Stormbound In PA

Cracker of a day yesterday, despite a distinct change in the weather with heavy rain during the night and a forecast 15kn Southerly. It was the sort of day to get straight out of the tent and into thermals and dry suit. 

Now many of you will not quite realise how hard core this trip is for us. Our usual routine in the morning is to wake up just enough to open the fly screen tent door and put the billy on to boil in the vestibule of the tent. Then there's a few minutes to lie back and doze until it boils. Coffee made we both sit up in our thermarest chairs and enjoy the first cup of coffee still in our sleeping bags. Breakfast in bed is usual too. 

Not here though. Bear protocols have put paid to that; our 'kitchen' is at the other end of the beach and our food including that essential first cuppa of the day is 3m up tree, at a third distant point from sleeping and eating. 

So I trudge along the beach, lower all our food, carry what I need back to our kitchen area, set up the stove and finally put the billy on. 

I contemplate this change of routine over that first morning coffee as I sit in the rain instead of my thermarest chair. 

The last few days have been really cruisey as far as tides are concerned; high tides first thing in the mornings when we setting off and then again of course high again in the afternoon or evening on landing. Also now we are nearer open ocean the range is far less. 

We were on the water leaving Kuiu Is about 8, high tide was about 9 and the crossing of about 15km should take us about 2 hours. This was perfect timing as if the forecast 15kn Southerly came in we really didn't want to be in the middle of Chatham St with the southerly ebb steepening up the waves and generally making the crossing slower, wetter and unpleasant. There wasn't a breath of wind but with cloud level down to barely the tops of the trees along the shoreline visibility was only 2 or 3km. We lost sight of Kuiu Is after about 10 mins paddling. 

We'd seen two big cruise ships the day before, and there always seemed to be lots of fishing boats around so two pairs of ears and eyes were kept busy on the crossing. Sure enough about 9.30 those dark patches that might or might not have been Baranof Is coalesced into solid ground. By now the ebb tide was picking up speed so with it we turned south towards Cape Ommaney. 

The East Coast of Baranoff Is drops steeply straight into the sea so landing places are few and far between. We knew of some potential landing spots from other kayakers so at least had places we knew we could camp. This drop into such deep water must suit the salmon though as seine net fishing boats chug their way slowly up and down this shoreline almost continuously. A humpback whale too had joined the procession heading north - we saw it dive a couple of hundred metres in front of us and resurface behind us.

The last couple of hours though of what turned out to be a long day were well and truly 'uphill' - the tide had turned against us and the forecast Southerly picked up so we had a headwind too. Wonderful. 

Today the forecast was similar, rain but with a 20kn Southerly so we had an extra hours sleep. There was no particular rush to be on the water as it would only mean an extra hour against the flooding tide. The wind too wasn't as strong as forecast but it was still an uphill plod into steep 4-5' waves especially around the points. After about an hour or so we were tempted to stop for the day by a nice sheltered beach, but realising quite how close we were to the Cape we plodded on knowing that given the conditions we were very unlikely to get around today but the closer we could get the better. The wind was stronger than yesterday but not the forecast 20kn. Just short of Port Alexander we came across a guy fishing from his tinny, in 4-5' choppy waves! He said the only beaches to the south were rocky and exposed. Suddenly the wind seemed to pick up and pulling into Port Alexander seemed an eminently sensible thing to do. 

So here we are cosy and warm in 'Bear Lodge' the town's community centre and library. Free wifi and feet toasting in front of the gas fire. Luxury. 

Within a few minutes of arriving we were invited in for cuppa by local fishing guide Pete Mooney at the Laughing Raven Lodge. We talked tides and the sea and boats including a lot of local knowledge that will help us get around Cape Ommaney and the locations of beaches on the west coast of Baranof. 

Tomorrow's forecast is for only 15kn Southerlies, rain of course but with slack water at 11am and the Cape only 10km away we maybe stand a chance of reaching the west coast.