One of the cool things we discovered while traveling in Southeast Alaska was the uniqueness of the local radio stations. Although I’m not completely clear on the business model, it seems that many of the small towns have only one radio station and it is typically run as a sort of public radio co-op. Since the tastes of the local populace are quite varied, the stations play an equally reflective variety of… Read More

There’s an old cliché about traveling around the world in your sailboat, that it’s actually just fixing your boat in exotic places. There’s another one that goes, it’s not a matter of “if” but a matter of “when” you will have to dismantle and rebuild your toilet on a cruising boat. Yes and yes. When you are running your own boat (I like to call it a ship in these instances) you… Read More

One of the highlights of this trip has been some of the meals that we have prepared onboard. The stars of these dinners have been ingredients fresh from the ocean. We have eaten Dungeness crab that went straight from the trap to the pot, prawns the size of sausages, and salmon so fresh it has never been refrigerated or frozen. In addition to the proteins above we also made some interesting discoveries…. Read More

Misty Fiords National Monument is a 2.3 million acre area in SE Alaska, almost all of which is designated wilderness. It is close enough to Ketchikan to be a major tourist attraction, with floatplanes and tour boats ferrying passengers daily to take in the awe-inspiring beauty of Rudyerd Bay and Punchbowl Cove. It is a bit out of the way for most pleasure boaters but we had heard that it was well… Read More

It is no secret that Paula and I love dogs. Anyone who has spent even a few minutes around us knows this to be true. Our hunger for K9 interaction, however, could…. could… sometimes, be interpreted as the equivalent of a creepy guy in a van handing out candy. Each of us typically carries a small milkbone (or two) in our jacket pocket in case we run across a pooch on our… Read More

We arrived in Sitka on 28 June and our good friend, Jessie, flew up from Seattle the following day to join us for a 10-day leg to Ketchikan. After meeting some new friends (and dogs) on the dock, checking out the town, touring the raptor center, and tasting some flavors at the Baranof Brewery, it was time to head out. With the exception of a rainy, windy first day, the worst being… Read More