Hi Everyone,

Here is Bill's first message from his voyage to Alaska. He's been calling me quite regularly (what an improvement on the Hawaii voyage!), and so far he's always sounded very excited and happy, even though it is also very challenging, with all the currents, tides, rocks, and other such things he did not have on the way to Hawaii. He started the trip late for all kinds of reasons, and had to truck Chubby to Seattle and start the voyage there. Well, I'll let him tell his own story. Hope you're all doing well.

Love,
Nomi

Saturday, July 19, day 18 of the trip.

The trip with John Powers Trucking up to Port Angeles on June 30-July 1 went smoothly. John is a real character with Native American ancestry. He gave me quite an education on tribal life today, the Bay of Pigs, on the road as manager with Linda Ronstadt and other various and sundry items on a variety of subjects. We arrived in Port Angeles WA at 11 am on July 1 with the lowest tide of the year so we had to wait 2 hours for enough water to put Chubby back in the water. I spent the first night at Port Angeles and then departed for Victoria, BC the next morning. Victoria was jammed with tourists, full of noise and exhaust from the sea planes that take off and land throughout the day next to the dock. Checked into Canada at the customns dock, an arduous 1-1/2 minute ordeal. Was glad to leave the next day, heading north. Now, 17 days and 700 miles later I find myself in Prince Rupert, my last Canadian port before entering SE Alaska tomorrow.

The intervening 17 days have been filled with sunshine, rain, whales, salmon jumping on all sides, an endless parade of waterfalls, hotsprings, glassy calm coves for anchoring, bald eagles, currents and tides and some of the friendliest people on earth. I've been pushing hard, sometimes making as much as 80 miles a day so I could slow down and relax when I reach Alaskan waters. Chubby has been doing great though she misses the consistent winds of San Francisco Bay. My, how spoiled we are, sailing on SF Bay. In my naivete, I thought the wind blows 20-25 kts every day all summer just like at home. Well, up here it seems to seldom blow. I've sailed two full days and a handfull of hours on two other days out 17 days on the water. Luckily, my antiquated little two-stroke Nissan has faithfully churned out the remaining 650 miles, mostly over glassy calm waters. The motor has been just sipping gas so my fuel on board is good for a 240 mile range, which is reassuring because gas stops can be few and far between.

In my haste to get north, I've passed up hundreds of inviting and intrigueing coves, channels, islands and inlets, each one worth a week of exploration. But this is a vast and intricate wilderness that would take a lifetime to fully appreciate. I'm have no illusions and know that I am getting only the most cursory of introductions to this region.

Love...Bill