Pacific Ocean/Gulf of Alaska July 22, 2012 01:18 56N05 153W31

We finally left the Bering Sea. We’ve taken a big leap ahead, skipping the Alaska Peninsula altogether, jumping straight from the Aleutians to Kodiak. There are a dizzying number of bays coves bights and inlets all along the Peninsula. We could have hopped from cove to cove for a good section of the coast, but recognizing that our preferred pace is to stay in a place and explore, we decided against lots of little stops, opting for more time in Kodiak. Also some nice light S/SW winds followed that last blow, so we jumped on the downwind train going east a few days ago. This morning (yesterday morning officially), pulling even with Kodiak Island, we turned north. It’s been a busy passage, we’re on the main freeway between ports in Vancouver/Seattle and Japan. Vive le AIS! But there are lots of fishing boats too now that we’re closer to some kind of civilization, and they don’t all have AIS. That and some patchy fog has kept us on high alert during watches.

Looking at the charts for Kodiak has my head swimming with options of coves and bays too. On paper it’s a tattered and lacy bit of land. If we had a dartboard and a spare paper chart of the island, it could make the selection process easier. Right now we’re aiming for a promising looking all weather anchorage on the southwest side of the island, arrival sometime tomorrow. Maybe I’ll write again after a nice long rest. Even an easy passage can wear you out.

Bear country, here we come.

xoxomo