Gary Lundgren & his dog Elvis

... taken from a letter from Gary Lundgren to Don Kurylko, the designer and builder of "Alaska."

 

The anchor I used was just a cheap 15lb. cast iron navy anchor. And I mean cheap. It broke in half on the way up and I just duct taped it together for the remainder of the trip. I tried to replace it, but could only find big anchors. Duct tape holds my life together.

 

I'm quite surprised myself that I never dragged anchor, particularly one night when I had a very dubious anchorage in a small indent for a bay with a current that made the anchor rode vibrate under tension at max flood in the middle of the night.

 

But, because it woke me up, I was treated to an amazing display of bioluminescent algae streaming off the rode like a huge, tattered, neon prayer flag trailing off deep into the gloom in a large arc. The current was also agitating the algae as were schools of small fish being chased by larger fish. Streaks of light chasing other streaks of light. It was also one of those rare crisp, clear nights with no light pollution for who knows how many miles. All this made for those most dazzling light show I can ever remember. It was absolutely amazing.

 

The whole trip was pretty amazing though. This boat is an excellent way to travel the Inside Passage and see it up close and personal. You can't experience the same thing packed like veal in a cruise ship.

 

sincerely,

Gary Lundgren

Done