W
e experienced a little of everything this weekend. On Saturday, we headed down to Whittier to launch the sailboat. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we were in tee shirts rigging the boat. The boys stayed busy looking for hermit crabs and starfish on the low tide line. The ocean was so calm we had to motor out of Passage Canal just to find wind. After dropping our shrimp pot, which is a new experiment for us this year, we found enough of a breeze to raise the sail. Bryant and I put our new found sailing knowledge to use and in the process, enjoyed spectacular views of 12,000 foot mountain peaks. Meanwhile, the boys were on the bow of the boat taking it all in.
It wasn't long before our stomachs were growling, so we decided to head over to Ziegler's Cove to anchor for the night. We were able to set the anchor on the second try, and I took to starting dinner, while Bryant pumped up the dingy. It wasn't long before the Bryant, the boys and Ollie were rowing around the little cove. Wyatt learned how to row the dingy and he spent quite a bit of time over the next 12 hours messing around on that little boat. He brought Gus and I to shore later in the evening so I could walk on land a little bit.
As soon as the sun set over the horizon, the cold started to settle in, and it started to feel like mid-May in Alaska. When we woke up in the morning, it definitely looked like Prince William Sound, Alaska. The sky was cloudy and gray. Shortly after breakfast, it started to
drizzle. As soon as we pulled anchor and motored to the open ocean there was full on rain and it was coming at us sideways. We were now experiencing the Whittier, Alaska that receives over 150 inches of rain each year. While rolling about on 3-4 foot waves, we worked our way back toward our shrimp pot with the hope of actually being able to retrieve it and maybe even find some shrimp inside. Using our winch system on the sailboat and Bryant's muscle, the shrimp pot was pulled from 350 feet of water. To everyone's excitement, there were 7 whole shrimp, one half-eaten shrimp and a rock fish, which we assumed was responsible for the half-eaten shrimp.
e experienced a little of everything this weekend. On Saturday, we headed down to Whittier to launch the sailboat. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we were in tee shirts rigging the boat. The boys stayed busy looking for hermit crabs and starfish on the low tide line. The ocean was so calm we had to motor out of Passage Canal just to find wind. After dropping our shrimp pot, which is a new experiment for us this year, we found enough of a breeze to raise the sail. Bryant and I put our new found sailing knowledge to use and in the process, enjoyed spectacular views of 12,000 foot mountain peaks. Meanwhile, the boys were on the bow of the boat taking it all in.It wasn't long before our stomachs were growling, so we decided to head over to Ziegler's Cove to anchor for the night. We were able to set the anchor on the second try, and I took to starting dinner, while Bryant pumped up the dingy. It wasn't long before the Bryant, the boys and Ollie were rowing around the little cove. Wyatt learned how to row the dingy and he spent quite a bit of time over the next 12 hours messing around on that little boat. He brought Gus and I to shore later in the evening so I could walk on land a little bit.
As soon as the sun set over the horizon, the cold started to settle in, and it started to feel like mid-May in Alaska. When we woke up in the morning, it definitely looked like Prince William Sound, Alaska. The sky was cloudy and gray. Shortly after breakfast, it started to
drizzle. As soon as we pulled anchor and motored to the open ocean there was full on rain and it was coming at us sideways. We were now experiencing the Whittier, Alaska that receives over 150 inches of rain each year. While rolling about on 3-4 foot waves, we worked our way back toward our shrimp pot with the hope of actually being able to retrieve it and maybe even find some shrimp inside. Using our winch system on the sailboat and Bryant's muscle, the shrimp pot was pulled from 350 feet of water. To everyone's excitement, there were 7 whole shrimp, one half-eaten shrimp and a rock fish, which we assumed was responsible for the half-eaten shrimp.The ride in was a little rough, but the boat seemed to handle it quite well. The derigging at the dock was downright painful as rain and wind blasted us through the entire process. The entire time, each of us was thinking that Whittier, AK is no where near the top of the list of places to go, but I suspect that feeling will fade with time.
If you would like to see more pictures from the trip click on: http://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/SailingPrinceWilliamSound
