck and Margaret Herr