Sans Souci (far right) in the Petersburg, Alaska marina -- Photo courtesy of Ken Williams

Ken Williams and his three ships, the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, eh. . . .Sans Souci, Grey Pearl and Seabird have arrived in Alaska and are deliberately making their way up the coast.  Earlier this week they reached Petersburg, only a day’s run from Juneau.  In his blog on the trip, Williams reports that things have gone very smoothly so far, and the Inside Passage seems to have lived up to its reputation for spectacular scenery.  As of his report #14, the GSSR had completed 913 NM of its planned 4,363 NM voyage.  In his latest entries, he also has interesting interviews with the couples aboard the other two boats.

Williams spends some time discussing his passage through the Wrangell Narrows en route to Petersburg.  This is the channel between Mitkof Island and Kupreanof Island in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska.  The Wrangell Narrows is one of the six Listed narrows in South East Alaska.  There are about 60 lights and buoys to mark it because of its winding nature and navigation hazards.

In the picture below, Williams has captured one of the unique features of the waters in this region.  First-timers to boating in the Pacific Northwest are often shocked to see how deep the waters are, given how close to land they are.  You can see in the photo below that Sans Souci is traveling in a very narrow channel, with high mountains all around, and yet the water is more than 1,800 feet deep.  I’m not sure my depthfinder would even read the bottom that deep.  Naturally, Sans Souci is fitted with the ultimate in marine electronics, as it should be for this passage.

Sans Souci in Very Deep Water in Alaska Passage -- Image Courtesy of Ken Williams

If you haven’t visited Ken Williams’ blog on the Great Siberian Sushi Run yet, you should.  Visit it here and consider picking up a copy of Ken’s book here.  Yes, I know I’m advertising for him, but he is a compelling storyteller and talks about great destinations as well as the cool geek side of boating (which we particularly love).  We’ll continue to give you status reports, but consider signing up for Ken’s e-mail subscription and you’ll never miss a stop along the way.  This will end up being one of the classic passagemaking stories except that this time you can follow along in real time.