Chichagof Harbour.

General.    The trip around the eastern part of the island from between Massacre Cove and Chichagof Harbour passes two large sea lion rookeries.  While anchored here we meet the third boat that passed through the Aleutians from Japan in 2003, the US yacht “Dreamtime’.

Reported.    July 2003 by Fine Tolerance

Charts.    NOAA 16421, large scale chart NOAA 16433.

Approach.    We found the entrance quite hard to identify although once identified it is quite wide and safe although you may encounter some kelp in the passage. It is not thick and your prop will be able to chew it up. The US scientific research vessel ‘Tiglak’, which has been doing research in the Aleutians for the last 17 years told us that it would have been impossible for us to get into the harbour some years back due to the kelp in the entrance but with the decrease of the sea otter population, and with the corresponding increase of the sea urchin population, the kelp has largely disappeared. Depending on wind and sea conditions the large bays to either side of Chichagof Harbour also offer good anchorages.

Anchoring.    We anchored in 10 meters at 52° 55.5 N,   173° 14.3 E  , off from the wooden barge lying on the beach and the remains of the jetty. This harbour also has good holding black sand to anchor on. We found no evidence of the many wrecks that are shown on the chart as sunken in the harbour.

Points of Interest.  Once again, this is a treasure trove of WW2 remains. A walk up the track on the western edge of the harbour to the head leads to many relics. The plaque on the flat at the head of the bay commemorates the Aleut villages that were interned by the Japanese. You can also walk cross country up to Engineers Hill from here. Gibson Island, one of the islands in the entrance has a small sea lion colony on it. A killer whale came cruising into the harbour while we were there, an indication that the river flowing into the east side of the harbour has a salmon run. We were unfortunately to early for the salmon spawning season.

From the head of the bay looking north out to the islands that guard the Harbour. Entrance is from the
channel to the right side of the picture. The channel to the left is suitable for dinghy's only.

Chichagof Harbour    Massacre Bay    Casco Cove    Navy Cove    Pyramid Cove

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