Khutze Inlet to Klewnuggit

Today started out early for Captain and most of the crew. At 5:00 am the anchor was being hauled in. Chef and I didn’t wake until 7:00 so we missed most of the early morning activities. By the time I came up from crew quarters, we were just moving out of deep fog into the sun. It was so beautiful - I had to take photos. My camera was totally out of batteries, so I grabbed Chef’s and snapped away. I’m actually pretty happy with some of the photos.

We had an early morning breakfast, oatmeal and fresh fruit as we cruised. A few hours into the trip, the Captain explained that we would be stopping in at a natural hot spring. I was so excited - I LOVE natural hot springs. About ten or twelve of us, from several different boats, piled into the two roomy tubs, It was heavenly! The perfect temperature and a great treat.

Shortly after we got back to the boat from the hot tubs, Chef was serving an incredible meal, carrot and ginger soup with a rice salad that was so amazing, I had to go back for seconds. I’d have gone back for thirds if the others weren’t watching.

The cruise today to Klewnugget was a long one, between 70 and 80 miles. Thankfully, the sun was shining the entire route, and snow capped mountain after snow capped mountain lined our route the entire trip. After so many days of cold, wet rain, we couldn’t get enough of the sun. Buck, Chef and I plugged the iPod into the portable speakers and sat or napped on the back deck for as long as we could take the cool wind and warm sun. There were entire hours of this leg that I have to call perfect moments – it was a combination of the right people, the right view, the right temperature, the right music. Perfect moments to remember for a lifetime.

We arrived at the Klewnugget anchorage at 6:00 pm and the sun was still shining and the seas were calm. Chef was cooking in the kitchen and the great smells were taunting all of us. We were one of the last to pull in but still we managed to get an invitation for cocktails and smoked salmon on one of the neighboring boats. We took a dinghy over to the other boat and it was great fun to visit with the others for a while. Over cocktails, I heard one of the best bear stories I’ve ever heard. Much of what made the story so good was the storyteller, but the facts themselves were also pretty amazing.

Bill, a bear of a man himself, was traveling by boat with his wife. While the boat was at anchor, he took the dinghy to shore to go clamming. He found a nice beach, about 100 yards from the trees. He got down on his hands and knees and started digging for clams. He said he was startled when his wife’s shadow fell upon him. Then he remembered that his wife was still back on the boat. He looked up and into the eyes of a huge grizzly bear. It was at this point of the story that he explained that he has hunted bear in the past and is experienced in how to respond to a bear. First, if you have food, throw it to the bear. Second, never turn your back on the bear or run away, rather, make yourself appear as large as possible and slowly back away. Understanding that he was wise in “the ways of the bear”, the cocktail party attendees held their breath, waiting to hear which tactic he used to escape the bear. “I grabbed my bucket of clams and turned and ran like hell,” he explained. He said that he ran as fast as he could out to his dinghy, which meant that he was now waist deep in water. His brain kicked back in, in time for him to realize that he had just made two major mistakes and that by standing in the water he’d actually made himself look even smaller. He looked at the bear, which had originally been standing on all fours. The bear was now standing on its back two legs; with its arms spread wide grunting and making a horrible snarling sound. Bill realized that he had just given the bear every clue it needed to begin a chase. Something clicked for Bill and he got the dinghy between himself and the bear. Then he raised his hands above his head (wielding his small garden bucket full of clams and shaking his tiny garden shovel). In his loudest voice possible, he roared back at the bear. He said, “that bear looked at me like I was crazy”. But Bill also recognized that his actions caused the bear to stop. So, he roared again, as loud as he could. This second roar really seemed to stun the bear. Bill roared one more time, and the bear gave up. He dropped back down onto all fours, and slowly turned around and ambled away.

At 8:00, we headed back to the boat as Chef was putting the final touches on dinner. Buck and I used a dinghy to go to each of the boats and hand out gifts we had for everyone. It was really fun to stop in and visit with each boat for a few minutes, and we even got some fresh baked cookies out of the deal! As we were bobbing around in the dinghy, we looked down into the water and saw thousands and thousands of jellyfish in the water. I don’t know why, but I was really surprised to see all those jellyfish in the 36-degree water. I’ve always associated jellyfish with warmer water.

After we made our rounds, we enjoyed another amazing meal by Chef. Followed by drink at the bar. The newest member of the team, Larry, who recently replaced Fran as the Service Genius is now on board the bar. Last night, he had all of us in stitches with what I can only describe as his stand up comedy show. The guy is damned funny. Later that night when he drove us back to Sanctuary in the dinghy, we could see the phosphorescence glowing in his wake – beautiful little dayglo waves.