Taku Harbor to Auk Bay (Juneau) - May 28

Departed from Taku at 7:55 this morning.  Leaving the dock was made easy by the light wind that was gently blowing us off the dock.  We let loose of the lines, drifted away from the dock and made our turn into Stephen's Passage.  We headed north along the shoreline and were treated to three seals playing just off the bow.  When we reached the bottom of Taku Inlet we turn to port and cross over the main shipping lanes leading to Juneau.  

The direct route to Juneau is through Gastineau Channel and a quick look at the AIS confirms that the route is heavily used by by Cargo and Cruise Ships.  We continue to the west and turn north on the far side of Douglas Island.  The only other vessel in sight is a fishing boat and perhaps the reason is that we find ourselves in choppy seas.  Our best guess is that the seas are 3-4 feet and while the ride is a bit bumpy it is not particularly uncomfortable.  In less than an hour, the seas are considerably calmer and we continue up the outside of Douglas Island in comfort.  At the top of Douglas we head east for Auke Bay.  

Our first stop in Auke Bay is the fuel dock.  This is our first fuel stop since leaving home - 235 engine hours and 1,000 miles ago.  We estimate that we have used 340 gallons of diesel fuel to arrive at this point.  We still have over 250 gallons in the two takes but that won't get us home!  We take on an additional 250 gallons of fuel which will more than get us home!  Next we look for a place to moor in the marina.  Auke Bay has transient moorage - which means you look an empty space on one of the docks and claim it.  The only problem is the docks are full with a number of boats rafted up.  John spots a space at the end of "C" dock that we almost fit in (about 4 feet hangs over the end of the dock), there is water but the power is over 100' away.  No wonder the spot is empty.  We take it!  Who needs power when you have a generator!  Really, we easily last a couple of days on batteries alone.

We take the bus from Auke Bay to downtown Juneau and find ourselves wandering among a couple thousand cruise ship passengers.  There are food cart vendors on every corner - so that is dinner.  We visit the historic Russian Orthodox church and wander into a few of the shops before heading back to Chug.  We sit on the foredeck, take in the scenery, check in with friends at home and pinch ourselves.  We are in Juneau.