Wednesday, September 29, 1999 Inside Passage, Alaska, USA Aboard M/V Columbia 55d 38m North - 132d 17m West - Between Wangle and Ketchikan, AK Update via satellite telephone by Jim & Andrew Our departure from Sitka was uneventful and on time. Rufus and Cleo were exercised, fed and watered and settled back into the truck for the evening. With our next stops in Petersburg at 4:30 AM and Wrangle at 8:00 AM Wednesday, we opted to check on them after the breakfast stop. After dinner Tuesday evening, we spent the rest of the evening in the "lounge" with a number of passengers availing themselves of "Tony The Bartender's" microphone and guitar. Most of the "performers" were quite respectable though the critic's evaluation wasa probably tempered with Alaskan Amber! Andrew was engaged in conversation with a young Austrailian traveler wh had much experience with Land Rovers and SERIOUS off-roading. Our arrival in Petersburg Wednesday AM was on time though the port was shrouded in fog. We awoke at again at 5:30 AM with the ship dead in the water. As I had discovered the ship's internal communication's radio frequency, I was able to determine that we were ahead of schedule due to a following wind and sea and needed to "waste" some time for a favorable tide to approach Wrangle harbor. I am told tides range 20-25 feet in this area of the Inside Passage. As The M/V Columbia draws 18 feet minimum, I can see the Captain's desire not to run aground!! So we sat quietly at anchor. Unfortunately, this 2-hour delay slowed our arrival into Wrangle until 10:00 AM generating some concern for the bladders of Rufus and Cleo. Andrew decided to make a clandestine trip to the car deck for a quick check which luckily revealed all was well the pooches!! Arrival in Wrangle was well received by the pups successfully performing their morning duties ashore along with the dozen or so other four legged travelers. As the morning progressed and we departed Wrangle, the fog burned off and temperatures rose through the low 30's. By mid-day it was partly sunny and 48 degrees making it most enjoyable out on the sunny side of the deck. Receiving this update means that we have been successful in uploading to the Pacific Ocean Region Inmarsat satellite while M/V Columbia runs south at 17+ knots. As it was difficult to determine our direction of travel and orient the antenna using our manual compass (too much metal) - I obtained the ship's position and "course over ground' from the Purser. We then positioned the antenna relative to the ship's direction of travel and the calculated satellite's position of 203 degrees. Andrew then held the antenna and manually "tracked" the satellite's position watching the receiver's signal strength and moving the antenna accordingly. I wonder if this is a first using this model of Mini-M phone without an omni-directional antenna?? Our final port of call between our present location and the final destination in Bellingham, WA on Friday morning will be Ketchikan, AK at 5:00 PM (9:00 PM EDT) this afternoon. From there south the projected course on the chart looks to take us through many narrow inlets and passages hopefully providing additional magnificent scenery. An advantage of traveling these waters is that they remain mostly protected with little sea while outside the weather service is reporting Small Craft Advisory with winds NW 25-30 knots and seas of 6-12 feet. Not a place you would like Albert!! We hope to upload our final report tomorrow, Thursday 09/30, as we journey between Ketchikan and Bellingham, WA. Over the weekend we will upload final images and reflections of this wonderful adventure.