Day 41 – Hoonah to Swanson Harbor – June 22, 2018

∞A lazy morning in Hoonah, I think the whole crew stayed in bed until 8:30AM, a record! We had a very leisurely morning hanging out in Hoonah, we visited with the neighbors also on a Sonship, and went uptown again. This time the boys went to the boat yard to see the remains of a 58’ Sonship that ran over a rock cropping at high tide and ripped his gear off. Someone from Edmonton, Alberta. Yikes. I think all of us can relate to what a horror that must have been. We actually heard the distress call the week before but didn’t put 2 and 2 together until we heard the story. Everyone was evacuated safely and it sounds like the bilge pumps were able to keep up with the inflow so at least it didn’t sink or get flooded. But a big repair bill for that guy and end of his summer boating season!

∞The run to Swanson Harbor was a short one but we ran across a large pod of Humpback Whales that were surfing the shoreline close by but not close enough for pictures. Then another one was right next to the boat and I got a tail shot! No bubble feeding performances today, just backs and tails. You know we are getting accustomed to the whale sightings when we didn’t even slow down to watch them, just another pod of humpbacks, ho hum (not really, it’s quite thrilling to see them always). 

∞Upon arrival in Swanson we spotted the commercial crab pots in the bay so John Sr. and I went out and set our pots. We had some great halibut parts in the freezer from John Sr.’s fish he caught for our bait. There was also a 150’ yacht anchored in the bay with a helicopter on top – now that’s a whole other level of boating! They had a number of crew members all clad in red shirts and at one point the crew went and set the crab pots as well. OK, even if I had a “crew” I would still want to set my own pots! That’s the fun stuff we get to do. John thinks it was the original owner of Bayliner that owned the boat. Dinner tonight was flat iron steak, roasted baby reds with rosemary and shallots, greek salad, and cherry cobbler with Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream.