July 16, 2025 – Wednesday
After soaking in the morning’s whale sightings—gentle breaches in the distance, misty exhales catching sunlight like smoky signals—we continued our passage north, eyes alert for more signs of life along the horizon we were rewarded with several whales in the Lynn Canal. The day was unfolding beautifully, but by afternoon, the wind began whispering its own intentions. Our original plan had been to overnight in Funter Bay, but the breeze had other ideas. We adjusted our heading and set course for Auke Bay instead.
Just before arriving, we passed another pod of humpbacks—this time accompanied by a constellation of whale tour boats, twelve in all—drifting around the giants. We kept our distance and continued toward Auke Bay, which was bustling, with no slips to be had. Then luck found us once again: Jo and Ron aboard MV Interim welcomed us with a side-tie. What a joy to reconnect—it seems the sea is always orchestrating its own charming reunions.
July 17, 2025 – Thursday
Aside from the mooring hiccups, it had been a near-perfect day. We cruised lazily toward Juneau, savoring each gentle swell and distant shore. But alas, the mooring drama wasn’t quite finished with us.
We hoped for a couple of days with shore power and a washer-dryer reprieve, but Juneau’s harbors were packed. We were sent to the marina on Douglas Island—a partial win with power but no laundry. Still doable, we thought… until the boat ahead of us slid brazenly into our assigned slip and refused to budge.
After a call to the harbor office, we were given a new assignment at Aurora Harbor. Hooray! Power and laundry access restored. Or so we thought. As we prepared to pull in, the harbor master called again: “Someone just took that slip. You’ll need to head to Harris Harbor. Good luck.”
And so we spun Paradigm Lost around once more, heading to yet another port with crossed fingers. At Harris Harbor, we tied up at the transient docks, hopeful the chaos was finally over. Then came a commercial fishing boat, sidling alongside with a hopeful eye on our spot. Tonight, though, it was his turn to side-tie—an echo of our own journey, marked by chance, charm, and a fair bit of dockside roulette.
Purse seine fishing in Alaska is a method used to catch salmon, utilizing a large net that forms a “purse” around a school of fish. A purse seine net is rectangular, with a buoyant top (cork line) and a weighted bottom (lead line). A larger vessel tows one end of the net, while a smaller skiff tows the other, creating the “purse”. The purse line pulls tight like a drawstring, cinching the sea’s bounty into a trembling pouch.
July 18 & 19, 2025 – Friday &Saturday
Wandering Through Juneau: A Tapestry of Sights and Stories
