Auke Bay, Rain and Clouds

Arrived safe and sound and not too worse for wear after a long day of flying on Sunday. Yesterday was a brutal day back on the boat, but that is the norm.

First of all...the weather. RAIN and lots of it! It rains about 200 days a year here, so knee-high rubber boots are a fashion accessory among the locals. Second, provisioning for a week out at sea is a challenge. You have to think of EVERYTHING. There are no 'quickiemarts' in Glacier Bay National Park (our first destination). Then there is storage of said provisions. If you have ever been on a boat, you know space is at a premium and there are no land-based-style refrigeration or storage options. CostCo sounds like a good idea until you try and store that 5# bag of spinach in the fridge. No room for anything else! Anyway, I did my best David Copperfield impersonation and made it all disappear into the bowls of the boat. Based on the crummy weather a soul-satisfying beef stew was in order. 3+ hours of simmering and the boat was smelling fabulous. We had a great dinner, with great wine and toasted the upcoming voyage.

Guests arrive in an hour or so, then to the fuel dock. That is an experience. The boat has two (2) 475 gallon fuel tanks and diesel is about $3-4/gallon, so you do the math. It takes about a half-hour to fill the tanks. Then we are off. First anchorage is Funter Bay. Fresh Dungeness Crabs tonight...life IS good!

A few observations over the past 36 hours in the Juneau area. Everyone has a dog. Conceivably, this is because of the treat of bears in these parts. Also, forget about getting a USA Today newspaper before the end of the day. As I mentioned in an earlier post, everything has to be flown into Alaska, so by the time the newspaper gets here, it's 5pm and old news. Thank God for the Internet. Did I mention the lack of sunshine? I have yet to see a display for sunglasses. I must look quite strange walking around town with my shorts, Crocs and a tan!!

Fair Winds and Eat Well!