Alaska's
Biggest Mystery Revealed?
Don and Réanne Douglass,
aboard their two Research Vessels, both named Baidarka, have
been exploring the Pacific Coast and Alaska for
more than two decades. They recently shared a discovery
with both the State and Federal scientists who
may be able to help answer a long-unsolved puzzle.
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USFS Sitka Ranger returns
from Chirikov expedition
Source: U.S. Forrest
Service
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In 1741, two vessels of the Bering
Expedition, set sail from Russia’s Kamchatka
Peninsula to explore the west coast of America
and shortly afterward lost track of one another.
Chirikov’s vessel, the St. Paul, reached
Southeast Alaska and the captain sent 15 crew members
ashore. The men never returned to the ship. Exactly
where was the St. Paul located, and what happened
to the fifteen lost crewmen? This is the great
mystery.
Yakobi and Chichagof islands
have been featured in detailed diagrams for over
a decade in the Douglass publications and, until
recently, the Douglasses and Alan Engstrom of Juneau
have been the sole explorers to study historical
leads and actively pursue an answer to the Chirikov
questions.
In 2007, the Douglasses and Engstrom
contacted Federal authorities about an unrecorded
petroglyph that might be a two-masted sailing ship
and Douglass’ discovery of a metal object
that might be “a dagger associated with the
Chirikov crew.”
These explorations lead Mark McCallum
and Rachel Myron, USFS Archaeologists, to organize
an expedition in 2008 aboard the USFS vessel, Sitka
Ranger, that would allow the Government experts
and Tribal leaders to have an initial viewing of
the Douglass/Engstrom discoveries.
For futures updates
contact Don Douglass at don@insidepassagenews.com.
For USFS reference click
here.
The distribution and publishing rights for Cape
Horn: One Man’s Dream, One Woman’s
Nightmare by Réanne Hemingway-Douglass
are now solely in the author’s hands, so
you can order directly
from this website or from
your local bookstores.
Considered a classic
in nautical survival literature, Cape Horn has
also been published in French and Italian. In addition,
two chapters of the title are included in McGraw
Hill’s Epic Series anthology, Treacherous
Waters.
A new and revised edition
of Cape Horn was published in 2003 and,
due to the title’s continued
success and readers’ requests for a more
complete epilogue, Réanne
is currently working on an updated third edition.
This
year marks the anniversary of Cape Horn’s
first edition. Watermark Book company of Anacortes,
Washington, the first retailer on the West Coast
to carry Cape Horn, recently
celebrated the 15th consecutive year of selling
the title. In the photo above, the crew takes delivery
of a new order from Réanne. Shown left to
right are Barbara Hoenselaar, Dave Taylor, Réanne
and Carolyn Moulton.
Réanne
Hemingway-Douglass' latest article, "A Day
in the Life of a Sitka Harbormaster," appears
in the January/February 2009 issue of Pacific
Yachting, Boating in the Pacific Northwest.
Boaters form the Lower 48 used to urban marinas
often grouse about treatment in our northernmost
state, but they have no clue what Alaskan harbormasters
have to deal with. Réanne's article gives
you a glimpse of the "other side of the
story."
Pacific
Yachting PNW just announced that, due to the economic hardship,
" . . . there will no longer be two separate titles, U.S. subscribers and
readers will be receiving their own version of Pacific Yachting with local PNW
news, information, destinations and features. It will be a bigger magazine, and
will be published 12 times a year, as opposed to bimonthly."
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Home Shore a
62' Carvel Planked Classic
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Don and Réanne have
observed Jim Kyle's Home Shore operation since it
began and can highly recommend the Kyle family's
personal touches in planning activities, training
and cuisine, as well as their respect for the environment.
Don and Réanne give Home Shore top marks for
professionalism and integrity! For more information
see Alaska
on the Home Shore website.
New to InsidePassageNews.com
is a list of updated
information for Exploring
Southeast Alaska, Exploring the North Coast of
British Columbia and Exploring
the South Coast of British Columbia. Click
here for details. In addition to updates from
Don and Réanne, information from readers
is also posted. Don and Reanne would like to encourage
readers who have updates to their guidebooks to
submit them directly to them (Don
Douglass or Réanne
Hemingway-Douglass), as
well as the publisher of our guidebooks.
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Dan
and Danielle on their vessel
Ocean Place,
1985
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With sadness, we are sorry
to report the passing, in April 2008, of our friend
Dan Pollock of Ethelda Bay, British Columbia [see
also notes regarding Exploring
the North Coast of British Columbia (Tennant
Island, Estevan Sound).
Over the past 15 years, Dan and his wife, Danielle,
were hosts to Don and Réanne, and
many other boaters who made a stop at their remote
island off Estevan Sound. Danielle moved to Prince
Rupert permanently in the spring of 2008.
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