Petersburg to Warm Springs - May 18

After a wonderful long weekend in Petersburg we are headed to Sitka.  This is a three day run with our first destination being Warm Springs which is75 miles away.  Our departure time coincides with an extremely low tide and it turns out that the current is running much faster than we expect.  Our first attempt to leave the dock is not successful and we are fortunate that there is not another boat in our berth.  We pull back in and get set to try again.  The second attempt is successful but we have managed to put a small scratch in our new paint.  The cost of a lesson learned -- luckily that was the extent of the damage and can be repaired when we return home.
We have absolutely perfect weather on Frederick Sound.  Shortly after starting out we spy a pod of Orcas and slow down to watch at least 5 whales play in front of us.  As the day goes on we see 5 more whales but these are all Humpbacks and each whale appears to be swimming alone.  We see the tales as the whales dive but there is not much activity above the water line.  Another day with almost no boat traffic until afternoon arrives and we see two fishing boats on the AIS
From Frederick Sound we turn north into Chatam Strait and then into Warm Springs Bay.  There is a great community dock and also places nearby to anchor.  A beautiful community of what appears to be mostly summer cabins located at the end of the bay next to a roaring waterfall.  As we enter the bay we experience lots of current - some from the ebb tide and some from the out-rushing waterfall.  The guide books tell us of a rock off the east end of the dock and suggest that you point your bow east.  Attempting to follow the suggestions means we must do a port side tie with the current pulling us away from the dock.  Not easy but we accomplish it in three tries with the help of Ilsa, a local resident and fisherwoman who is the owner of a wonderful home built troller that is on the dock.  In hindsight, there is no real need to point the bow east and the whole docking process would have been greatly simplified if we had approached it the other way.  Now we know!
We sat on the stern and enjoyed a beer while we got the lay of the land.  There is a well kept board walk that extends for over 1/2 mile that takes you to the hot spring pools.  We all put on bathing suits, grab our towels and ask Ilsa if we should be concerned about bears.  Ilsa says that as long as we make noise along the trail we should be fine - but she also offers to lend us two cans of bear spray.  Just as we are leaving, the folks from Juneau (on the Nordic Tug that is the only other boat on the dock) return from the hot springs.  They say there is bear skat on the boardwalk but they did not see the bear.  Ilsa says not to worry, it is only the town bear!  We are advised by the man from Juneau to carry a gun since he considers bear spray to be seasoning -- it is essentially pepper spray and the bears love the taste of people covered in pepper!  We, of course, do not have a gun since you cannot travel through Canada with such a thing.  Barrie, John and I all march up the trail making noise and singing songs.  We do not see a  bear and we do arrive at the hot spring pools and enjoy a good soak.
Back to the boat for dinner and also to watch two additional boats arrive.  A fishing boat and a tug boat.  All seem to think that Chug is a fine salty vessel. After dinner I walk to the top of the dock to continue my soak in the town tubs.  They have built a public bath house on stilts overlooking the harbor and run pipes to carry the hot water from the source.  The water is so hot - even after traveling some distance - that there are cold water hoses supplied to allow you to regulate the temperature.  The tub is 7 feet long and 3 feet deep and maybe the best soaking spot on the planet!  Back to the boat for a wonderful nights rest.