Stellar Sea Lion Research Trip aboard Ursa Major

Following our Summer Solstice trip, Ursa Major was the mothership for an Alaska Department of Fish and Game Stellar Sea Lion research trip in southeast Alaska.  Over the course of the 16-day trip, we traveled to a wide variety of Stellar Sea Lion haulout and rookery sites, some of which were new to us, and very much off the beaten path of our usual cruising grounds amongst the beautiful islands of southeast Alaska.  It was an amazing trip for everyone!

 

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game crew!

The Charter Boat Ursa Major at Anchor in Red Bluff Bay - a Drone's Eye View

This was one of Josh's first drone flights in Alaska last summer at anchor in one of our favorite spots, Red Bluff Bay, on the eastern side of Baranof Island.  This side of Baranof Island is known as the "Waterfall Coast" because of all the year-round continuous falling water found there in the form of immense waterfalls and rivers.

Enjoy the video, and please feel free to share with all enthusiasts of the Ursa Major! 

The Waterfall Coast of Baranof Island

We just wrapped up a truly amazing trip to the Waterfall Coast of Baranof Island, and to Tracy Arm to view calving glaciers.  Our guests this week on Ursa Major were from New Zealand and Australia, and we enjoyed beautiful paddles, hikes, and hot springs.

Sawyer Glacier, Tracy Arm, Alaska with our guests Bev, Gordon, Shan, and Tony

 Takatz Bay, one of many beautiful anchorages on the Waterfall Coast of Baranof Island

 Paddling in Ushk Bay, Peril Straight, with Gordon and Bev

 Hiking in the Brothers Islands, Stevens Passage, on our trip last week

Petersburg, Alaska with Tony and Shan

Our return to Alaska aboard Ursa Major!

Our early May arrival in Alaska for our charter season allowed us to experience the best of the early summer here, including the Little Norway Festival in Petersburg, Alaska, and the Memorial Day celebrations in Sitka, Alaska.  Petersburg and Sitka are two of our favorite towns in southeast Alaska, and we utilize both towns our departure and arrival points for our charters.

 We made our Alaska landfall aboard Ursa Major in Ketchikan, Alaska

Little Norway Festival; May 14-17, 2015; Petersburg, Alaska

 

 Little Norway Festival; May 14-17, 2015; Petersburg, Alaska

 Little Norway Festival "Lop the Loop" 7K Run; May 14-17, 2015; Petersburg, Alaska

Little Norway Festival "Lop the Loop" 7K Run; May 14-17, 2015; Petersburg, Alaska

Sitka, Alaska this morning with Mt. Edgecombe in the background

Moto Guzzi Ride to the Olympic Peninsula

With rain (finally) in the forecast for Seattle, (following a very dry and warm winter), we decided to take the last two days before the rain returned to ride our Moto Guzzi motorcycles to the Olympic Peninsula.  I wanted to put some miles on my new bike, (a 2013 white V7 Stone 750), and Josh wanted to take his 2007 Griso 1100 for a non-Seattle ride (i.e. long stretches of open road with less city stop-go traffic).
 

Our first stop was the local Moto Guzzi store, (Moto International in Seattle), to pick up spare oil for the bikes, and the new license plate for my bike.  We cannot say enough good things about Moto International, as everyone there is always friendly and helpful with all things Moto Guzzi.
 

Next we headed to downtown Seattle to catch the Washington state ferry to Bremerton, on the Olympic peninsula.  One advantage of riding motorcycles in Washington is that motorcycles can always cut to the front of any ferry line, bypassing all cars in line.  This is especially handy on a sunny day when the ferry lines are notoriously long.   
 

After arriving in Bremerton, we headed north along the eastern side of the Olympic peninsula, past Poulsbo and Kingston, and crossed the infamous Hood Canal Bridge, one of the longest floating bridges in the world.  The view of the Olympic Mountains was spectacular, and it felt great to be cruising along on our Moto Guzzis in the warm weather!

Following the Hood Canal Bridge, we continued north along the Olympic Peninsula to Port Townsend, where we decided to spend the night and explore the small town on foot.   We stayed at the historic Waterstreet Hotel, a Victorian style hotel with quirky rooms, friendly owners, and motorcycle parking out front.

Port Townsend is rich in wooden boat history, so we took time to walk through the active shipyards in town.  The wooden vessel seen in the above and below photos is the Western Flyer, the vessel used by John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts in their infamous trip in Mexico's Sea of Cortez in the 1940s.  Their book, The Log from the Sea of Cortez, remains one of our favorite books, and to see their vessel in Port Townsend, being restored after sinking at least twice, was one of the highlights of our trip to the Olympic Peninsula.

To read about the restoration of the Western Flyer, please click HERE.  I cannot wait to see what she looks like a few years down the road.  Port Townsend is definitely the place for her right now!