Blunden Harbour to Ahclakerho

The Predict Wind forecast for our rounding of Cape Caution was favorable, and that is holding this morning as we depart Blunden Harbour. Winds are less than 10 knots and the seas less than 2 feet with gentle ocean swells. We started with wind and current at our stern, so the ride was very pleasant. Karen had me check to ensure we weren’t going hit an ebb out of Slingsby Channel, as that can make for an unnecessary rough patch before you get to the Cape.

The current was forecast to change, but the winds to remain favorable. As we shifted to wind over current, we expected the chop to build a bit, but nothing like our arrival day into Blunden Harbour.

As we approached Cape Caution with Karen at the helm, she had been watching the Alaska ferry Kennicott heading south. Our courses are opposite but offset by a safe distance. The Kennicott has been maintaining a steady course and it was clear we would pass without concern.

Suddenly, the Kennicott turned to the East, setting her course directly towards us. AIS says we now will have less than 400 feet when we pass.  We were within a mile of one another as I called her on the VHF to request her intentions. Immediately, she replied that she is dodging a whale and will be turning back on course quickly. I thanked the bridge for the fast response and as we cleared the frequency, she began her turn back to the west. We passed within 1000 yards, but these ferries do not produce significant wake. We’ve have passed much closer to these hulls in narrow Alaskan waterways and are always amazed at how little wake they produce.

Overall, we enjoyed a very nice ride, with the seas lying down as we approached Cape Caution light.

A couple of distant passenger ships and a Canadian Coast Guard ship laying off Cape Caution was the extent of the vessels we saw.

Our destination is Ahclakerho Channel, It’s a long way up Smith Inlet to make the turn into Broad Reach, channel almost an equally long way back down the Ahclakerho Channel to our anchor spot in the vee of the larger Ahclakerho Island.  It was 2011 when we were last here and we have fond memories. We learned about this special spot from James and Jennifer Hamilton in their “Cruising the Secret Coast” book.

one of the many fishing vessels prawning in this area

To reach the anchorage, you do have to pass though a narrows, which we timed for near high slack. Charting is excellent and there was no stress. We passed a commercial prawner above the first narrow spot, and he waved his thanks as we slowed down to avoid waking him as he was pulling pots.

karen found the little red totem on the shore side rocks in the narrows

The anchorage requires a stern tie, something we have not done in a very long time. The good: we are only a few feet below the high, so we do not have to scramble too far to reach a tree. The bad: the current and winds want to turn us away from the shore – far away. Also, there are not a lot of suitable trees to run our stern line around.

And did I mention it was raining? It took us a couple of hours to find a suitable place to tie that had a safe landing spot for Karen to scramble ashore and a decent tree within reach. We also set the anchor twice as the rocky bottom was a challenge to get a good set. Lots of scope was needed to get a firm grip on the bottom.

Once all was set up and both ends of the stern tie line were back on the boat, we still needed to haul away on the line to turn the boat against wind and current 90 degrees back towards the shore.

After getting out of our wet clothes, we settled in for the night. Even though rainy, the views from the anchorage are nice. And like last time we were here, not another pleasure craft in sight.

As it approached 7pm, the closing time for the commercial prawn fishery, the F/V Corey anchored in the north arm abeam the island. My guess is she sits in about 60 feet. Not a bad place to anchor if you do not want to stern tie.

sunset in the ahclackerho