In the summer the northern latitudes enjoy more sunlight than the rest of us and some sailors take advantage of it by heading North for Summer Sailstice. Max Fletcher headed north with wife and friends to discover the wonders of Alaskan cruising. His report:
My wife Lynnie & I spent 2 weeks in Alaska with our Canadian/Kiwi pals Rob & Shawn aboard their Swan 53 'Mistress'. I had last sailed with Rob 25 years ago when he joined me for a sail from New Zealand to Maine via Cape Horn aboard my then Westsail 32. On the sailstice we explored Thomas Bay and it's glacier; the next day we had a glorious reach through large pods of whales spouting in every direction, and finally on the solstice we motored as far up Tracy Arm Bay as we could before being turned back by ice from its glacier. This was all in the 56 - 57N Latitude range, appropriately just about the mirror of Cape Horn at 56'30"S
An Alaskan 'chamber of commerce' shot
Max Fletcher has sailed thousands of offshore miles including around Cape Horn pictured here with his 2005 Summer Sailstice shirt!
Lynnie & Shawn found a lot to like about sailing in Alaska.