Guide to Cruising Southeast Alaska: Route, Challenges, Costs, Gear, Fishing Setup, & More(Ep 60)

[@brendabourns6004]

This is fun. I stumbled upon your site while looking for portlight repair tips (new to me 1986 Catalina 34) and find that we did very similar trips at very similar times! My parents and I set out from Skyline Marina in late May 2021 and headed up the Inside Passage on the same route you did all the way to Sitka (Warm Springs 5*!). We may have lapped you at some point - we were not in my sailboat, but in my parent's 28 foot trawler (Camano Troll, now called Helmsman 30) cruising at 7-7.5 knots, which did seem to be the ideal boat for the Inside Passage. We had windows all around and diesel heat - I can't imagine doing it the hard core way you did - sooooo much rain and cold! We got through Alaska in 8 days with lucky weather windows around CC and DE. We diverged from Sitka as we headed around the outside then up to Glacier Bay - spectacular! I changed crew to a buddy in Juneau then did Skagway (which we loved, there being no one but locals and park employees there due to covid). We mixed in remote anchorages with small, interesting cliff-side communities (Point Baker, Pelican, Elfin Cove, Meyer's Chuck (buy cinnamon rolls from Cassie!)) where we enjoyed meeting locals to see the amazing contrast of living in SE. Glaciers were amazing, Ford's Terror was really something - worth the significant effort to get there for anyone else reading this! Wildlife incredible and don't bother putting in crab pots when you are in sea otter territory. We missed Misty Fjords so I really appreciated seeing your vlog cover it. Kudos to you for having the guts to go outside all the way down - no way could I have done that. My one+ day was enough, and that was very settled weather! Thanks for all your hard work and good luck with the channel, you may inspire me to try the Big Left Turn!

[@CruisingMaya]

That's wild were up there at the same time! That trawler sounds like the perfect boat for that cold cruise.... many a times we thought about how nice it would be to be piloting from a nice warm interior in our slippers! That's crazy you got up to Alaska in 8 days when it took us..... 18! We were sad to have missed Ford's Terror, but we just didn't have the time! Gotta save that one for the next trip up there..... which will most likely be in a trawler ;-) Thanks for watching and commenting- very cool that you've been up there and that we know all the same spots. Hope you get some quality time cruising this season- thanks again and CHEERS!

[@caramoonlynn]

This is a really well done video and lots of good information.

[@CruisingMaya]

Thanks so much 😀

[@markbuskens6070]

I really like you two 👍Maya is always very fun and relaxing to watch and follow!Im subscribed to 100 channels and you are among my favorites 😊

[@CruisingMaya]

That's so kind of you to say- thank you very much :-)

[@jacobmacleod4054]

Thank you for sharing these details! My girlfriend and I are planning on going this spring and although I've sailed a bunch, I haven't cruised, so I've got lots of questions. This was extremely helpful!

[@CruisingMaya]

You're welcome! Glad you found it helpful. Have a great trip- Alaska is outta this world awesome!!!

[@jacobmacleod4054]

@@CruisingMaya thank you!! I might have missed it, but how long was your sail back, from AK to WA?

[@CruisingMaya]

@@jacobmacleod4054 Our passage from Craig, Alaska to Neah Bay, Washington was approx 6 days.

[@SVCSkallywags]

You guys ROCK, thanks for sharing, I'd rather keep it for myself, but.. it's awesome

[@CruisingMaya]

Thankfully Alaska is mind bogglingly big!

[@mariemoe3772]

Very informative and good summary of your trip to Alaska. I enjoyed all of your videos and took lots of notes also. Thank you!

[@CruisingMaya]

Oh thank you for watching the Alaska series and I'm so glad you enjoyed!

[@waderogers]

Hey, good luck w/ your channel, and 'hello' from Juneau. Loved your recommendations on using a Portland Pudgy dinghy. I have friends who own one and they love it. Also, I piloted a Katy Krogen 42 from Juneau to Valdez 2 years ago for a new owner who'd never done coastal boating before and loved it. It had a great motion thru the water and was just big enough to be very comfortable! Xtra Tuffs rule but I don't like trying to get them on/off. I'm tall with big feet so it's difficult. For deck shoes, if it's raining, I use those Xtra Tuff shortie shoes. I also have off shore sailing rain gear which works well. My Catalina 27 also has a cockpit that's halfway enclosed, so I can sit under it with the diesel heater going and steer the tiller using my remotely controlled tiller pilot. Works like a charm! I've done the inside passage a couple of times, delivering boats so there are a lot of places I've been past but never entered. Misty Fjords looks spectacular. Am curious to see if you guys made it to Baranof Warm Springs. Anyway, thanks for the good content. SE Alaska is a hot spot destination now for boaters coming up from the Seattle area but for those of us who've lived here for decades, it's our own backyard!

