Friday, May 27, 2016

Alaska 2016 | Day 12 | Ocean Falls Wigham Cove

The group dropped three crab traps yesterday afternoon. First thing this morning, we picked them up...the traps were stuffed! I think the final count was 26 keepers. Kevin spent much of the morning instructing people how to kill, cook, and clean crab.
The great crab catch!
We left about 10 a.m. for the four hour trip to Wigham Cove. The first hour was backtracking, then we turned up Johnson Channel. Even with overcast conditions and occasional rain, the scenery was magnificent.

Stormy departing Ocean Falls
Heading up Johnson Channel
As we headed west in Return Channel, towards the ocean, the fjords gradually gave way to low-lying islands.

Entering Wigham Cove one of our boats found a rock. Well, the cartographers had also found the rock. The is equipped with a Furuno NavNet TZ system —top of the line, by most accounts—but the vector charts are apparently problematic. At the zoom level (almost all the way zoomed in), two of the charted rocks showed, but the third—the one furthest away from shore—didn't show up.
Drone photo of Wigham Cove. The offending rock is circled in red.
Thankfully, the tide was rising and the bilges stayed dry. They floated free in about 15 minutes. Although there was no apparent damage, they opted to head for Shearwater (only nine miles away) for a haulout and inspection. The haulout revealed minimal damage to the keel, and they should catch up with us tomorrow.

Too much excitement?
Evening light in Wigham Cove
29.58 nm today
453.45 nm total

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