AKDoug
Guru
Hello all,
My trip from Anacortes with the "new" Willard 30PH went flawlessly, leaving Anacortes on the afternoon of Wednesday June 3rd and steaming to the line at the border before buoying up for the night. Easy trip over to South Pender, cleared Customs with a phone call and no visit, they didn't even want my passport. The next week was spent running 80 plus miles a day, I was in Ketchikan Wednesday morning a week later. A nice visit from the Customs at the dock, the gentleman said he had inspected a 40' Willard recently. Burned 84 gallons of fuel in 100 hours running 2650 rpm's at right around 7 knots, which was faster than I wanted to run but the currents were consistently .5 to 1.5 knots in my face the whole passage North to Cape Spencer. I fueled with 100 gallons in Ketchikan, having started my trip only partially filled (140 gallons in a 150 gallons tank).
I picked up a traveling companion (was single handing until Ketchikan) and we ran three days to Cape Spencer (Elfin Cove) before hitting the Gulf. We ran for 48 hours straight to Kayak Island, making Yakutat in about 22 hours and Kayak Island around midnight on the 18th. We were in Cordova Wednesday afternoon and picked up another 100 gallons of fuel, we ran about 15 hours to make Whittier, departing Cordova on the morning of the 20th. My trip was 16 days, with two lost to maintenance and shopping in Ketchikan, so basically two weeks of constant cruising, anchoring at night where possible.
Pictures and more to follow.
Doug
My trip from Anacortes with the "new" Willard 30PH went flawlessly, leaving Anacortes on the afternoon of Wednesday June 3rd and steaming to the line at the border before buoying up for the night. Easy trip over to South Pender, cleared Customs with a phone call and no visit, they didn't even want my passport. The next week was spent running 80 plus miles a day, I was in Ketchikan Wednesday morning a week later. A nice visit from the Customs at the dock, the gentleman said he had inspected a 40' Willard recently. Burned 84 gallons of fuel in 100 hours running 2650 rpm's at right around 7 knots, which was faster than I wanted to run but the currents were consistently .5 to 1.5 knots in my face the whole passage North to Cape Spencer. I fueled with 100 gallons in Ketchikan, having started my trip only partially filled (140 gallons in a 150 gallons tank).
I picked up a traveling companion (was single handing until Ketchikan) and we ran three days to Cape Spencer (Elfin Cove) before hitting the Gulf. We ran for 48 hours straight to Kayak Island, making Yakutat in about 22 hours and Kayak Island around midnight on the 18th. We were in Cordova Wednesday afternoon and picked up another 100 gallons of fuel, we ran about 15 hours to make Whittier, departing Cordova on the morning of the 20th. My trip was 16 days, with two lost to maintenance and shopping in Ketchikan, so basically two weeks of constant cruising, anchoring at night where possible.
Pictures and more to follow.
Doug
Then wander out to the Sound and spend a few days not traveling, just to see what it's like. No interest in going any further than the Aluetians, and not around to Bristol Bay. My weather was beyond fabulous. most of the way it was sheet glass on top of a slow roll, only one squall worth mentioning, we were a little too far offshore and had to beat 5-7 foot seas for a few miles until we could get close enough to shore to damp it down a bit. Only one day of traveling without the sun... The pictures don't lie!
