Taiyasanka Harbor is located between Skagway and Haines. Although the guide books don’t say much, we got a very positive reading from locals in Skagway. Tiring of marina life after a few days, we decided to check it out on the way south. The harbor is landlocked and looked like it would make an excellent place to hole up in a blow.

The entrance, as you can see above (taken from inside the harbor looking out), looks quite narrow. We made sure that we transited this with a third of a rising tide left to go. That left lots of hydraulic energy to float us off any mistakes we might have made.

Reality often looks better than what a chart shows, where it is hard to visualize space. The reality here is a wide – at least 100-foot (30m) – and deep (minimum depth 70 feet – 22m) pass. We used radar to confirm the layout of the chart, making sure we were slightly to the west (left) of center.

The south end of the bay formerly was filled with log booms. This sometimes results in a bottom fouled with old cables or chains, so we dropped the hook in deep water – (depths shown on the charts are in fathoms).

We dropped the hook in 100 (30m) of water with 2.2-1 scope (including the height of the bow added to the water depth). We’ve found the ROCNA anchor holds well on minimum scope, as long as the bottom is good.

The track above shows the first and second sets. As the bottom angles deeper to the northwest, we initially set the anchor in that direction (worst case scenario – pulling downhill). The point at which we dropped the anchor is on the right side of the image, where the V starts. Backing down straight as the chain is dropped can be seen in the track as it runs to the left. The jagged variations are the anchor dragging on the initial set, as the bottom sloped away. We then reset the anchor and laid the chain out towards the south (bottom of the image). In this direction, with the bottom depth holding steady, we got a really good set.

Setting under power we start on one engine, initially just at idle, then bring the second engine on at idle, and then gradually increase the revs. If we get 1200 RPM on both engines, that is the equivalent of 50 knots of breeze, and we sleep contentedly.

It may be a gray, overcast day, but the lighting and cloud shapes are wonderful to behold.

In the far distance, towards the north, is another glacier. Often hidden in the clouds, occasionally it rewards us with a glimpse.

Of course there’s lots of wildlife to observe. We’re sharing the anchorage with this eagle and three of his neighbors. They often have noisy arguments about whose territory we’re in. Twice he dove on fish, missed, and landed in the water. Then, with a couple of flaps of those powerful wings, he was airborne again.

We often see ruins ashore, and sometimes investigate. However, a mother grizzly and her cub frequent this beach, and this looks like the type of spot a bear might want to use for a nap, so we’re staying at camera range. We’re still waiting for our first bear photos.

How’s this for a barber chair – and check out that view!

At the end of this transaction, the barber gets her payment.

Most of the time, so far, Alaska has been overcast, but occasionally the sun does come out.

The extra light totally changes the view out of our windows. It would be great if we could capture this as an oil painting.

If we were in the tropics we’d be setting the awnings and staying out of the sun. But up here, it is welcome. Linda likes to find a cozy corner and enjoy the warmth. One of the high-latitude benefits of the raised saloon on Wind Horse is the "greenhouse effect". It doesn’t take much solar radiation to make us warm and cozy.

We’re sharing the anchorage with this Finnish motor sailor.

That ungainly pilot house looks pretty good up here. Extremely practical in high latitude weather. It would be less than perfect in the tropics, but if you were going back and forth between Mexico and the cold part of the world it would be very nice on watch and at anchor.

These guys are "full time RVers" over from Haines to check their crab pots.

Each pot had three to five crabs – this after a couple of days sitting on the bottom.

About half are legal. The rest they throw back. Pieces of chicken and hot dogs are their favorite bait. The commercial guys tend to use fish for bait.

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We’re still trying for that perfect photo for the house, to remind us of Alaska during the long winter when we’re home.

The view in the other direction, down Lynn Canal, isn’t bad either.

As you probably know, the entire Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and Alaska is a very active geologic area. There are earthquakes, volcanoes, and tidal waves on a periodic basis. In reading one of the local guides we learned that two of the earth’s tectonic plates meet under the center of Lynn Canal. One could worry about this, but then we could worry about all sorts of other things right at home. Besides, a little risk now and then adds some spice to life…