Petersburg to Fanshaw Bay 6 hours 36 miles

We got up and walked into town for a latte before leaving Petersburg. With the sun just so, this working harbor is quite beautiful. The seiners are lining up to drop off their catch at the cannery. Most of the fishing boats are maintained beautifully. We think that many of these boats were built in the 30’s or 40’s. We have that tidal push with us again as we leave Petersburg. We got up to 9.7 kts for awhile! We left Wrangell Narrows into Frederick Sound. This is an enormous waterway that is 4-5 miles across. The water is completely flat. It is sunny but there is a haze which makes differentiating the horizon difficult. It is all one whitish blur. We are looking for whales. It is said that this a common feeding ground for both humpback whales and orcas. Not a whale to be found. As we made the turn into Fanshaw Bay we finally saw some humpbacks. There must be at least ten of them. They are on three sides of us. Fred turned off the engine and we just watched and listened to them blow. They make a huffing sound that carries a long distance. It was very magical. After we anchored we took the dinghy to shore for a walk. Merlin got filthy. He went into the water trying to reach shells then he would run as fast as he could in the sand. I guess he must be getting used to being thrust into the tub for a shower as soon as we get back to Aquila. His long fur holds sand like a sponge. Maybe we should let him swim back to the boat, then I would only have to rinse off the salt water… We rolled in a beam sea all evening & night. We must be more aware of the weather when we anchor here.