Charles and Margo Wood - Charlie\'s Charts North to Alaska

4

Water is available at public docks. It is usually good, fresh. soft water
but facilities may not be convenìently arranged. There are also a myriad of
fresh water sources from lakes, waterfalls. and streams, but one should be
careful of such sources -- make su re that they come from clearly unpopulated
areas, and treat this water.

Initial provisioning is best accomplished in Vancouver or Victoria, British
Columbia or in any U.S. city in the Puget Sound area. However, there are
stores at almost alI stops with docks along the route and some small towns even
boast supermarkets. Prices vary with the degree of isolation of the store, and
tend to be approximately 20% higher in Prince Rupert and Alaskan stores com-
pared to southern outlets. Fresh produce in Alaska i5 shipped from Washington
and the selection may be limited.

ANCHORING ANO MOORING FACILITIES

The guide describes the useful anchorages along the route. ~any more can

be found if the scope of trave1 is wider. If desired, one can anchor during

the entire cruise. However. there is moorage at alI the towns along the

passage. and one usually uses these facilities for their convenience.

Moorage

At many places in both B.C. and Alaska there are government instal1ed
wharves and fIoats that can be used on a first come -- first served basis by
either commerciaI or pleasure craft. These tend to be heavily used during the
fishing season and rafting is a common courtesy. In the 1arger towns there are
a1so municipal and private marinas. A transient section is supposed to be
reserved in alI government marinas -- they are indicated in the charts. But
crowding of these transient floats is so common that there is seldom space
available. The harbormasters wi11 often direct one to a berth that is tempor-
arily vacant (hot-berthing) in order to accommodate transient traffico This is
one reason why one shou1d report to the harbormaster as soon as possible 00
arrivaI. Charges are usually moderate at government marinas -- in 1985 charges
ranged from $3 to $5 per day for a 35-foot vessel. Private marinas are more
expensive, usually double that of the public facilities.

The greatest disadvantage of the government marinas is the lack of sanitary

services such as shore toilets and showers. These can vary from non-existent

in Prince Rupert to a single unit at Bar Harbor in Ketchikan, or two Johnny-on-

the-spots at Aurora Boat Basin in Juneau. Showers are available from private

enterprises in several places.

Anchoring

Good, strong tackle and experience in setting one's anchor for varyiog

bottom conditions and the type of aochorage is essential for safety aod peace

of mind. A feature of this area is that one gains valuable experience in the

less demanding southern portion before reaching the deeper, sometimes

restricted anchorages of the mid and northero sections of the guide.