And Willie Said: Point Moses is Three Days Away from Sitka! -- 7/10/2015

What a difference a day makes!

Were we tired? Or did our subconscious remember we don’t have to leave Red Bluff Bay until noon for an advantage with the currents. We sleep in until 6A, when we wake to the sounds of softly falling rain on the roof of the boat. I volunteer for coffee duty, but a few minutes later I tell Herb the bad news – we are out of propane. Now it is his turn to volunteer, so he goes out on the swim platform to switch to the spare propane bottle. He comes in to tell me the bad news – it is empty!

So when we had our spare refilled the last time and were told it was full, it wasn’t?

What to do? With not a sound coming from our rafting boat, Herb quietly slips over to borrow Ray's spare. Oh, No! It is empty, so apparently Ray recently switched bottles. Bad news again!

Never fear, at a respectable time of the morning, he starts the generator for the electric coffee maker and microwave for breakfast. Being coffee deprived is not such a terrible thing – I can be patient.

The rain is falling steadily and dimpling the water around our boats, and the fog drifts into the head of the inlet over the drying flat and the C-Dorys. Herb gets a nice photo for the C-Brats blog.

Jay, Jolee, Dixie and Brent

Awww, Ray brings fresh baked hot orange flavored rolls to share for our breakfast. How thoughtful! Historically, we have told our friends what a nice guy he is, and this is just one more example. If anyone is reading this, please don’t tell him we think he is so terrific.

The fog lifts to join the clouds above and the sky is clearer down in our glacier carved valley, allowing a view of our surroundings this morning.

Crows watch us.

Many different species of trees are on the rock wall.

Herb brings in the crab traps, and when I see him rowing back, he tells me he has one keeper (measuring off the scale) in his trap and dumps him in the bucket for Ray to cook.

Just as he finishes his outside activities, the rain stops!

We release the lines from the rafting to Nudibranch at 2P and begin our cruise to Point Moses in Hanas Bay, Baranof Island, in thin fog, light rain and winds, taking a look at the cannery ruins as we go out of the bay.

How silent we are as we look ahead, and Herb comments at how insignificant we seem on this large body of water. There are frequent swells of one foot or less a bit south of Cascade Bay, with Baranof Island on our port side and Admiralty Island – a National Monument -- on our starboard.

Nudibranch cruises past a waterfall south of Cascade Bay.

Ahead is a mostly monochromatic scene with total overcast, low lying fog here and there, a very large expanse of water, dull grayish forests lining the shores and only one motor vessel in sight, I suggest we play “I Spy.” Herb laughs. It is a relaxing and peaceful ride.

Fog recedes from the water, retreating into the land’s valleys. Seas are still fairly calm with chop less than one foot. There is a nice waterfall just north of Baranof Warm Springs, but I give my camera a rest.

Sun breaks through the clouds at 5:30P, but thick fog closes in behind us. There is a possibility of clearing ahead and a good thing, because our ETA for Point Moses is 9P, after delaying our start to take advantage of the push from current.

Seas change with wind waves of two feet or less, building to widely spaced swells two to three feet, while the sun works hard to burn the moisture of the fog away. At 7P it is still very high in the sky. Now and then we see other boats – Western Navigator towing a barge to Bernes Bay AK, two small fast boats, and a kayak making way to its boat at Point Thatcher.

Here is our turn to the west for Hanas bay and Point Moses. Scanning for other vessels, I see a capsized ship on its side, a fishing boat #12114 with tender. We go south of Traders Islands into Peril Strait, seeing clouds and fog toward our destination. Two miles out the wind picks up to 20 knots, but there is only a short fetch here, so the chop is short lived. It is misting rain, but we are glad to be at the end of today’s journey with enough daylight to anchor. Only one other boat is here, Peacemaker.

Ray brings Lilly, his grill, chicken shish kabobs, rice and peanut sauce and we have a feast. Who needs propane? With fresh grapes and cherries for dessert, we talk and laugh until midnight, also discussing where we should go tomorrow.