Author Archives: Laysan

When the Spanish author Cervantes wrote the first great novel, Don Quixote, in 1605, Alaska indigenous people had not yet seen western contact, and were enmeshed with the cycles of this wilderness. The Russians would not arrive imperially in Alaska … Continue reading →

Let me just say, thank you “kids” for coming and hanging out with a couple of 68 year olds, hastily moving us out of our slow boat routine and putting us out there with the bears and the fishes! Instead … Continue reading →

There is much to do in preparation for a voyage, and our Texas roots are laid bare sometimes with a colloquialism that seems appropriate: “fixin’ to get ready”. Which does not mean that you are ready, or actually getting ready, … Continue reading →

Waking up in fog, we at least appreciate the calm wind. Today we move to Baker Cove along a circuitous route of narrow channels and poorly marked shoals. Again, we see no other boats and we are alone in the … Continue reading →

Sarah’s forecast via the Sat phone predicts a “firehose of rain” (NOAA’s terminology) and wind of 25 knots, fairly significant. We say goodbye to Chichagof, my new favorite anchorage and start to move to Kimshan Cove. The relatively short passage … Continue reading →

Our first anchorage on the Outside is Chichagof Village, the site of an abandoned gold mine from the late 1800’s to 1930. We anchor in a very shallow 15’ of water (John doesn’t like to see single digits under the … Continue reading →

As we prepare to depart Sitka, water pump replaced, we discover that unexpectedly (and without notice) our satellite phone email box (a service provided by Inmarsat for a hefty price) has been inexplicably disconnected. The satellite phone still works but … Continue reading →

We make it to Sitka, with the most exciting moment traversing the Sergius Narrows in the Peril Strait (the place names alone cause stress). Currents in the Narrows can be as high as 9 knots, Laysan only goes about 6 … Continue reading →

It is with great pride that we announce daughter Sarah’s successful defense of her PhD dissertation in marine bio-geochemistry. Of course for this auspicious event, we all converged upon her little town on the Texas Gulf Coast, Port Aransas, the … Continue reading →

Light that seems it should break upon the ring of mountains shouldering against the miles of open bay streaked with glacial silt and bergie bits. And there stands the proud snout of Margerie Glacier with lumpy towers of blue ice, … Continue reading →

Skagway was the jumping off point for the Klondike Gold Rush in 1896; tens of thousands of hopeful prospectors passed through Skagway on their way to the Yukon.  I didn’t get a chance to see Skagway in 1896, but 88 … Continue reading →

Our first intrepid guests of 2021 are my youngest brother, Phil and his wife, Stacy.  Avid boaters in their own right, sailing the British Virgin Islands, canoeing the Rio Grande River, swamp boating for crocodiles (not sure about that one), this … Continue reading →

Latitude affects attitude Only the equator and the tropics get to have the sun perpendicularly directly overhead. Whereas near the Arctic Circle, the suns rays are glancing lower over the horizon, and making the sunrise and sunset go sideways. But … Continue reading →

After sadly sending our kids back to their productive endeavors “Outside”,(which is what Alaskans call the rest of the world), Kathleen and I resume our slow cruise in the wilderness. Appropriately provisioned, and satisfyingly stocked with spares, we shove off … Continue reading →

  Our family of five had not all experienced the joys (and confines) of Laysan since July of 2012, eight years ago…we were smaller people then. The plan to convene in Alaska was envisioned well before the covid disaster raised … Continue reading →

Cruising in the time of Covid19 After much consternation, and not a small amount of guilt about traveling in a pandemic world, we rationalized that our other home, Laysan, needed us as much much as we needed her. (Rationalization is … Continue reading →