This is a very notable day for two reasons, first and surprisingly it did not rain at all for 2 days. Second, we officially landed in the United States, state of Alaska in the town of Ketchikan.

Frogs at the City Float in Ketchikan

We thought the formalities would be brief since we have Nexus and we pre-cleared from Prince Rupert and were told to just call the Border protection office when we arrived. Ha-ha-ha, this was not to be. The officer immediately requested our  “Cruising Permit number” so after giving our passport numbers, DOB’s, cell phone numbers,  we offered our decal number, our BR numbers, our Nexus numbers, our boat registration number, all to no avail. Border security now has a new level of paperwork called the cruising permit. So after greeting us at the dock in a most friendly fashion the CBP officer drove me through the old town to the office and within an hour  successfully  issued the new permit,  and gave me  a ride back in the SUV.  He  knew all about Winnipeg,  and Saanichton near Victoria, and was planning a transfer to Edmonton with his family, so we were spared the customary boat inspection.   Too bad, I had complied and thrown away  limes, potatoes, and oranges from Florida which we are not allowed to import  in the US.

The all white light-house on Mary Island, AK

We had a nice passage to Ketchikan past Mary Island and the light- house  and through the narrows into town,  juggling for space with three huge cruise ships and a busy harbour’s traffic.

We are now moored right by Creek Street at the city dock, good place to observe float-planes, cruise-ships, fishing boats  and yachts.

There are more Float-planes outfits in Ketchikan than anywhere. They are all stationed on hangars and ramps on piles over the water  and take the tourist to “do Misty Fjords” in 2 hours. We are going to spend a whole week there… in the rain forest. ( I just read in the Alaska brochure that Ketchikan gets more rain than any Alaska town by a long shot , 151 inches according to the Coastal Pilot). Now who is smarter? I will report later.

We now have a US phone number which we will send by email. Our Google Nexus phone still gets email as well.