sy Timoneer

Noon Position 34deg 54 N 121deg 16  W

Course –  160Degrees   Speed –  11.5  Knots        Day’s Run –  215 Miles

Weather –  Sunny with 15′ swells from the North

Wind – 12 knots from NNW

Timoneer has left San Francisco after 3 very busy weeks. We finally got our new life rafts about 5.30pm yesterday and left very soon after to pass under the Golden Gate bridge just after sunset. It was a spectacular beginning to our journey. We have been motoring fast through the night to get south before a big storm fills in up north. We have now slowed down a bit to conserve fuel for the 3000 mile voyage to the Galapagos Islands. All going well it should take us 12 days.

JC

Timoneer has arrived safely in sunny San Francisco after a mixed bag of weather coming down from Alaska.

We said farewell to Alaska with fantastic sunny, still days. Unfortunately northern British Columbia was not so kind. We were forced to day sail down the Inside Passage to Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Forecasts for the open ocean route were hurricane force winds and 20 to 30 foot seas. Even on anchor in a small sheltered harbour on the Inside Passage we were battered by winds up to 68 knots. Not much sleep was had that night.

On the way down through B.C. there was a lot of logging activity and plenty of logs in the water to avoid. As we headed down the inside of Vancouver Island the land became more and more populated. Being moored in Vancouver and surrounded by skyscrapers was a bit of a shock to the senses after being surrounded by the wild beauty of Alaska all summer.

The first day of the trip South from Vancouver was stunning weather, the 2nd 24hrs we had 30 knots on the nose a big seas and then we were welcomed to San Francisco with glassy seas and a sunrise behind Golden gate Bridge.

We are now cleared back into the States with all the crews visas renewed. We  have 3 weeks to continue our maintenance schedule and prepare Timoneer for the long voyage to Chile.

“JC” John Cornish

We had another memorable cruise around South East Alaska with guests on board from 31st August through to 11th September, starting in Juneau and up to the Glacier Bay area. We again saw the bears feeding on the whale carcass, lots of glaciers, sea otters and other wildlife including a pack of wolves. In Chatham Strait we again saw the whales bubble netting and also a large group of Orcas.

This trip we visited a few small Alaskan towns along the way – Pelican, Elfin Cove and Tanekee Springs, all of which were fascinating and we enjoyed walking ashore, which you don’t get to do too often up here unless you go hiking through bear country. Each town is very different, with virtually no roads and the only access is by boat or seaplane.

Our theory about good weather in September proved itself again and we had some remarkable days with lots of sunshine, fantastic views and good cruising. We worked hard at catching salmon, crabs, shrimp and halibut and although we often got “skunked” we did not go hungry by any means!

All in all another successful trip and a fitting end to our stay in Alaska.

Timoneer will be heading south on 16th September and will stop at Vancouver before the hop down to San Francisco for maintenance work in October.
All are well on board and sad to leave the wonderful place.

There were so many amazing photos taken by the crew and guests it was hard to choose a selection but here are just a few.

We are now in Juneau, the capital of Alaska and close to famous Glacier Bay. On August 16th Mrs G arrived with four grand children and two of their friends. The weather was pretty good so we did a road trip up to Mendenhall Glacier in the evening, which is a must if visiting Juneau. The Glacier feeds into a lake and a huge waterfall, also there are board walks over the top of a red salmon stream so you can see the salmon spawning and more often than not a couple of bears. We weren’t so lucky with the bears, but a good outing nevertheless.

Meanwhile we managed to get a permit to enter Glacier Bay and spent the next three days in the National Park catching salmon, putting down crab and shrimp pots and bear spotting. In between these activities we visited some spectacular glaciers and saw lots of seals and otters. There is a whale carcass washed up on the beach and we were treated to a couple of bears feeding on it. We were all safely in the dinghy so were able to get very close for good viewing.

Whale carcass

While we were there a pack of wolves also came out of the nearby bushes (a rare sighting) but they were very shy. While waiting in front of the carcass we dropped the crab pots over and also a halibut line and caught two halibut, one of 38lbs and the other one was just 1lb – the smallest halibut any of us has ever seen so we returned him to the deep for next time.

While in the Park we saw lots of whales and sat with some orcas for an hour or more so more good photos…..

Killer Whales

The weather was not fantastic but also not too bad. We left the national park and paused to watch a pod of humpback whales bubble feeding in Icy Straits.

We anchored overnight at Killisnoo Island where the sun was shining so the girls decided to take a swim! Crazy if you ask me! We had a fantastic sunset over snow-capped mountains on Baronof Island, which was our next destination at Warm Springs Bay. Here there are hot springs feeding into an huge icy waterfall so we all took a relaxing bathe in spectacular surroundings.

