Sunday, June 20, the fleet departed Ketchikan to compete in Leg 9 of the Alaska 1000.  This 14.3 nautical mile course took us from the north entrance of Tongass Narrows, just north of Ketchikan, across Behm Canal and up the west side of Cleveland Peninsula in Clarence Strait to Niblack Point Light.  Skies were overcast and the winds were 10-15 from the west as we crossed Behm Canal to create some mild rollers.

At the completion of Leg 9, the fleet continued up Clarence Strait, turned northeast up Ernest Sound to Thoms Place on the soutwest corner of Wrangell Island.  The sun came out for a while, but the wind shifted to southeast and picked up to 20-25.  Thoms Place provided us good anchorage, but not much protection from the wind.  The bay was full of crab pots, making the process of choosing the right spot to anchor a challenge.

Results of Leg 9 are below:

Boat                        Skipper                        Seconds of error

Vagabond                 Dick Timmerman                        4

The Tillie                  Bill Anderson                            36

Noble                      George Gregg/Bob Johnson          55

MouseTrap               Fred Cole                                 59

Norwester                Jerry Downer                            66

Monday, June 21, we began Leg 10, a 19.9 nautical mile course through Zimovia Strait, a narrow winding and shallow passage between Wrangell and Etolin Islands.  We raced this section at slow speed, the increased to cruise speed for the remainder of the race that went north to the #2 harbor entrance buoy at Wrangell.  Light winds and calm seas were enjoyed for Leg 10.  As we proceeded north in Zimovia Strait, there was a definite change in the color of the water, as we are now in the area of iceberg run-off.

Unfortunately, during the transit of Zimovia Strait, the Windy-I, skippered by Kent and Carol Soffel, hit bottom and did considerable damage to their boat.  Fortunately, Don and Carolee Larson on Tewasi, was in the same area to assist.  Tewasi ended up towing Windy-I to Wrangell, where the travel lift was awaiting their arrival.  First estimate is that they will have them repaired and underway by next Friday, so there is a possibility they may be able to join us for the last couple of legs to Juneau.  Thanks also to Sirena, who waited at Wrangell to help get Windy-I to the boat repair facility.

Following the race, the fleet moved west in Sumner Strait, then north in Wrangell Narrows to Petersburg.  We had a few heavy rain showers with limited visibility during the transit of Wrangell Narrows.  Wrangell Narrows is narrow, shallow and a winding path, but is well marked by over 112 navigation aids in the 23 mile stretch of water.  It has a nickname of Christmas Tree Narrows because of the many red and green lights at night.

The Petersburg Harbormaster made sure everyone had a good berth for our two day stay with the local fishing fleet.  Petersburg is a Norwegian town on the north tip of Wrangell Island with almost any supply you can think of at hand, friendly people and a beautiful view of snow covered mountains (when it is not raining and overcast).  The group invaded the local pizza parlor to celebrate Bill Anderson's birthday, as all restaurants are closed on Mondays in Petersburg.  We kind of overwhelmed the place, as they only have 20 seats in the pizza parlor and there was at least 24 of us.  The pizza was excellent and their crew handled our group very well.

The results of Leg 10 are below:

Boat                Skipper                        Seconds of error

Sirena                Bob Gautschi                        19

MouseTrap          Fred Cole                             23

Solmar               Chuck Slivernail                     95

Noble                 George Gregg/Bob Johnson    124

Klettitat             Ken Klett                            161

Today, Tuesday, June 22, is a lay day, so the group is exploring the town and resting in the rain as we prepare for 3 nights at anchor in Kake, Sitkoh Bay, and Kalinin Bay before winding our way through Neva Strait to Sitka.  A few of our boats will take a small detour tomorrow and explore Thomas Bay and the Baird Glacier on our way to Kake.

Jerry Downer
norwester45@hotmail.com