[@rickczainski9856]

Just awesome info. A dream of mine to sail the west coast. Looking forward to watching your 12 part series.

[@CruisingMaya]

Alaska is amazing in so many ways. Well worth the effort of getting a boat up there!

[@WormsHere]

Great video. I’ve been looking for something like your video because I want to do a similar trip starting at Bellingham, Wa.

[@lizfraley5688]

Awesome video! I LOL’d during the bloopers! Hahaha

[@SVCSkallywags]

I second the diesel heater :)

[@CruisingMaya]

Oh yea.... would have liked nothing more than to flip a switch and heat up the boat on those cold mornings.... next time!

[@evan2799]

I watched 14:45 to the end about 10 times hahahaha. Man I miss you guys!! Amazing video.

[@evan2799]

I just watched it another 10 times. Omg I'm so glad you included this. I swear this is me talking into a camera 100% of the time.

[@CruisingMaya]

Talking to the camera is like the hardest thing to do!!! I'm so bad at it- it took us a long time to get all the interview footage shot

[@PatrickThreewit]

I'm looking forward to going through this, although I will never go there at my age of 78. I live 80 miles east of Idaho's only seaport, on the western slopes of the Bitterroot Mountain Range, but I graduated from high school in 1963 in Friday Harbor. Over the years, I've been to quite a few places in Puget Sound and of course I've been on Mt. Erie on Fidalgo. In 1962, my parents and I took the AlCan highway from our home 8 miles west of FH to Anacortes and then to Seward, Alaska where I worked in Prince William Sound on the small wooden purse seiner I had named when I was 12. This year I was 17. After the short season was over I went with family back home in our 57 Chevy wagon. . But the next year I flew up and the end of that second season, I chose to accompany by much older brother, the skipper, going from Port San Juan in that Sound across the Gulf to Icy Strait and through Southeast Alaska and Canada home, with experiences I could not imagine. On my 4th season fishing we were in Southeast, beginning in the Pelican area. I have gone up and down. We didn't have Covid, but we only stopped in Canada on the upper end of Vancouver Island when the weather was rough. Most commercial fishing boats were beholden to canneries and didn't explore, but I was on a family boat with a skipper who wanted us crew members to see places he had seen in his years being a troller, so over the next 4 seasons, I was able to see some amazing places. We explored the gold mine ghost towns on the west coast of Chichagof Island where in an assay office I could see flakes of gold shining in the walls, but gold wasn't worth much then. Pelican on Lisianski Inlet is interesting. Hasn't changed much. Still only a couple cars and now some ATV's on the boardwalk. I hope you are able to see all the places I've seen there. Been a long time, but I'll never forget all I saw. And I worked on a boat that was either in the top ten or the top one for making money.

[@CruisingMaya]

Your family sounds very adventurous! Alaska is the perfect place for an adventurous spirit. Our time in Alaska was too short- we shall return!

[@PatrickThreewit]

