Monday, July 27, 2009

Juneau to Petersburg

Claire arrived on Monday the 13th of July, and we set out from Juneau to head southbound. We had nice weather for the first day, but then the wind turned from the south, and against us. The first day of turning a corner to head down Chatham Strait turned out to be a failure, it was blowing too hard against us and the waves were too high to make for a comfortable passage, so we turned and hid to wait it out. But the next day was no better. So we made slow miles, and some days we didn't go anywhere. So, what took me two days to do from Petersburg to Juneau in May ended up taking 13 days to do this time around. We caught some salmon (Chinook) and other fish, and built lots of fires along the way, but with the weather against us, and it being cloudy all the time, I didn't take a lot of pictures.
I'm a lot more wary than I was earlier, as a result of the crash, but it's not good for me. I find myself worrying about the trip rather than enjoying the moment, and that doesn't do me any good, because then I don't have a clear reason for being out here. The weather turned to our favor (or at least became not bad anymore) two days ago, so we will be enjoying that a lot. The next stop is Ketchikan, in (hopefully) about 5 days or less, and then on into Canada.
I think the repairs are holding up just fine, but I seem to have a lot of water in the bilge all the time, every time I run the engine. I think the shaft seal is leaking more than it used to, so I am unhappy about that. Other than that, the boat is treating me fine.
I'm also reading Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein, and I am really liking it. It's all about war and fighting and life in the military (in the future) but it's also about morality and structure of government and power. So it's interesting. Not at all like the movie of the same name.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm really glad to see a new post. It's been a month!
Getting back on the horse is tough. Try playing really loud music to scare away your cautious ghosts.

Matt said...

Good luck with the rest of your trip!

Matt said...

Also, I just watched Stardust again. Arrgh!!!!!!!!!