Haida Gwaii: At Home in Ketchikan

Cholmondeley Sound, Prince of Wales Island

After a farewell to our friends in Thorne Bay, we headed southeast along Clarence Strait and entered Cholmondeley Sound (pronounced “Chumly”) located on the east side of Prince of Wales Island. This fjord-like inlet is seldom visited by pleasure boats as are other inlets on the southern end of the Island including Moira Sound and Kendrick Bay.

Cholmondeley Sound

Perhaps boaters are just happy to have made it across "Dixon Entrance" and so head directly for Ketchikan without stopping elsewhere. There are so many interesting places to see on Prince of Wales Island that I think a guide book could be written for this Island alone covering the many areas that can be explored via boat, canoe or kayak, and in some cases rental car. We found ourselves completely alone in Cholmondeley Sound except for the whales and seals scooping up fish that were heading inland towards the creeks and rivers. The utter silence was broken only by the rain pouring down and the fish splashing as they sprang from the water.

Pilings left from a old Wharf

Mountain tops could be seen through the clouds and mist as we peered through the windows of our dry enclosed-bubble. We spotted remains of pilings along the shore, perhaps a wharf previously used for logging. The rusted metal mooring buoys seen in the inlet were no doubt used to hold the log booms. There are several good anchorages in Cholmondeley Sound, we chose the West Arm Islet Anchorage for our night’s stay. Curious seals peeked above the waterline from time to time, checking out the odd shaped arrival of Got d’ Fever.

Cruise Ship passing us in Tongass Narrows

It was still “pouring buckets” the next morning as we made our way back to the northeast headed for Ketchikan. We could barely make out the shape of boats and seaplanes as we entered the congested marine and air traffic of Tongass Narrows winding our way through boats that crossed in front of us, behind us, and approached from every direction until we finally arrived at the harbor docks.

Arriving at Ketchikan

We felt immediately at home in Ketchikan where we would take on fuel, groceries, get haircuts, and take in a movie at the local theatre.

Ketchikan Harbor

The skies cleared the following day and the sun shone brightly, perfect weather for bicycling around town. Ketchikan is nick-named Alaska’s “first city” due to its location on the southern tip of the Inside Passage, it is normally the first city in Alaska visited by boaters who arrive from British Columbia to the south.