Sergius Narrows to Sitka, Alaska Monday 07.01.2013

Due to the need to reach Sergius Narrows at high-water slack we got up at 3:45am AK time for our 4:19am departure.  High-water slack was @ 6:25am and only lasted 10 minutes!  From Nismeni Cove, Sergius Narrows is 13 miles away. 

 

A little about Sergius Narrows.  It is one of only four passes listed in the Pacific Coast Tidal Current Tables for special statistical treatment.  All of them being awesome in the sudden and sustained way that maximum currents surge through them.  The critical portion of Sergius Narrows is just 450 feet long, the length of the dredged channel that is 24 feet deep and only 300 feet wide.  One side of the channel is the rock wall of Sergius Point; the other, marked by buoys, includes a covered rock and a submerged ledge.  Through this run variable-direction currents of almost six knots on the flood and 5.5 knots at the ebb.

At slack water the Narrows are calm for about 10 minutes and safe for crossing.  This gives us plenty of time to get through depending on competing traffic.

We reached the Narrows @ 6:24am, checked the tilt of the channel buoys to check the measure of the strength and direction of the current, and found the water was perfectly slack!

 

The other two challenges today were fog and commercial boat traffic, both being very heavy!  And of course, we had rain!

 

Paying close attention to the route that Bruce mapped out and speaking frequently with the commercial traffic on the VHF radio, we were able to navigate through the Narrows safely.

We had numerous commercial fishing vessels, two separate tugs pulling double barges (on coming northbound out of the fog and the second one passed us from behind!) all to contend with during our crossing today! 

 

 

We arrived safely at Sitka @ 10:30am AK time.

 

When our boat was fishing her name was “Carolyn Page” and she fished from 1967 through the fishing season of 1999 out of Sitka, AK.  When we purchased her we changed her name to “Second Chance” because she was being given a second life as a pleasure boat.

 

 

This being said, our goal today was to reach the fishing homeport of “Carolyn Page”, then spend several days enjoying this community.

Once we tied up at the Thomsen Marina we walked into town for lunch and toured the village. 

As we started our travel day so early we are now at the library to start our work day and very glad that the library here in Sitka closes at 9:00pm!