We had a bad alternator, and the only thing I could see to account for it was a broken ground lead from the alt to the engine. We used the generator to recharge the "house bank", and left for Elfin Cove. What a treat! Just as we left the inlet, we saw much turbulent water, with birds feeding above it. Then a whale, then 3 more whales, then we realized that we were approaching a pod that was bubble-feeding. We stopped, but they essentially surrounded us while we were at idle. 
There were too many to count, and the show was spectacular. Jan had seen a clear demarcation in the seas that we assumed were current lines, but it turned out to be turbulence caused by the feeding whales.We continued on, with very poor weather, visibility of only a mile, and headed for Elfin Cove. My hope was to fix the ground lead for the alt, but the village is really nice.
It is a town of 32 hearty souls, with many fishing boats that refuel and sell their fish at the dock.
The town is built on the water, with boardwalks as sidewalks. One of the docks serves as a floatplane dock...
and another dock allowed Greg and I to clean 4 Dungeness Crabs for dinner...
Jan and Christy, looking over the town
Greg and I found the town mechanic who helped us fashion a new lead for the alternator. However, after connecting it, I noticed a broken bolt holding the alt to the mount. Then smoke poured from the alt, and we were really in a bind. The alt must be in place in order for the belt to be tight, and the belt turns the water pump, and much more. With the broken bolt, the bad alt was not tight enough to keep the belt secure. The shop in town had a small "Easy-Out", which can extract the broken piece. I drilled a hole in the broken bolt, hammered in the easy-out, and sure enough, the bolt came slowly out. Then we needed a replacement bolt of 10mm size, and Jim and Diane Neff, to whom we were rafted, had exactly what we needed. So after bolting everything back on, we were on our way to Hoona. The factory said they would ship a replacement alternator, lead, and bolts to us in Sitka.
These were the roughest seas we have encountered. A flooding tide against an easterly wind made for greater than 6 ft seas for an hour or so. The dinghy was moved on the deck, but no one got sick, thankfully. We were grateful for the final easy miles into Hoona!
Hoona is the largest Tlingit (native) village in Alaska. They are noted for having such a reliable harbormaster, and I wanted to talk to him about wintering the boat there. It seemed too small, but the marina is a good one...
We went to their trails for a walk. They have built a separate "village" just to accomodate tourists, and this trail is a part of it. They also have the longest "Zip-Line" in AK, but it was closed when we were there. Christy pointed out that not every boat is well kept...This one was next to us at the dock..
Note the satellite dish on the front. The dinghy was full of water, and grafitti was scrawled on the sides. He was a live-a-board, and the TV was on late at night, but we never saw him...So we left Hoona for Sitka. The distance is about 90 miles, so we wanted to break it into two segments. Our first one was to a cove just inside Peril Strait. We read that Grizzlies hung out at a spot called Honus Bay, so we dropped anchor there. At dusk, we went out on the bow to look around, and there was a Grizzly just walking the beach!! We watched him for 30 minutes or so, until he was out of sight. Then we heard loud roars, and whale grunts in the Strait many times. What an evening.
We got up early to make it to Sitka before too late, and to time the currents. There are 4 straits to get through, and you cannot make all of them at slack water, so you must compromise every one! The strongest currents are at the Sergious Narrows, and you can see by the picture that there was about a 5 knot current opposite our direction. All of the others were easy enough.
When we arrived in Sitka, we marveled at the "working boats". Sitka is one of the busiest fishing ports in the US! It is a town of only 8,800, but everyone has a fishing boat. In the evening, when they return for the day, they raft 4 abreast to rehash the day, and debrief their friends. Needless to say, they decompress with beverages as well. The harbormaster told me that it takes a special dump-truck to carry away the empties the next morning...
After rain most of the day, this was our treat at sunset...quite the show.
The waterfront bar was filled with locals, and the walls covered with pictures of boats, fish, and personalities...
And in downtown, when tourists leave, the streets are empty...
This is the oldest Episcopal Church in Alaska, having been in continuous operation since 1860.
We hiked up the trail at the Raptor Center here in Sitka, and even trout fishing is popular..
This Great Horned Owl is in the center, recuperating from some injury...
And now a few pictures from our trip up Tracy Arm a few weeks ago. A friend took these pictures and sent them to us. It's hard to get pictures of your own boat while underway, but these are good and capture the scene...
This picture is of a cruise boat further toward the Sawyer Glacier than we could get (in Tracy Arm)...
Greg and Jan must leave, so early on Tuesday July 22nd, with tears in our eyes, we sent them on their way back to Durango. It is so much fun to have guests on the boat, but it makes us sad when they leave. They become a part of our family, and seem to become essential to the operations of the boat itself...we are so thankful to have close friends to share these experiences with, and appreciate the time and cost associated with the travel to and from the boat.....
Christy and I are now settling in to getting a few repairs done. I have, just this morning, installed the new alternator and everything seems to work just fine. Chris is cleaning and taking all inventories. Sitka may be our home for a week or so, until we find our "winter resting place".
