Prince Rupert, Foggy Bay and back in the USA! (Ketchikan Alaska) 6/25-6/27/2015

Prince Rupert is the next stop.  The Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club was full so we anchored in Pillsbury Cove about 2.5 miles from the town.   Easy dinghy ride except for the rain.  PR is a fair sized city with train and ferry service to Vancouver.  There is a commercial dock for freighters and its the last major stop heading north before entering US waters in Alaska.  We had a few packages delivered to the yacht club and enjoyed a nice few days of sunshine with occasional rain.

 

Only one other boat in the anchorage with us.

Several trips to the shore were made to explore, provision and get some much needed exercise.  In addition to the normal food and miscellaneous stuff we always seem to need in port two car sized batteries used to augment the host motors on the mast we use for launching the dinghy gave out.  They are located in the stack and suffer a hard life of frequent heat exposure from the engine room/exhaust and very intermittent use.  Cleverly I went to Walmart, about a mile from the yacht club dinghy dock only to find out they had only a few automotive batteries and none of the size required.  Dragging my two old cores with me found a NAPA store within 200 yards of the yacht club dock with the correct batteries.    I got my exercise for that day.  Lesson learned, more calling around and less running off to the first place that comes to mind. 

Taken from about half way to Walmart (Yacht Club docks visable) 

The area we visited is known as Cow Bay.   Everything is somehow related to cows from the coffee shop to the ice cream store.   Every imaginable nick-knack that could contain a cow theme is available from cream pitchers to cow tongue back scratchers.....


















We will return here to clear back into Canada from Alaska.  Before departing for Ketchikan we called US Customs and Border Patrol to arrange an overnight anchor approval for Foggy Bay.  This gives us extra time to transit the Dixon Entrance and arrive in Ketchikan the following day during normal business hours.   Vessels are not allowed to go anywhere else before clearing US Customs in Ketchikan and only the Captain can exit the boat before clearing in.  We followed the rules and were visited by a very friendly US agent who cleared us in less than an hour at the dock.  He even asked on the phone if we had a pet in need of a shore visit.  Since Keela does not require real grass for relief the agent visited another yacht in need of dog relief before coming to inspect WORKNOT.  With the quarantine flag struck we are off to see Alaska!

Box Score  PR to Foggy Bay 6 hours 24 Gallons 34 Miles/Foggy Bay to Ketchikan 5 hours 18 gallons 33 miles