@@CruisingMaya I worked on my brother's wooden 44-foot troller, rebuilt to be a purse seiner, that I named at the age of 12 by breaking a bottle of Champagne on the steel bow stem at a shipyard in Friday Harbor, Washington. I wanted to go north with my brother my senior of 18 years, but my parents were opposed so kids in my high school class got to go because their parents didn't worry. When I was 17, my brother stopped trolling of the west coast of Baranof in open water. This boat was built to be able to troll 50 miles offshore in the Guild of Alaska, while smaller boats could not. So my brother worked shortly on a seiner and decided to have our family as crew on the now Purse seiner, MV PAT. Our next 3 years we would fish Prince William Sound. Our family drove a 57 Chevy station wagon up the Alaska Highway. Bugs were so bad, we had to cook in our canvas tent. 1500 miles of gravel road, but we got to Seward. I and my college cousin got on the boat and we fished. We worked 20 hours a day, 7 days a week. We were the top boat. A lot of the fishermen were natives with smaller boats who would catch so many fish, their boats would sink with 2000 salmon. One day we caught 8000 and they went into the hold and we still had room. We sold humpies (pinks) for 5 cents a pound and dogs (chums) for 2 cents a pound. That first year in 1962, I made $500 that one big day and I netted $2600 for the season which was lot of money in those days. The second season we had more time off and visited Whittier Glacier, ghost towns and deep blue Kennecott Copper glory holes. Altogether we spent 3 summers there and had some amazing times. On the fourth season, I was able to go up and down the Inside Passage to Washington 3 times and I went from Seward all the way down once.. Once I flew to Juneau from Seattle and then took a float plane to Pelican which was a sort of port for us. From there we visited Elfin Cove, collected ice for our coolers from one of the many icebergs floating in Icy Strait. visited Old Gold Ghost town of Hearst Chichagof on the west side of that Island, salmon schools of 10,000 or more, caught Dolly Varden trout on shore for dinner, ate lots of salmon, since my brother, the skipper was a chef in the Marines. Pelican had a swirling hole not far out of town on the mountain side. And one day, we were tied up when a tidal wave warning came. That was exciting. We saw a lot more than that, like swimming Orcas 3 feet off the bow where I was standing and being in Lituya Bay, whee a few years before a tidal wave had destroyed a couple boats and the trees were taken off the hillside up to 400 feet. We were a couple years later, but while gold panning there, I saw a big Brown bear standing up a hundred yards from me. I've only told you a few things mostly on the west coast of Chichigof Island. Fishermen start up north and as the season progresses they end up in Ketchican. The reason why we could visit more places is because we owned no money to the canneries and we could fish where we wanted, and a past troller fishermannew where to go to find money fish such as Silver, Kings, and sockeye so we didn't catch as many as did the big boys with their Alaska limit 58-footers but we were still in the top ten of money makers because we caught sockeye. If you want me to tell any more, just ask.

[@bobhughes4128]

Great video! Thank you for summarizing and sharing the details of your Alaska trip. We especially appreciated the fishing tips and tricks!

[@CruisingMaya]

You're very welcome- I hope you can put the fishing tips to good use! Nothing better than fresh caught seafood!

[@pfeif1312]

Thanks, great info

[@titusmoz]

Very informative and some great info and insight, thank you for sharing! You guys rock! Cheers T

[@bobschick2943]

I really appreciate you doing this summary video! This is very helpful for planning our own adventures up the coast from Washington. Thanks!!!

[@CruisingMaya]

Glad you found it helpful- thanks for watching!

[@lindafraley5538]

Ok, I would like a whole video of just the bloopers! Cracked me up.

[@CruisingMaya]

We have so many bloopers it's embarassing.... glad you enjoyed them!

[@SeaDarer]

Absolutely refreshing how you just tell your story without embellishment or hyperbole. I have watched your videos for some time and am impressed how you are able to emote the spirit of your trip and how much you enjoy the experience. I sail mostly in Canada, but only just south of your Alaska trip so many of the places are familiar to me. Well done, and hopefully you can keep it going. Most of all: well done!

[@CruisingMaya]

Thank you for the wonderful comment! It's so nice to hear you enjoy our style. We just try to tell it how it is 😀

[@gushill1247]

i love the channel and all your content! This would be my dream trip and i thank you for sharing!

[@CruisingMaya]

Right on! Thanks so much! It's actually insane how much cruising and exploring there is to be had in the PNW!

[@pilot41186]

Great video guys!! Glad I found your channel

[@CruisingMaya]

Thank you! Glad you found us as well!

[@mikaoyry9144]

Great

[@benlindner5285]

Thanks guys very helpful! I enjoyed the series and I look forward to getting back to the NW and Alaska but for now Tahiti is calling! Ben S/V DAWN

[@CruisingMaya]

Tahiti sounds pretty great!!! Thanks for watching and fair winds!

[@robertcarkeek8391]

excellent information.

[@timnoneya811]

This video was Outstanding guys!!!!! You covered Everything and didnt miss a lick. i was even sitting here thinking, Hmmmmm i wonder how many hours they put on their motor thru this. and Bam a couple minutes later i see the breakdown of fuel and engine hours used. Awesome Job!! Thanks and you guys enjoy your day.

[@CruisingMaya]

Glad to hear you found the video informative! Hope it helps your cause!

[@kkots]

Hi guys! Cheers...Another wonderful video that ties together your Alaska trip. Along with the epic 12 part videos in the series this will be our reference when we go in that direction. Meanwhile, it looks like you are really enjoying Mexico!!

