July-August, 2020
After arriving in Sitka Kiko caught the ferry to head south to Bellingham and Seattle. Paul concentrated on resting and healing and Rosie and I got ready to start another round of repairs to be ready for heading north to Gustavus and Glacier Bay National Park, where we were to meet my sister Abigail (our first and only guest cruiser!) for a week cruising glaciers.
This was a bittersweet time as Rosie scheduled a flight from Gustavus to head home after our trip north and we were very aware of that clock ticking. It has been a gift having both her and Isabelle with us this year.
Work started with a flurry of research, calls and credit card moments ordering essential parts; the biggest of which were a new regulator and mainsail track. They were all flown in by Alaska Air as Sitka is bound by mountains and sea. We visited the local chandlery multiple times for small parts and arranged to have a diesel mechanic come and help diagnose an oil problem that was beyond my abilities. We changed out parts, tweaked and cleaned and serviced the engine. Rosie climbed the mast with Paul tending lines to diagnose halyard and electrical problems at the top. The staysail was repaired.
The ongoing engine issue which as it turned out we had correctly diagnosed, (a leaking injection pump) will have to be repaired once we are back home. With careful monitoring and frequent injections of fresh oil we should be able to manage it. I created a brand new problem by puncturing the freon line in the refrigerator. A friendly complementary visit from a local refrigeration expert resulted in the diagnosis of “you’re hosed!” We now have an “icebox” instead of 12volt refrigeration. At least we were heading to iceberg land.
In between work we took walks and explored Sitka. The work lasted a full 10 days but we got it done in time to leave for our passage north. All that was left was to do laundry, re-fuel, (diesel, gas, propane) and stock up on food and water. Paul spent time “overseeing” work and plotting our upcoming 3 day passage to Gustavus and monitoring weather
Rosie and I took a long hike to Thimbleberry Lake that reminded me of a wilder version of one of our frequent Bellingham hikes, Fragrance Lake. On the way home in our borrowed car (thank you Rob!) we watched a huge pod of Orca whales playing in an inlet.
A highlight of our time in Sitka and our only touristy activity was visiting the Fortress of the Bear. This is a privately funded bear sanctuary. As was explained to us by the head bearkeeper, there is no place for orphan bears in Alaska. The Alaskan bear population is thriving and when mother bears are killed or euthanized (when they become a problem), the cubs are also euthanized.
The Fortress of the Bears provides a permanent home for 9 bears and is at capacity. They are trying to expand their facility so they can accommodate more bears as the need is so great. They are also trying to convince the state to allow them to open a more remote location where they can prepare cubs to re-enter the wilderness.
We got a private tour, again a result of Covid. We were introduced to the black and brown bears housed in 3 groups according to age and personalities. They are housed in an old water treatment facility with plenty of space and as much stimulation as they can offer. It was an amazing opportunity to see bears up close
The British bearkeeper was delightful and passionate. When I mentioned Winnie-the-pooh (apologetically, as we were seeing the real thing) she told us her daughter was called Winnie.
We finished our jobs and were ready to leave to head north to Gustavus
Sailing Tomten 