Hummer Bay to Whittier
/A beautiful calm morning greeted us in Hummer Bay. Happy Father’s Day!
There was much debate onboard OceanFlyer as to whether we would follow the fleet into Whittier or find another anchorage. Everything Karen had read about Whittier was that it earns its nickname “Shi**ier”.
But I wanted some time on land and the option to add fuel. So off we went.
Passage Canal, the approach to Whittier, is quite long. We saw a few porpoise, and had a decent day-weather-wise. As we made our way down Passage Canal to Whittier, the high speed ferry Chenega announced their intention to pass and zoomed past us at better then 20 knots.
The high speed ferry, Chenga slips past the fleet at over 20 knots
Approaching Whitter
Rounding the breakwater into the harbor at Whitter
We did run into the problem of finding space on the docks. All three boats sat outside the harbor as Deception launched its dinghy, sending crew to enter the harbor and scope out the possibility of finding space. I named the shore party of Rich and Rowen our docking “Seal Team”.
After about 20 minutes they called in Deception, followed by us and Patos. We ended up rafting three abreast on the outside of Bravo dock.
Three abreast on Bravo dock
Whittier is a working harbor. We didn’t see many transient pleasure boats. It was good to see a floating fuel dock, rather than the stationary ones we’d seen in Yakutat and Cordova, although we decided not to take on any fuel.
Lunch was at the Swiftwater Café. The fish and chips were very good and Karen enjoyed her peel and eat “shrimp” (prawns). As the ferry just landed, it took 30 minutes to get our food, but it was fresh and hot when it arrived.
There is certainly not much to do or see in Whittier. No place to provision. There are some marine supplies in the second “AVIS” hut from the docks. The museum was written up I the guide book as worth the admission price, but it’s a walk through the tunnel under the train tracks and from afar, looked questionable. Karen did find a good fudge shop, though!
The highlight of the trip was meeting Brian’s friends, Bill and Linda, who live in Anchorage and work for Alaska Business Magazine. They brought provisions to those who had placed an “order” through Brian the day before, loading up at the Anchorage Costco. We were so happy to see bottled water, cookie dough, cashews and a few onions. It was like Christmas.
Dinner was at the bar in The Inn at Whittier. Supposedly the best place to eat in town. Food was just OK, but it had great Alaskan Amber on tap, and the chef of OceanFlyer got the night off.
The Inn at Whitter
No need to go inside, that's what it looks like
Being Sunday, many of the fishing boats were making the most of the daylight until the sun set at 11:15 pm. The steady parade of very noisy boats made it difficult to get to sleep.
Tonight we are expecting a Princess cruise ship to arrive at 12:01 am. We were told that they pick their arrival time, just after midnight, in order to not pay an extra day of moorage. They depart at 8 pm tomorrow.
Just before turning in, we learned more about a weather system that was moving in, with a gale forecast late tomorrow. Brian called for an 8 am departure for Deep Water Bay, ensuring we get to our destination in plenty of time to hunker down.