[@CruisingMaya]

Thanks Ken! Hope your boat prep continues to go well! We're having a great time down here in Mexico 😎🏝

[@kkots]

@@CruisingMaya Thx guys! The prep is indeed coming along... :) mast and boom were stripped, sanded, treated, primed and painted. New standing and running rigging, new dyneema life lines and the list goes on. Your instagram feed is another fine example of your wonderful style of documenting your journey on Maya...Mexico style. Super cool perspective! Cheers and a belly rub for Disco!

[@tomfraley1431]

Sign me up for next year. Great recap!

[@CruisingMaya]

You got it!!!

[@不可有顷刻之不存者也]

envious

[@davidmoore5021]

Thanks for sharing

[@CruisingMaya]

You're welcome- thanks for watching!

[@charlieleahey1516]

Trawler versus pilothouse sailboat?! Say it ain't so! Especially for distance work, the greatest advantage a smaller vessel can have is the ability to sail combined with the seaworthiness and small engine of a sailboat. Plus, fewer people sail which creates better used boat prices for sail versus power. I totally understand that having to sit in an open cockpit sucks under way in bad weather. Have you ever heard of Sirius Yachts? I think they're from Germany. Unless you are trying to avoid sailboats, their designs produce the copious visibility and interior cockpit with miraculous double deck interior use. I'm not sure how easy they are to get in the US but they look amazing on their KZbin videos.

[@charlieleahey1516]

I just looked up the Kadey Krogen 42 and now understand your mentioning this trawler in particular. It can run 5,000nMi(5,754 miles) on2x350 gal diesel tank capacity at 6 kts? That is astounding! That's way better than Diesel Ducks and I've always respected them for their range. Nice pick!

[@CruisingMaya]

The fuel economy really shocked me too- especially at 6 knots! They are super comfortable on the inside too. The one I've been on had three bedrooms- two proper bedrooms, and the pilot house had a bunk. Not to mention you could sleep people in the saloon. You could host a lot of people comfortably.... Also, the full keel and protected prop is a nice feature especially for all those pesky logs up there.

[@CruisingMaya]

I also really like the diesel duck, although I've always thought the layout on those are goofy. The kadey krogen just nails it in terms of a PNW boat.

[@lizfraley5688]

Haha just watched the bloopers again.

[@CruisingMaya]

We have so many more outtakes it's absurd!

[@ThisIsTheWave]

Amazing

[@CruisingMaya]

Hope you found the video informative! Really wanted to show that you can make a trip like this without spending a crazy amount of money..... everyone assumes boat trips are insanely expensive and we are here to show that they dont have to be!

[@Erica-bh6ss]

Please please PLEASE go through the fjords in patagonia!!!

[@CruisingMaya]

Sounds awesome, although that's a LOOOOONG trip down there 😀

[@thecasualmountainbiker]

Very helpful!

[@CruisingMaya]

So glad to hear that- thanks for watching!

[@AllMyHobbies]

Good job guys

[@CruisingMaya]

Much appreciated!

[@AfterDeath1986]

@7:55 you're telling me man, been cruising the southern gulf for the last couple years and them dang logs create a lot of stress.

[@CruisingMaya]

They sure keep you on your toes!

[@adriaboschsoler3964]

Like the fish on the wall!! :)

[@CruisingMaya]

We do too! Is this the artist himself?!

[@adriaboschsoler3964]

@@CruisingMaya Yes hahahah thanks again!

[@CruisingMaya]

@@adriaboschsoler3964 we love how the snapper looks in the boat! We're coming back to La Paz in a few weeks- we would love to pick up a big Dorado piece!

[@adriaboschsoler3964]

@@CruisingMaya yeeey!! I'll wait for you guys! Have a nice and safe trip!

[@sailing_kelea]

Great video! Thanks for all the recs on fishing gear. One question - you stated that you had to replace your propane tank during your trip. Can you elaborate on the reason for that? Our two tanks are pretty old and we're debating getting new ones but they are SO EXPENSIVE.... just wondering if we should push this higher up on our project list. Thanks!

[@CruisingMaya]

We replaced our propane tank because it was expired and we couldn't get it filled. We were extremely lucky to find a perfect replacement in Sitka. I would definitely recommend replacing before you head north- shipping stuff north can be difficult and SLOW. Good question and thanks for watching!

[@evanmhowington]

Subscribed. Good quality video no bs. I like it. Would you recommend a metal hull over a fiberglass hull? I'm thinking metal hull would be better for all the potential in water hazards/floaters.. as well as I hear a properly insulated metal hull is far superior to fiberglass for helping to keep humidity down. Curious about your thoughts. going to watch the 12 part series. Thanks, and take care.