Baranof hot springs

Hot springs

We stopped off in the next inlet to catch some pink salmon and saw another bear, which ran off. The youngsters all had a great time reeling in the salmon although we only kept two due to freezer space. This was just as well as we caught a 93 lb Halibut in our next anchorage at Trap Bay. We also hooked an octopus, which we estimated at 50 lbs but managed, with some difficulty to persuade him to go back into the sea. We already had a smaller one in the fridge, which had come up in one of the crab pots.

Octopus

Time was running out and we started to head back. On the last day we saw more whales bubble feeding and also managed a quick visit to Funtner Bay for a guided hike into the forest.

Back in Juneau we are now awaiting the next party who arrive this afternoon. Everyone is well on board and we are having fun in Alaska, as you can no doubt tell!

We had a few days in Seward before the second group of guests arrived, this time five young ladies all in their twenties. We left from Seward after they had a beautiful sunny day and visits to the Sealife Museum, which is extremely well done and a great education of the wildlife in Alaska.

On our first day out of Seward we encountered a pod of humpback whales doing their bubble feeding which we got to witness at real close quarters.

Whales Bubblefeeding

Later we saw orcas, a bear, sea otters (always a favourite) as well as catching shrimp, a salmon and a 27lb halibut – all of this in one day! The only thing we didn’t see that day was the sunshine!

In fact as good as the weather had been for our first trip it was equally as bad for the second. We had a float plane scheduled to meet us at a prearranged anchorage as one of the girls had to go home early, but we had to cancel this flight due to the rain and fog. Instead we diverted to Whittier to drop her off so that she could travel back to Anchorage by road. After that we continued on our voyage up to College Arm where we saw hundreds of sea otters and lots of good glaciers.

Glacier

Each day we were catching large shrimp in the pots that we put down in 500 feet of water. We usually drop the pots outside of wherever we anchor for the night and then pick them up again on the way out the following morning. We pull traps back onboard using a halyard from the top of the main mast so it is quite an operation each day. Occasionally all we got were star fish but usually there were shrimp, so we had some good feeds off our catch.

Salmon are still proving elusive but we do catch the odd one here and there and Penny does them justice in the galley.

We visited a fish hatchery at St Elias Island, which gave a good insight into how the whole salmon business works and it was very interesting. We stopped off at an oyster farm and got enough oysters for a good feed then down to Jackpot Bay where we saw quite a few bears and had fun following the salmon up the rivers.

Columbia Glacier was a big hit with lots of large icebergs floating around and that gave the girls an opportunity to don the survival suits for a photo shoot standing on one of them.

Girls on Ice

Time was running out very fast and we had a mad rush at the end as again the weather ruled out any flights out of Valdez. We only just made it in time for the girls to jump on a ferry back to Whittier and then they were driven into Anchorage for their flight home on July 31st.

Timoneer continued on to Cordova the following day with a few brief stops along the way. The highlight was Beartrap Bay where true to it’s name we saw a lot of brown bears feeding on salmon in the stream. Cordova was a welcome brief break and then straight down to Yakutat where we broke the journey to Sitka.

Our arrival in Sitka produced the usual interest that we get up here in Alaska and the locals are very friendly. We have there for a couple of days and then travelled south of Baronof Island headed to Juneau where we stopped off overnight at the Warm Springs – fantastic! Next day on our way again we had some of the best whale viewing ever. Humpbacks bubble feeding literally about 20feet from the boat!

Goodbye whales at close quarters

We sat with them for over an hour and then continued on our way with a small diversion to catch two silver salmon to keep the larder stocked.
We pick up the next guests on the 16th. More to follow after that trip so stay tuned!

Goodbye

Mrs G and friends, all octogenarians, arrived in Homer on the 9th July. Homer is a quaint little town on the Kenai Peninsula just south of Anchorage and is famous for it’s halibut fishing as well as salmon.

We left Homer next morning and headed across Kachemak Bay to Halibut Cove for a day before doing a night crossing to Hallo Bay on the Alaskan Peninsula to the west of Kodiak Island. Our following wind for the passage was not good for anchoring in Hallo, so we anchored in Kukak Bay with lots of protection and this is where we saw our first bears. This vast area is totally pristine with no one living there and lots of wildlife. We moved to Hidden Harbor further south which is really spectacular with a narrow passage (60 feet wide) to get in between high rock cliffs and swirling current. More bears at close quarters seen from the dinghy.

