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Ideal Cove Part Two
While in town for the Little Norway Festival, we take some time to catch up on maintenance of Idyll Time. We had a diver come and change out our zincs and also check out the paint condition on the hull. It past years Jeff has dove the boat but this year it just seemed easier to hire a diver. It’s no fun diving in 47 degree water.
We’ve learned over the last few years that our zincs only last about six months. These blocks of zinc metal are attached to our boat bonding strip, rudder, and keel to prevent corrosion from the effects of salt water. With people welding on nearby fishing boats, our zincs seem to wear out much sooner than normal. This is a picture of our old zinc which is completely gone and the new ones being put on.
The 1000 lb resident sea lion was busy patrolling the harbor so we had to keep a close eye on him while the diver was in the water.
And the Eagles were keeping an eye overhead patrolling for any fish scraps.
There are two other Krogen 48’s visiting for Little Norway, Navigator with Lynn and Neal aboard and Serendipity with Karen and Barry aboard. It is always fun getting up with other Krogen owners. After attending the Little Norway Pancake breakfast, we burn off some calories by hiking up Ravens Roost Trail with Lynn, Neal, and Karen.
The Forrest Service just finished reconstructing this trail in 2021. We are able to make it up the steep climb about three miles before running into the snow pack. Another mile would bring us to the Forrest Service Cabin, but we decide to save that for another day.
With the Little Norway Festival ending, we are eager to push away from the docks and get back out on the water. As we point the bow north, we first make a stop at the navigational buoy to check on the Sea Lions. Looks like this guy is standing guard today.
And he doesn’t want to share with this one.
It’s a short three hour cruise down Frederick Sound to Ideal Cove. We were here last week and caught lots of crabs so we decided to spend a few more days here stocking the freezer. Upon entering the anchorage, we spot a group of Eagles along the shore. It looks like they are feeding on some sort of carcass.
They are not too happy with us as we try to get a closer look.
Every six hours, we check our crab traps, keeping only the crabs that are legal. Females and those too small are thrown back. Males must measure 6 1/2” across their carapace.
We again manage to limit out each day (3 per person). Our freezer is slowly getting full!
Symphony, a commercial crabber, shows up one day and sets out 4 pots. He returns a few hours later and collects the traps. Commercial crabbing doesn’t start for a few more weeks. We suspect he is testing different areas to see which are more productive.
We spot our first Black Bear of the season one morning as he is checking out the shore line.
We have heard a lot of bear hunters talking on the VHF over the past few weeks. It’s good to see this Black Bear made it thru the winter and is back again this year.
The Eagles keep us entertained as they check out the shoreline for any food.
After four days at anchor here in Ideal Cove, it’s time to move on to a new spot. It’s hard to leave such a beautiful place, but there is much more to explore in SE Alaska. Thanks for following along.