[@CruisingMaya]

I like the repairability of fiberglass. I am not a welder so repairing a metal hull would be costly for us. Also, the possibility of corrosion on a metal boat is somewhat worrisome- especially on an older boat that has gone through multiple owners.... there are ways to protect against corrosion in metal, but it can be tricky with older boats. For us, we will be probably always be fiberglass hull people- it's super strong stuff! Thanks for subbing and we hope you enjoy the videos.

[@netteypatch]

Did you have paper charts aboard? If so, would it be possible to get a list? I'm making the same trip next year, and that would be great info

[@CruisingMaya]

We had a few paper charts. One of the more detailed one is the Evergreen Pacific. evergreen-pacific-publishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=20

[@netteypatch]

@@CruisingMaya Thank you very much!

[@melinastayton343]

Ah! I just stumbled upon your channel and have been binge watching! We recently purchased a Pearson 303 and it is up in the Everett Marina! Is your home base still in Anacortes? We would love to connect with you two sometime if the stars align. :)

[@CruisingMaya]

We are honor to have been binged! Congrats on the boat! Yes we are based out of Anacortes- What is your boat's name- we will look out for it. Thanks again for watching!

[@melinastayton343]

@@CruisingMaya Sailing Vessel Nonny! We hope to see you around, if not in our boat, then maybe our B190 Van Archie. :) Safe travels home!

[@mikepatton1489]

You missed so much on the BC coast.Hopefully you can explore here a bit next time

[@AfterDeath1986]

Did you watch their circumnavigation of Vancouver Island by chance? Really cool series to watch too.

[@mikepatton1489]

@@AfterDeath1986 yes.But there is so much the passed on there way north

[@AfterDeath1986]

@@mikepatton1489 fair enough boss 👍 I can't disagree with you lol but let's be honest we could all spend a lifetime exploring the BC Coast. I'm going again this summer exploring the southern gulf with my boat... and well it will be our fourth? (One sec doing mental math... yeah 4th) year exploring and I still don't think it is enough lol and here I am debating Alaska lol

[@mikepatton1489]

@@AfterDeath1986 it could definitely take a lifetime. I would like to spend a few years exploring BC,then head south after I retire. I just hope I can spend enough time here before I get sick of the cold

[@AfterDeath1986]

@@mikepatton1489 preach it boss. 35 right now 36 in 19 days >.< with two kids and a wife... my Fraulein had never been on a sailboat before we bought ours.. but now she is sold. Have to say, so far, Sidney Spit and salt spring island are our two favorite places.. but so much to see and do up here. Just hope I can do enough before the bug to travel further afield gets to itchy haha.

[@dennis6325]

Those out-takes were so endearing. I was laughing so hard! I do have another question for you about Navionics. I recall the Navionic's current predictions did not quite match your observations in a few locations. Was that mis-match unique to the inside passage? How well does Navionics predict currents around the San Juan Islands area? I am debating getting a current atlas for the San Juans, but was wondering if Navionics does a well enough job. I assume you primarily used Ports and Passes to time slack water at Seymour Narrows and Dodd Narrows. On another note. Did you ever meet an older guy by the name of Steve Peavey (he is in his eighties now) while you were in Meyers Chuck? He and his wife, Cassey, started the post office in town. They are my aunt and uncle. Although, I think Cassey spends most of her time living on a trawler in Craig, AK to be closer to their kids. Just curious if you ran into them? Thanks for this video. Very informative, helpful and well done! Next time you go fishing up in Alaska...look into a lure called the "Coho Killer". They work awesome and are so simple.

[@CruisingMaya]

Glad you enjoyed the outtakes! We have plenty more where those came from. The mismatch on navionics only occured once on our trip and it was only slightly different than what port and passes showed. More sources of data the better, but navionics does a really good job. We met a couple of people in meyers chuck, but I dont recall the names! Chances are pretty good that we met steve though!!!

[@371508129]

Curious as to the name of your dingy and a source for it.

[@CruisingMaya]

It's a Portland Pudgy out of Portland, Maine. Great dinghy.

[@redshifttrucking4537]

You didn't mention insulation... I found the video informative... thanks.

[@CruisingMaya]

Oh boat isn't insulated if that's what you were wondering. I would absolutely want my boat to be insulated if we staying in AK through the winter.