Geographic Bay, the next inlet down the coast gave us our best bear viewing yet, with over 30 bears in one day. We got very close with the dinghy to mothers with cubs digging for clams on the beach and we all took great photos. What a paradise!

The weather continued fine with sunshine and blue skies but right on cue the wind kicked in for a cracking sail across Shelikof Strait to Kodiak 30 miles away. We passed through Whale Passage with an 8 knot current behind us and saw several whales as well as a pod of Orcas on the other side which put on a show for us.

After a day in Kodiak town with still amazingly good weather we headed off for another overnighter to the Kenai Fjord National Park. This is a spectacular area on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula with snow capped mountains and rugged scenery. We stopped at most of the glaciers and even spent a night anchored a ¼ mile off Aialik Glacier, which is over a mile wide. The glacier put on a great show for us with huge lumps calving off and crashing into the sea.

The fishing also proved successful with a 110 pound (50kgs) halibut being caught from the stern of Timoneer.

Salmon has not been so successful as yet but we did catch two, one getting away at the last minute. The season is just starting so we are optimistic for future catches.

The weather finally broke on the last day but we were rewarded with a spectacular whale performance at the mouth of Resurrection Bay. The humpback whale was in a playful mood with lots of breaching and “finning”  very close to Timoneer. Again lots of photos and video taken.

We are now in Seward and the guests have flown home. The next team arrives on Thursday and we will take off to cruise Prince William Sound.

All in all it was a fantastic trip with great weather, enjoyed by all.

Noon Position – 59deg 33N 151deg 30 W
Course – / Speed – 0 Knots / Day’s Run – 210 Miles
Weather – Partly cloudy
Wind – 2 knots from W

Today’s News
The last 24 hours of our trip was on calm seas and the sun shining. We had several whale sightings and Dall’s dolphins. It is hard to believe we could go over 1800miles and not catch a fish but we achieved it. Now we are drifting about 3 miles from Homer enjoying visits from Sea Otters. We have to have a pilot on boardto go into Homer and although we booked one for midday, they decided 430pm was a better time for them. So now we just have to drift for 5 hours as we are not allowed to anchor without a pilot either. We can’t even fish as we don’t have Alaskan fishing licenses. At least the mountains are out and we are surrounded by snowy peaks and stunning scenery. Time for a wash down.

We are back to internet and cell phone coverage.

“JC” John Cornish
Yacht Timoneer
Ph +1 410 733 6180

Noon Position –
Course – 310 Degrees / Speed – 9 Knots / Day’s Run – 284 Miles
Weather – Sunny with cloud building
Wind – 8 knots from SW

Today’s News
After lunch yesterday the sun came out and we have had glorious conditions since. We still have had no luck with the fishing but have had 3 whale sightings all from a distance though. We were very surprised to seals so far off the coast. They just stick their head up and watch us go by. We have also spotted Puffins trying to fly away from us. They take a bit to get out of the water. With just over 200 miles to go we have slowed down to try and catch a fish and also to arrive on a rising tide. We plan to be on the dock soon after midday tomorrow.

“JC” John Cornish
Yacht Timoneer
Ph +1 410 733 6180

Noon Position – 54deg 11N 41deg 34W
Course – 311 Degrees / Speed – 12 Knots / Day’s Run – 280 Miles
Weather – Overcast with showers
Wind – 17 knots from ENE

Today’s News
As you would imagine, sailing through a low pressure system would be wet, windy and rough, and it was but we had some great sailing with a top speed of 14.4 knots. The last 6 hours going across the center of the system has been very rolly with not enough wind to keep the sails full. Now we are getting in to easterly winds and have less than 500 miles to go and most of it in a NW direction. Conditions have not been conducive to whale spotting or fishing but we hope that will change as the weather improves for the final stretch.

“JC” John Cornish
Yacht Timoneer
Ph +1 410 733 6180

Noon Position – 50deg 03N 137deg 47W
Course – 334 Degrees / Speed – 12.5 Knots / Day’s Run – 288 Miles
Weather – Partly cloudy with moderate seas
Wind – 20 knots from WSW

Today’s News
The sun came out this morning after 2 grey foggy days. Still no success on the fishing front as I think we may be going a bit fast. Everyone is enjoying how comfortably we are knocking off the miles. The seas are picking up a bit today as we head into a low pressure system. We managed to time it just right so as to get get favorable winds from the low. The sea and air temperature have both plummeted to around 50 degrees (10 Celsius ) and we are enjoying the luxury of an inside helm.

“JC” John Cornish
Yacht Timoneer
Ph +1 410 733 6180