I know, I know.

“What’s with Leg Five? And Leg Six for that matter?” you ask. ”The cruising plan you posted on the blog stops at Leg Four!”

Well, just as we changed our plan to explore fjordland rather than the Queen Charlotte Islands, we added Legs Five and Six to signify crew changes these last few weeks.

Jocelyn left the boat at the end of Leg Four, Prince Rupert to Ketchikan. John and Kelly Hranac cruised from Ketchikan to Petersburg for Leg Five and now Phil Dear has joined to close out the season on Leg Six.

“But Leg Four was supposed to go from Prince Rupert to Sitka where the boat was going to be put up for the winter,” you say. Well, now, I have found a suitable Yard in Petersburg, so Leg Five and Leg Six have morphed together.

Leg Five featured sporty downwind sailing in the rain (again!?) out of Ketchikan, hiking the heights over Wrangell, and transiting the Wrangell Narrows into Petersburg. Kelly and John overlapped a couple of days with Phil in Petersburg, which I don’t remember too well because a lot of alcohol was involved. Then, we said goodbye to John and Kelly and Phil and I explored glacier fed waters in Thomas Bay, complete with a Northern Lights show and a five miles trek up to a roaring waterfall into a lake 1,500 feet above the bay.

The Petersburg folks have been most welcoming, from the Harbormaster who saved a slip for me to John Murgas who runs the Yard where Windleblo will hibernate to Steve Berry who will be my winter caretaker to Vivian who offered me a place to stay when I come back later in September with John Hoopes to put Windleblo to bed.

For now, I fly back to Denver to celebrate Emily and Jesse’s wedding.

Here are some pics of Legs Five and Six: