Some of Alaska’s best cruising grounds are Prince Williams Sound, Kodiak, and the Alaskan Peninsula —offering spectacular scenery, bountiful wildlife, and charming villages with a lot of history
The name of the game in South Alaska is salmon. Salmon return to the place where they were hatched. Seiners, pictured above, were among the most common fishing vessels in the salmon fleet. The small boat sets the nets and closes the seine net up back to the trawler. Sounds easy, but a lot of knowledge and understanding of the fish is needed. Salmon openings lasted only 24-48 hours in very specific areas. We stayed very clear of the open fishing areas as there is nothing wilder than a large number of fishing boats jockeying for position to haul in salmon. A lot of money can be earned in a season and the weather, most of the time, does not cooperate like on these photos.
Three Saints church in Old Harbor on Kodiak Island is over 200 years old. Remarkably, this church survived the 1964 earthquake and tidal wave. Unfortunately, this little Alutiiq village is still haunted by a dark history
Seldovia is among the happiest places we visited. Accessible only by boat or plane, this village is known for its scenic beauty and history as a cannery town. Seldovia is now a mix of fisherman, retired fisherman, artists, and just plain out friendly people.
Kodiak Bears, the largest of the brown bears, are abundant on Kodiak, around Geographic Harbor, and the surrounding area. As salmon return in the late summer, bears feast at the shoreline. We decided it was better not to venture ashore!
Survival is hard work
Just another quiet and remote anchorage in Prince Williams Sound. Few cruisers ever make it to this amazing area.
Just beautiful scenery!
And plentiful locals!
After our NWP trip, we made Homer our second home for Thor. Homer is a very friendly place and has all the supplies one needs for a high latitude vessel—be it for pleasure or for fishing.
Venturing out to the seldom visited outposts, you see many signs of how harsh the life was and still is.
