Please join us on MV Pairadice : July 2017

Thursday, June 22nd Day 69 Halibut Fishing Sister Islands Hoonah, AK

I was able to sleep in until 8am today. What a treat! After breakfast we cast ASD off from it’s rafted side tie at Swanson Harbor. It was a delightful day... the sun was shining as we headed out from our moorage of Couverden Island. I took the boat out as we headed to the Sister Islands. We kept the engine at a low rpm... an idle most likely, giving us only 2.5 knots of speed. The idea was to troll for salmon. They were not biting today and when we rounded of Chilkat Range (Endicott River Wilderness) the tide picked up our speed beyond a trolling pace. John brought in the down rigger and trolling gear as we headed for Sister Island.

Once we found our spot over the shelf, we dropped anchor for halibut fishing. It wasn’t long before I had one on the line. Landing the beast was quite the chore. With a huge team effort we managed to get the 60 pound halibut, gaffed and bleeding out on the swim platform. As I was reaching for the pliers to remove the hook from it’s mouth, it began flailing and flopped into the ocean, running fast taking much feet of line off the reel. There was much more work to be had before we could call this monster our own.

John reeled it in once again. I had the gaff ready and we got it back on board. We worked effortlessly to rope and lasso the tail while I held the gaff tight. Next we fished the same rope through the mouth and out the gill, securing the beast head to toe through the hoss pipe. The decision was made to go back to Hoonah Harbor fin order to clean the fish and stay the night.

This is all that is left of the carcass.

That is a lot of halibut!

Tom helped John fillet the fish. The entire cleaning and packaging process took over three hours. We enjoyed dinner on our own and went to bed early.

Tom got the prize for the largest halibut 75 lbs.
That's a big butt!

Filleting a large fish on the dock at Swanson Harbor Public dock.

Kay continues to catch cod.

Pairadice at anchor in Ell Cove.

Tuesday, June 13th Day 60 Tracy Arm “No Name” Cove

We were up early back to rain and dreary skies. The temperature in the boat was 60* and surprisingly comfortable. Outside it was 52*. John went to work on the generator, quickly learning the problem was NOT the impeller. Something was clogging the intake, water would not flush through the valve. So began the process of trying to clear the line began. First we shut of everything electrical in order to conserve voltage. He ran an extension cord from Tom’s boat and used the air compressor to force air through the gate valve. There was not enough volume for that to work. Next was the good ole coat hanger trick. He got through the check valve but stopped short at the grate. That didn’t work either. We hoped that once underway whatever was clogging it would come free. If not we would not be anchoring in Tracy Arm, but going straight to Juneau. There we would look for a diver to clear the intact from the hull. We remained positive hoping that would not be necessary.

John had a quick breakfast on ASD. Kay makes big morning meals almost everyday. We talked about our revised plan B to solve the problem. Back onboard, the electronics were lit off, course was plotted and we cast the lines. John explained the batteries would charge when the engine runs. At this point, I finally started understanding all this power management thing... D/C vs A/C, inverted power, voltage... This city girl is definitely a fan of shore power!

***Reminder, you can click on any picture to go to full screen and scroll through!

This post is very cool!

A humpback between us and the cruise ship.

Once out of the bay, having made our turn north in Stephens Passage the midmorning whale show started. There were countless blow spouts along our track, but none came very close. I saw they were for sure humpbacks. We watched as they surfaced and dove with a wave of their tale. I was able to get quite a few pictures with the telephoto. The seas were pitching us all about, so I wasn’t allowed outside with the camera. He convinced me to park my rear on the settee and enjoy the show without getting hurt or ruining my camera. Several large cruise ships are in the passage with the whales.

John fired up the generator during the whale show. We watched the temperature attentively at it rose atemperature hover right at 180* just like it’s supposed to. John called Tom on the VHF and gave him the good news. We planned on testing it again, throughout the day to be sure it’s all good.

By noon the seas mellowed out and we cruised along comfortably at slack tide with a couple knot push getting 8.5 to 9.0 knots. We are completely off the grid up here. No wifi or cell service what so ever. Nearing the mouth of Holkham Bay, we can see the snow capped mountains of Tracy Arm - Fords Terror Wilderness. The clouds are thick and it is beautiful in its own right. nd he found water to be expelling from exhaust outlet. Yeah! We were delighted to see the

As we headed into Holkham Bay, we were awarded with great views of the Sumdum Glacier down the Endicott Arm. I got busy with the camera as the excitement raced through me. It wasn’t long after that, that the anchor was set in No Name Cove. The trawler tender was launched right away. The guys set crab pots while the girls set up their kitchens and packed for the afternoon iceberg excursion in the dinks.

Sawyer Glacier

First sight of ice bergs!

heading for our anchorage.

What we found was beyond amazing! We slowly took our dingys through the ice field into the large blue ice bergs. Along the way the guys, John and Tom, picked out their “bergie bits”, which is floating. (day 103, we still have some in the freezer for the guests that arrive on Friday 7/28.... so excited for that!)

A fellow mariner already secured the deluxe spot at the "Window of the Cove"
We anchored just behind them and wasted not time launching the dingys
to get close and personal with the ice bergs.