Jeff enjoyed working with Aaron the mechanic at Piston and Rudder to replace the seals on our anchor windlass and also did some prevent maintenance cleaning our main engine heat exchanger.
An oil change on the engine and generator is also done while here. Petersburg is one of our favorite stops and we enjoy our four day stay. Friday night bingo at the Sons of Norway House was a highlight. We didn\u2019t realize how complicated bingo could be. These folks take their bing seriously. Several locals tutored us and we were able to win one game and at least break even for the night. It was a late night for us starting at 7 PM and not ending until 11:30 PM.
\n The next morning we have an easy transit of Wrangle Narrows. Entering Clarence Strait, we work our way along Prince of Whales Island to an anchorage called Exchange Cove. We spend two nights in this well protected anchorage. With the sight of salmon jumping out of the water we head out in the dinghy for some fishing. We soon land a really nice 14 lb. Coho. It is good to see the salmon are finally here. Up until now, fishing for salmon both I commercially and for sport has been very slow. We have heard it has been the worst year on record. Overfishing, habitat destruction, and climate change patterns all seem to have taken a toll on the salmon fishing.
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We then stop in the middle of the island to hike the One Duck Trail. This steep one mile climb gained over 1000 feet and rewarded us with dramatic views of the island.
Our last stop of the day was to the Haida Indian village of Hydaburg. Today was the blessing of their newly constructed tribal long house. This is followed by a celebratory dinner and dance. The First Nation people prepare a huge feast and invite the public to attend free of charge.
The amount of food is incredible. We have halibut prepared eight different ways, salmon, several types of venison, along with native dishes made with seaweed and Kelp. The evening is capped with several native tribes preforming ceremonial dances.
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This limestone cave is typical of many others around the United States and the Forrest Service does a great job of limiting access to the cave interiors fragile environment. After being equipped with helmets and lights, we venture 600 feet into the cave crawling through several tunnels and visiting different rooms with names such as the fault room, flow stone room, and pool room. At one point the guide has us turn off all lights. The complete darkness is truly a unique experience. It is chilly in the cave with a constant temperature of 45 degrees. Retracing our steps, we are soon hit with warm air and bright sunshine.
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From there things go downhill and we loose two really big fish as we are trying to net them so we call it a day. Our fishing technique gradually improves over the next two day. Each day we increase our catch culminating in a record for us of five salmon on the last day. We still manage to loose as many as we catch but had great fun in the process. Our freezer is now full and we are able to give Tom and Jan aboard Sun Chaser two of the salmon as they do not fish.
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We are however catching lots of gigantic male Dungeness crabs.
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