June 26th….

Monday, it was a very low tide, i believe it was new moon, thee weather was wet, wet, wet, and cold!!    So glad we have the diesel stove in the boat, it had been going non stop since May 1st.   The warmth makes its way into the cockpit, plus , with the heat from the engine, which is right below us, we were quite comfortable.   We decided to head for Auke bay, North of Juneau, the other two boats planned to go into Gastineau Channel, going that way, you would have to go underneath the bridge, which we just didn’t think  was a good idea for Curtsy.   We waved to Gail, as we parted (for now) , going a different way, we turned to Port side in Stephens passage, left, towards Auke bay.   Gail kept on going as did Don and Ann.     The two ladies from Ca Vahn, stayed in Taku harbour a bit longer, as they were busy on their computers.   We arrived in Auke bay at 16.30, we had left at 11.30.    When you arrive in Auke bay, you mostly fend for yourself, we had to find a spot, and we soon realized that that was not a problem, the distance between the docks is very wide, so Bert turned the boat around, right between two docks, and docked Curtsy, facing out, good move!!      It seemed very quiet, but most fishing boats were out till the day after.     We figured out the bus schedule , after standing on the wrong side of the road, getting some funny looks from the bus drivers, as they whizzed by us…….two daft Canadians for sure…….    We kept in touch with Gail from Cruzeiro Do Sul, and after already having been to the museum once, planned to meet each other and go again.    This museum is phenomenal, i have a great interest in First nation arts and history, and this museum is a treasure full of art!!!        While we were sleeping that first night, a boat caught fire and sunk, right at the dock, thank goodness not close to us, we never heard a thing, apparently, the guy was on board, he was hurt indeed, and we found out that a few days before, his truck was set on fire, so i think , he had a problem with someone for sure…..  The harbor was full of debris and oil, and for 3 days, the coast guard and the harbor masters tried to clean it all up.         But now back to the museum, here are some photos, of the beautiful art.

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History of Taku Harbour.

Taku harbour is named after the Tlingit peoples, who lived here, there were four shore communities, formerly known as Takokakaan.      The government took a senses in 1880, and counted a total of 269 people.   The Tlingit thrived here, the waters are teaming with fish, she shores full of clams, i did not find a sign of clam gardens, but then, i also didn’t check the whole bay.   In 1840, a Hudson’s bay trading post was established here.   In 1901 the San Juan Fishing and Packing company settled here, covering a huge area, many buildings are now gone , so are the docks, but i found a photo , thanks to the Alaskan State library.Alaska 2017 Hoonah 016    Many of the First nations, the Tlingit, worked here in the cannery, it became their livelihood, but the cannery was only in operation till 1909, and today , there are only remnants of docks, buildings, boilers and electrical generators, nature is slowly but very steadily taking over.   The Tlingit have moved away since a long time.

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Continued Taku Harbor…

I just had a major fight with the wifi here, tried very hard to publish a post, but the photos would not publish, so i waited a while, watched an episode of Netflix, and here we are again!!!       There was a photo in the new cabin, constructed by the Alaskan parks, in honor of Tiger Olsen, the photo is of Tiger, sorry , that it is so dark!!

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TAKU BAY

After the ice, the blue colors, the sheer cliffs, and the immense glaciers, Taky bay, Taku harbour, seemed almost like coming into somewhere tropical.      Everything is green, so lush, the Sitka trees standing majestically in the forest, their huge trucks surrounded by very large Devils club and Skunk cabbage.     There is such a quiet here, i love wandering into the forest, on a deer trail, and just stand there, and listen, i could hear a few birds, busy with the seeds out of the Sitka cones, and i could hear the distant talk of the boaters at the dock, but other then that, quiet, total quiet.        I wandered around, there is a small pathway along the shore, and first i came upon a very old cabin, windows missing, not much left inside other then an old washing machine, one that i used to use in the seventees!!!      This cabin belonged to Tiger Olsen, a gentle lad, a true earth muffin so to speak, who lived here by himself for many years.         One boater told me that Tiger did very well here, all by himself, when a boat would come in, he would meet the skipper, and tie up the lines and welcomed them to Taku harbor.      When Tiger was in his eighties, the authorities became worried about him, i guess no one wanted to find Tiger passed away , out there , in the middle of no where, i just wish they would have left him. Taku bay was his home, his love, they brought him to Juneau, put him in a retirement home, and that is where he died.      Very sad.

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June 24th.

Bloody cold that morning, the tide was turning soon , so we decided , as did everyone else, to leave before the tide would run too hard, its a good thing we did, i just read again in the book; EXPLORING SOUTH EAST ALASKA by Don Douglass and Reanne Hemingway Douglass, it states that the entrance into Tracy arm is 1.75 miles wide, but the navigable channel is only 0.3 miles wide, it is about 36 ‘ deep, and there are two buoys , green and red.   It states in the book, that the buoys may become submerged during a very strong tide and currents.      Yes they do!!!!      As we tried to navigate into the channel, we were only doing 1.6 knots, the red buoy totally disappeared , the green one toppled over!!!   We heard later on that the other sailboat, SA VAHN, ended up sideways in the channel, trying to get out!!!      The channel stays very narrow for quite a while, so it took a long time before we could veer off towards Portside, on out way to Taku Harbour!!  (TAKU BAY)    Whales everywhere in Stephens passage, i could not believe the number of Humpbacks!!     They all shore feed mostly, also bubble feeding , which i will tell more about later, but these whales are up North here to eat!!!!

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Holkham bay and beyond…

When we came back from that amazing trip to both Sawyer glaciers, and we all relaxed on our boats, sipping wine, i wanted to still do a bit exploring on the shore line, many of the shores here are covered in Rock weed, this beautiful yellow mustard color, and when the sun shines on it, and the snow white gulls dig in the weed for their dinner, i just have to have a closer look!!!

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