A bight on the west side of Gore Point, known locally as Ranger Beach for the wreck of the fish packer Ranger, is sheltered in calm or easterly weather. A trail through the meadow behind leads across the isthmus to Isthmus Beach on the east side of Gore Point
Chart 16645
(covers remainder of route to Homer)
Port Dick is the large three-arm bay to the west of the Gore Peninsula and it has several scenic and relatively comfortable anchorages for the wayfarer willing to diverge from the direct route to Cook Inlet. About 2 nm northwest of Gore Point lies a large west-facing bight with a long sandy beach, unnamed on the chart but known locally as Ranger Beach. Partially burned and wrecked remains of a large wooden vessel, probably a spoon-billed power scow fish tender, lie strewn across the beach. The vessel’s name—Ranger—is still visible on the bows, and the rusted blocks of a pair V8-71 Detroit Diesel engines lie partially buried in the sand. A skiff or kayak can land there if there isn’t a westerly blowing, but the east wind comes right through the saddle and the bay is considered only a fair-weather anchorage. The beach backs up on the low, flowered isthmus with trails leading to Isthmus Beach. A couple of rocks and some kelp beds lie off the southern entrance to the bight but outside the kelp in the southeast corner is an area of sloping bottom that will hold an anchor under mild conditions.
Harbor seals use the rocks at the south side of the entrance to Sunday Harbor as a haulout
Another two miles north is a larger bay that branches into Takoma Cove and Sunday Harbor. Be aware of the submerged reef extending west from the south side of the entrance. Takoma is a preferred alternative for anchoring close to Gore Point if conditions are not suitable at Ranger Beach. Small wooded islands at the east end of the cove indicate the start of numerous rocks and wash rocks, and anchoring ground is just west of them, particularly in the southeast corner, or rocky bottom; the Coast Pilot, however, recommends selecting muddy bottom in 17-18 fathoms. Be aware that in the shallower water much of the bottom is covered by kelp and eelgrass. The small islets, some bare, some with a few or even a single stunted tree or skeletons of dead trees, make for pleasant kayaking, and the head of the cove is an eelgrass tidal flat. Sunday Harbor is oriented in more of a southwest to northeast direction than Takoma and is more scenic due in part to the proximity of a 2,000 foot peak right at the head of the bay. A single rock lies in the middle of the entrance, and a cluster of rocks at the south entrance serves as a haulout for dozens of harbor seals. The head of the cove is eelgrass flats. There is a delightful little pocket anchorage behind the peninsula in the northeast corner, south side, in 5 fathoms.
A combination of coastal current, tidal current, and winds produces a steep chop even during mild weather
Taylor Bay extends due north from Port Dick proper almost four miles into the mountains, and has an altogether different feel. Rock slides and waterfalls are evident, and even in late summer snowfields cover ground almost down to the beach, ground that appears to have only recently been under finger glaciers. The bay passes through a narrow opening between cliffs, and the western half of it north of the narrows goes dry at low water. A conspicuous large white rock is visible on the beach at the head of the bay, but the water is shallow for some distance out and a small bight to the east also goes dry. A small area suitable for anchoring in 7 fathoms lies between two tideflats in the very northernmost part of the bay, to the east of the white rock. Sea otters seem to favor Taylor Bay over others in Port Dick, probably because of the shellfish beds in the intertidal along the west side of the inner basin.
Hillsides surrounding West Arm reveal extensive patches of downed timber, apparently blown over by fierce north or northwest winter winds. Some of the affected areas are hundreds of acres in size
The largest branch off Port Dick is West Arm, which protrudes 7 miles into the heart of the coastal mountains. A salmon run headed for the stream at the head of the inlet attracts seiners and tenders during the season, but the most singularly distinctive feature of West Arm is the presence of numerous large patches of windfall timber on the slopes above the water. Some cover hundreds of acres, with matchstick-like logs flattened in patterns like mange on the back of a dog. Although the trunks lie facing every direction it appears that north or northwest winds, presumably in fall or winter, are the force that topples tens of thousands of mature spruce trees. A couple of small bights on the south side about halfway up the inlet offer fair-weather summer anchorages but would be useless in brisk north and west winds. One bight is west of a small peninsula, and the other an indentation with a small tideflat a mile farther west. Seiners prefer the latter. Another mile up the south side, almost to the edge of the tideflat at the head of the bay, a small waterfall dumps water into the inlet from what seems to be solid rock, though a narrow cleft in the rock leads to a ravine behind. A small bay is situated on the north side about 2 miles west of the mouth of the bay, behind (to the east of) a small island, and Miller notes that it provides anchorage but is exposed to wind and swell from the southeast. The two small inlets behind it go dry at low water. He also mentions anchoring at the head of West Arm, just beyond the limits of the tideflat that extends more than a half mile seaward. There is suitable bottom north of the small island off the south shore where the flat slopes down gradually, but this location also is fully exposed to southeast wind and swells.
The coast from Port Dick west to Chugach Passage is complex and challenging, with hundreds of unmarked rocks and reefs, strong currents, and numerous potential anchorage of questionable security. The first possible anchorage west of Port Dick is Touglaalek Bay, known locally as One-Haul Bay. Both Miller (the last piece of advice in his 2004 edition) and the Coast Pilot recommend staying 2 miles out because of a scattering of wash rocks out to a mile and a half, but it is not difficult to thread a small vessel into the bay. The easiest approach, from the east, is to pass to the outside (south) of the outermost wash rock and then turn right and proceed almost due north, passing to the east of the small island, and to the west of the rocks and kelp bed on the east side into the inner bay. The head of the bay is in a kind of a + shape, the top of which is too shallow, but the two sides provide sheltered anchorage, particularly the one on the right which is protected from the south swell off the ocean.
This pierced rock is a distinguishing feature of Qikutulig Bay, which offers adequate anchoring shelter during good to moderate weather
Immediately to the west lies Qikutulig Bay, locally called Bootlegger Cove. Despite its opening to the southeast, Qikutulig Bay provides fairly good shelter in most summer weather. It’s another one with a dicey but manageable approach; stay clear of the extensive rock gardens off both sides of the entrance. The bay curves left to the northwest and there is a small bight on the left (west) side with a shelf suitable for anchoring. The main bay terminates in a narrow cove with just enough water for anchoring and provides surprising relief from south and southeast weather. It’s necessary to cozy up to almost the very head (north end) of the cove, to the left (west) of a north-south row of rocks and islets, to find less than 10 fathoms of water. It’s a gem of a little bay with a maze of rocky islets, several gravel beaches, and steep misty mountainsides towering overhead. At the very head of the cove is a small lagoon and creek and during the midsummer run that lagoon can be absolutely choked with pink salmon. There may be suitable holding ground in any of several pocket bights toward the east side, but the head appears the most secure and comfortable. In the middle of the bay, near the head, is a prominent monolith islet distinguished by tunnels from two directions, and there are small sea caves in the cliffs on the east side of the bay.
Numerous small streams on the south coast of the Kenai Peninsula support pink and chum salmon runs that attract a small number of commercial fishing vessels. Here a seiner hauls aboard a bunt load of chum salmon
Both Qikutulig and Touglaalek should be considered fair-weather anchorages but either could be a welcome respite from a long and punishing slog between Gore Point and Chugach Passage, particularly if east or west winds are running contrary to the tidal current.