“Beautiful anchorages are abundant throughout the island and nearby Katmai Peninsula, and the amount of wildlife is amazing in this pristine wilderness.”

 

Sea Fever is based out of Newport Beach, California, though we only spend about every other summer in that area. I am a professional captain and have been with the boat for about two years. Myself, and my boss, enjoy exploring areas not normally common among the yachting community. That is one of the reasons why we decided to venture out to the Alaskan Peninsula and Kodiak Island. And we did like the area so much that we decided next time we might skip SE Alaska and head straight out there.

 

We actually had the boat shipped up to Vancouver from Mexico via Dockwise Express, and spent the month of May in shipyard in Vancouver, which is where the boat was built. After departing Vancouver on June 1st, we followed the inside passage up the coast to Juneau, which is a route I highly recommend for several reasons. First, it is a beautiful area to cruise. It is also protected. There is less dependency on the weather than cruising offshore, with little exposure to any swell. There are great anchorages and towns along the way to visit, which is a necessity, because I would never transit the area at night, due to the presence of many logs and timbers adrift, which present a danger to vessels.

 

A good place to begin the transit across the Gulf of Alaska would be Juneau, about 600 miles from Kodiak. Juneau is a good place to provision and fuel for the trip, and communication is available there weather forecasts. The actual crossing of the gulf is 500 miles, as the first 100 from Juneau is still in protected waters. Monitoring the weather is essential, as the Gulf of Alaska can be a dangerous place. Elfin Cove, a small town and haven which is situated near Cross Sound (Cape Spencer), the jumping off point from protected waters to open ocean, is the last stop and option before heading out into open water. A good place to wait for good weather, though communication there is limited. There is no cell phone reception there, so satellite communication is the only option.

 

Once in open water, we made a straight shot to Kodiak, and were fortunate to have SE winds that backed to the NE, riding the swell the entire way. During our trip back, we experienced calm conditions and very little swell crossing the gulf. We timed the crossing perfectly. If we were delayed just one day, we would have faced E winds thirty knots and twenty foot seas, not a desirable place to be. That's how important it is to monitor the weather forecasts.

 

The other option when leaving Cape Spencer is to head up to Prince William Sound and follow the coast along the Kenai Peninsula down to Kodiak, which also has great cruising grounds, though at times exposed and vulnerable to southerly weather.

 

Kodiak Island is a great destination for yachts. It’s away from all the mainstream tourists and boat traffic of SE Alaska. The town of Kodiak has all the amenities needed for provisioning or repairs, as well as a first-class marina. Beautiful anchorages are abundant throughout the island and nearby Katmai Peninsula, and the amount of wildlife is amazing in this pristine wilderness.

 

A typical itinerary for the area for a week long trip resembled something like this. Leave the town of Kodiak on the first morning and head up towards Afognak Island (30 miles) and drop the hook in one of the bays (i.e. Danger Bay), then pending on the tide at Whale Pass, head that direction. (Great whale watching in the area) If the tide is right, the boat can easily transit the pass. There are several great anchorages on the west side (Marty knows them) to anchor for the night. The next morning we would head straight across Shelikof Straits over to the Katmai Peninsula. This is the best area to see bears. The first night anchor in Kukak Bay, and the second Geographic Harbor, which is my favorite anchorage in the area. Also a perfect area for a cocktail dinghy cruise. The next morning we would head back across the straits towards the south side of Kodiak Island, in areas like the Karluk, Halibut Bay, or Olga Bay. I always preferred to bring guests down there because the landscape was entirely different. It reminded us of Scotland. No trees, but a lots of hills and very green.

 

It also had the VERY best halibut fishing Io could have ever dreamed of. One day in 50 feet of water we caught 70 halibut from 50 to 100 pounds on light tackle. If we estimated the average fish at just 50 pounds, we still caught 3500 lbs of fish, though only kept one for dinner. And this wasn't a fluke. It was the norm. Truly impressive. With one night remaining and the boat so far away from Kodiak Harbor, we typically would begin to head north. If the weather was good, the east side of Kodiak was an option, with a night anchored somewhere on the way, say the Old Harbor area. But normally we headed back up the west side and spent the last night in one of the large bays one the way. I don't have any references with me, and I can't remember the names, but every time I tried to pick a different spot to explore. There were infinite options and all good anchorages. Return to Kodiak the next morning pending the tide at Whale Pass.

Ken Cicchelli
Captain, Sea Feve