InsidePassageNews.com

by Don Douglass, Réanne Hemingway-Douglass and Readers (Reader's sbmissions are shown in quotation marks or otherwise noted.)

Note: We would like to encourage readers who have updates to our guidebooks to submit them directly to us, as well as the publisher of our guidebooks. We heard from a number of readers at the 2009 Seattle Boat Show who submitted updates directly to the publisher and were surprised to learn the information had not be transmitted to us.

Page 136: Coffman Cove, Prince of Wales Island
Don & Réanne met readers Bill & Cam Haslund of Cameo II in Ketchikan, August 2011. The Haslunds who tried to anchor in Coffman Cove hooked their anchor on an old D-8 Caterpillar lying underwater. The blade and the Caterpillar engine had been taken out before someone dumped it into the water, but the chassis still lay at the bottom of the cove. Bill had to pay a diver to unhook him. Length of the Cameo: 49 ft; draft: 5 ft. 6 in.

CAUTION: Avoid anchoring near the Caterpillar site located: 56°00.962’N, 132°50.335’W; Chart 17382. Delete the anchor icon shown off the public float on our diagram, p. 136.

The ferry no longer calls on Coffman Cove and the ferry dock has been unused for the past two years. The public dock is new but there is no dock master. The dock has been filled with fishing boats every time we’ve visited Coffman and that continues to be the case .

Page 411ff: Rocky Pass (Keku Strait)
Don and Réanne celebrated the 21st anniversary of their initial exploration of the Inside Passage that began with Professor Roderick Nash completing the circuit from Juneau to Anacortes. When the Douglasses began their detailed exploration of Rocky Pass in the 1990s, the Coast Guard verified that the once-dredged channel had slowly been filling in and that the aids to navigation had been removed some time before. The USCG cutter, the Elderberry, no longer entered or serviced Rocky Pass and that the pass was considered closed. With the advent of GPS, the Douglasses spent two summers charting the route waypoints and subsequently published their results in Exploring the Inside Passage to Alaska. Using our GPS Waypoints as the years have gone by, the USCG increased the numbers and complexity of navigational aids in Keku Strait, now roughly equal to those of Wrangell Narrows.

Haul-Out in Wrangell

In response to boater questions about where they can get a haul-out, Wrangell Harbormaster, Greg Meissner, writes that the Harbor Department owns and operates a 150-ton Marine Travelift. Before the harbor will put a vessel on the haul-out list, vessel owners must sign a form agreeing that their vessel can be lifted in this manner, that they understand minor damages (small scratches, etc.) may occur and, that they (the vessel owners) must be in charge of strap placement, with the exception of balance. The harbor has forms for yard BMPs (Best Management Practices) which limits what vessel owners can do in the yard with or without insurance.

Wrangell Harbor Department's current phone numbers are: 907.874.3736 or 907. 874.3051.

The State of Alaska has announced that funding for both the Municipal Harbor and ANB Harbor has been approved and work will begin sometime in 2012.

Sitka was recently named as a USA Coast Guard City. Today just thirteen cities have been recognized for the "unusual and sustained level of support for the local Coast Guard and families." [From Coast Guard Cities Program website]

Fishing in Southeast

Fishing was good in Southeast in 2011, as you can see by a happy Don on M/V Passages. Photos taken along the coast of Prince of Wales Island.

Page 328: Prince Rupert Customs Update
Prince Rupert now has a dedicated Customs dock south of town at approximately 54°18.83'N, 130°19.95'W, south of the city center and a hair south of the tan building that says SHOPPING MALL. The dock is about 80 feet long. There is a small waiting area with a red topped roof above the ramp to the docs. Tie up here and call Customs at 1-888-226-7277 (Ottawa) from a phone on the dock. (There is no longer a local Customs number.) Ottawa asks for all your data (which takes several minutes) and, if they approve of what they hear, you will be cleared and given your clearance number. Or, they may request that you remain at the dock while they call the local Prince Rupert Customs who will come down and inspect your boat.

If you plan to moor at a Prince Rupert dock for the night, you may call Customs (Ottawa) from one of the marinas—including at the PRYC. But the key is that you must be tied down either at the Customs dock or at a marina to be able to clear.

Page 169: Ocean Falls

Ocean Falls has undergone a number of changes since our last visit in 2008. The mill has been torn down and the site cleaned and there are no longer any cafes or restaurants open. Lena Carpenter’s little gift shop is still open, as is the small grocery store in Martin Valley. Boaters tell us that hard goods and eggs were readily available, but produce was scanty. Sally Isakson, formerly the dock mistress and her husband Joe moved to the lower province because Sally was undergoing treatment for cancer. We have not heard from her since she moved and hope that the treatment was successful. Despite the lack of services in Ocean Falls, it still remains a place where you can find peace and quiet and take long walks.