S/V Ripple

The Docks at Dawson's Landing are a bit rough, but suitable to the purpose. It is a little difficult to see how they make ends meet with a short season May 24 - 25, 2015 Dawson's Landing was a bit of a detour from our route, four hours (against tidal currents) inland along Rivers Inlet.  We needed fuel, and had read some favorable comments about it and decided we would go and spend the night.  Having crossed one of the two exposed reaches of the trip, we felt pretty relaxed about our progress. As early in the season as it was, there was no one else there when we arrived.  The store was closed (though the proprietor opened for us and we bought fuel and some provisions and paid for a place on the dock for the night). Oh... and showers.  The most expensive shower I've ever had at $80/hr CDN.  If you haven't taken a 2 minute shower lately,  try it... it takes a bit of planning. As I recall, we did a bit of laundry there, too. Still early in the trip,...

Cape Caution Navigational Light May 23, 2015 OK, OK, we're not talking about Cape Horn.  But this was my first time in these waters, and one does not take them lightly.  Our previous day's travel brought us further than I had planned, so we felt optimistic about rounding the Cape and getting to our target destination, Fury Cove. The interaction of currents, winds, and river outflows in this area can be treacherous and difficult to predict. Add this to the exposure to the Gulf of Alaska, and you begin to understand why rounding Cape Caution is a big deal. The large volumes of river outflows meet a flood tide, and turbulent, confused seas can result. A strong ebb tide confronting westerly winds, and turbulent, confused seas result.  Confused seas -- waves traveling in semi-random directions -- are particularly dangerous as they meet and their amplitudes are additive. Two three-foot waves meet at an oblique angle and become a 6 foot wave. Ugly. My distinct rec...