Jeff's Log ~ Saturday, September 6th, 2008

Saturday, September 6, 2008 about 80 miles NE of Seward, Alaska

Scott’s brother Jon arrived on the morning of the fourth, about two and a half hours early. There was a sinkhole along the Alaskan Railroad some where, and the train was not running. All of the train’s passengers got switched to busses, which make the trip from Anchorage quicker than the train does. I could tell that he was a Piper as soon as I saw his face. We had a great introduction to each other, and I helped him get his bag onto the boat.

The weather cooperated, and I could finally spend some time outdoors with no rain. I proceeded to scrub the boat from front to back, and gave the cockpit cushions lots of soap and water. While I was scrubbing the transom, I pulled up the crab trap, and there was a crab in it. It was too small to keep, however, but at least I know that the trap works! I managed to get the whole boat washed, and was no sooner done than the clouds came back, and then it rained all night. The boat still looks good though, and we awaited the arrival of Ken and Pat. They arrived on the train at 11:05 on the morning of the fifth. I had sailed with them at the start of my trip a year ago, and it is good to have them aboard again. They enjoy cooking, so the first place we went was to the grocery store. The taxi driver had her new pet with her. He is a Springer spaniel and a very nice dog.

Grocery shopping is one thing that I have come to enjoy, and this trip was fun as usual. When completed, we had to fold down the rear seat in a minivan to make enough room for the groceries. Ken and Pat enjoy wine very much, so there was a good supply of that on top of the stack. Upon arrival at the boat, everything got stowed and we were off the dock in short order with our destination about sixty miles away. Pat made a lunch of hot dogs for us, and it may sound silly, but I sure did enjoy having a couple of great American hotdogs with all of the fixings. It had been over a year since I had a good hot dog.

We anchored in a very calm, protected cove, and as usual, when all was quiet, the sound of a nearby waterfall could be plainly heard. There was a bald eagle cruising around, and he sat in a tree not far from us for a little while. Ken made some of one of my personal favorites, macaroni and cheese, from scratch. Unfortunately, he was unaccustomed to the oven’s quirks, and it ended up a little over cooked, but for me that was ok, because I really like the browned crispy cheese that was on the bottom.

Today, after coffee, I went to the top of the mast and replaced the wind instrument which Pat brought for us. We now have our full compliment of electronics back. One doesn’t realize how much you use them, until they quit working. After getting out of the protected cove, we were actually able to motor sail for a while. But after about an hour, it was right back on the nose, so the main came down again. The weather was going to get bad, so we anchored early in a protected bay. It was already raining when the anchor went down, but the wind had not yet started to build. Pat made some great roasted potatoes, and I went out and grilled some steaks on the Barbie. About halfway through the grilling process, the wind began picking up. By the time the steaks were cooked, the rain was blowing horizontally, so I got pretty wet as I took them off the grill.

Dinner turned out really well, and then it was time for a game of hearts. I was the first one out, which was ok, because I had plenty of time to do the dishes and clean up the galley. It rained very hard all night and blew at gale force most of the night. The anchor remained secure, and we had no problems. Today, we waited until 1300 to leave so things had a chance to calm down a little. Right now, I just got off watch, and we are motor sailing into fairly large seas, heading for Glacier Bay. We expect to arrive at about 1300 on Tuesday, the ninth.