Long Distance Cruising

On the cusp of 2023

Caroline is currently wintering in Juneau, Alaska

Dear Friends,

Hope you have a great Christmas and will stay safe from another bout with Covid or Flu.

Well, it’s another winter for me and Caroline in Alaska. It will be the third winter and it’s supposed to be the wettest and coldest on record here in Juneau. Caroline is in pretty good shape for having spent two winters here, and so far, I am able to stay warm and cozy aboard.

Juneau is a culturally significant city with plenty to do if it’s not storming too badly. The net result is that I am happy to be here.

We are staying in Alaska another year, probably until August of 2023. The reason for the extended stay here is that due to weather and project timing problems, I haven’t been able to see all the areas of Alaska I want to see before heading back south and on to the rest of this and other countries.

2022 has been an interesting year in that I did get to do some SE Alaska cruising, although most of it was single handed. Caroline did receive the modification of a bulbous bow which has lengthened the apparent waterline and added about 1 knot of cruising speed @ 1200 RPM. This has given us a fuel consumption of over 3 miles per gallon netting a solid 3,000 mi. range. This is good news as I also discovered that her total fuel capacity is not the professed 1600 gallons but is only 1050 gallons. The other advantage of the bulbous bow is that it has stabilized both vertical motion and horizontal drift, giving her more control in larger sea conditions.

Fuel prices are ridiculously high in Alaska as they are elsewhere in the US. Diesel is priced at about $5.25 per gallon here. This from the state that produces the sweet crude used in the manufacture of the petroleum products used. There is no break for boat fuel versus road fuel, in fact I paid about $.30 a gallon more for diesel than I could buy it for in Auke Bay at the gas station.

The plan for next spring is to head out toward the Aleutian chain, and then cruise back up the gulf to the Bering Sea, and around to Anchorage and the Peninsula and then back southeast toward Juneau and Canada and into Washington by September 2023. Then down to Ca. by November and into Mexico right after Christmas 2023.

I look forward to seeing as many friends and family along the way south and would really like to have as many aboard to accompany me as possible. I miss you all.

Love and best wishes for Christmas the new year!

Pete