LOCATION: Dora Bay
WEATHER: Warm, clear, calm
Boaters benefit in many ways from the Great Northern Boaters radio net, including the chance to get acquainted with folks we wouldn’t otherwise meet. Over the past few weeks we have been hearing Jim (AF6JL) and Betty (AI6QP,) aboard the ALICE J, with reports of their travels on the northwest coast of Chichagof Island and Lisianski Strait near Pelican. This evening they are tied up in Dora Bay, and invited the Minors and us dine aboard.
The Alice J. is a 52-foot DeFever, built to Jim’s specifications. It is roomy, comfortable and immaculately maintained, looking more like a boat that has just come from the factory than one that has just explored to coastal waters. We carried slippers and changed out of our Xtra-tuff boots before coming aboard.
Dinner was excellent one-pot combination of roast beef and vegetables, home made bread, and dessert. We had some wine and talked until late in the evening. Jim had explored the difficult entrance to Kitkun Inlet on the south shore of Cholmondeley Sound and recorded a GPS track; he gave Floyd and I printouts of his GPS track waypoints for our future reference.
Jim and Betty were planning on leaving early the following morning, destination Prince Rupert.
Upon returning to CAMAI after dark, we were greeted by the sounds of nearby whales. Though they were probably out in the larger channel where we had seen them earlier, in the darkness they sounded only a few boat lengths away. The sounds were coming from some very large animals, and it was a relief to climb out of the dinghy onto the larger sailboat. Within a half hour the whales moved out of earshot.
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