We arrived in Baranoff Warm Springs in the late afternoon. We had traveled about 20 miles in comfortable water, with rain, mist and fog to accompany us. As we approached the dock at Baranoff, we realized that there was actually room for us on the outside of the dock even this late in the day. I imagine that would never happen in a ‘normal’ non COVID-19 year. We needed to dock during a high tide which made it additionally challenging as there is a good bit of current coming off the waterfall, and running along the dock. There was a spot between Adventures and another boat. We needed to side tie ourselves between them. With a fair amount of throttle and good assistance on the dock we were able to tie off uneventfully.
We spent a lovely two nights at the dock. We were able to meet Jim and Robin on Adventures. They were self isolating, so we only spoke briefly. We did talk with them about the bulbous bow they added to their 50’ Defever. It was done a few years back by Steve Keller of Keller fiberglass in Wrangell. Of note, we had met Steve when we made arrangements to lease a slip for the winter in Wrangell. They love their bulbous bow. They said they had great success with reducing pitching and they gained some speed. I cannot recall if it was .5 or .75 of a knot. Regardless, they were very happy with it.
We did meet some other folks. The first night we had a sailboat raft to use when they came in a bit later, and we met Stan on ‘Therapy’. He is a pilot from Washington state, near us, and cruises in Alaska to bottom fish. He was telling us all his secrets and where he fished. He was currently with some fishing buddies on his boat. He came to visit and he and the kittens got along famously.
After two nights, we headed off to Takatz Bay, just a short two mile hop north. Adventures was heading to the same place. They are regulars here in Southeast Alaska, and also have a blog to share their stories. We looked it up, and they have fabulous pictures as well.