The Chiswells and Harbor Islands are nice to look at even if they don’t provide many good anchorages.
Lying off the seaward (south) end of Aialik Bay are two clusters of steep, timbered islands and several rocks, all part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and known for dense concentrations of seabirds. The northern cluster, consisting of Harbor Island, Natoa Island, and an unnamed island between the two, are known locally as the Harbor Islands, while the southern five small islands plus numerous outlying rocks comprise the Chiswells. The islands in the two adjacent groups are lovely to look at but provide little in the way of protection or anchorage. A large rocky bight on the north side of Natoa offers indifferent anchorage on the narrow shelf of shallow water, or more easily in 17 fathoms in the middle. Miller indicates fair weather anchorages in bights on the west sides of Harbor Island and Matushka Island. Pete’s Pass is, well, passable, with a minimum depth of 2 fathoms. Favor the west (Harbor Island) side at the narrowest point because an uncharted rock has been reported in the east-middle part of the pass at lowest tides.
The small Steller sea lion rookery at Chiswell Island is probably the most studied in Alaska.
A Steller sea lion rookery is located on the northwest shore of Chiswell Island itself. Although not surrounded by a three-mile no-transit zone like rookeries to the west, the Endangered Species Act/Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibitions against sea lion disturbance remain in effect and the site is continually monitored by still and video cameras controlled by the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward.
To the west of the Harbor Islands, on the west side of Dora Passage, lie the Twin Islands. Just to their west is an unnamed bay that is enclosed except to the southeast, and immediately north of it is Verdant Cove. The low pass between the two is private land.
Taz Basin is one of the most scenic—and most sheltered—anchorages in the area, on days when sea conditions permit entering
Aligo Point separates the south end of Dora Passage from Granite Passage to the west. Granite Passage is bordered to the west by Granite Island, and is the usual entrance from the east to Harris Bay and Northwestern Fiord beyond. Miller notes anchorages at Fire Cove and Ripple Cove on Granite Passage. Sport fishing boats frequent the relatively sheltered pass and during the season regularly scheduled large and fast tour boats use the passage when transiting to and from Northwestern Fiord. Granite Island is particularly known for a peculiar keyhole bay on its northwest shore known as Taz Basin. The cliff-walled bay with abundant holding ground in 12-20 fathoms is accessed by an extremely narrow entrance passage with 2 fathom minimum depth and a five-foot-high rock right in the middle; take the channel to the north (left on entering) of the rock. In heavy west weather Taz Basin may be inaccessible due to breakers across the entrance.
Harris Bay runs north-south like Aialik, and also like Aialik has a series of steep-sided bays on the east side, none of which offer much in the way of shelter or safe anchorages other than Crater Bay, which has a satisfactory bight in its southeast corner. Be aware that because of the effects of the surrounding hills on air flow, a southeast wind on the ocean can produce fierce northwest wind inside the bay. Miller notes a possible anchorage at Cup Cove on the west side of Harris Bay.
Northwestern Fiord is a great place to observe tidewater glaciers.
About 3 nm northwest of the northern tip of Granite Island a submerged terminal moraine nearly bisects the inlet, separating Harris Bay from Northwestern Fiord. The location of the moraine is where the face of Northwestern Glacier was in 1894; the glacier has retreated more than 9 miles since then. A shoal with a row of wash rocks extends northeast from the west shore of the inlet but a narrow pass, with a charted depth of 4 fathoms, lies a short distance off the northeast border of the inlet. A reef extending from the sand spit on the eastern shore has to be avoided. Tidal current through the passage can be swift, so schedule your transiting during slack tide (approximately the same time as in the Cordova District tide book). Just past the moraine, the fjord deepens to more than a hundred fathoms and brash ice circulates with tide and wind. Sea otters appear, and farther up the bay harbor seals haul out and have their pups on the ice. Fair weather anchorage is available in any of several bights on the east side, and a well-protected bay on the west side, shown as Northwestern Lagoon, has a more protected inner bay known locally as Otter Cove, which offers a 12 fathom hole after you cross an entrance bar that nearly goes dry at low water.
A few miles up the fjord it bifurcates, with Southwestern Arm backing up to Southwestern Glacier and the main fjord continuing north 3 nm to Northwestern Glacier, with Anchor Glacier and Ogive Glacier as well as Striation Island in between. There is no secure anchorage north of Striation Island. An anchorage with a stunning view is available at the head of Southwestern Arm, but be aware that the water rapidly shallows to a tideflat a ways out from the uplands, and with a northeast wind ice gets pushed to the head of the arm. On fair-weather days the upper part of the fjord is as breathtakingly beautiful surely as any place on the planet, and in foul weather it is a cold, wet, miserable blowhole. Anchor, Ogive, and Northwestern calve at tidewater. The pistol-shot cracking and popping along with cascading chunks of ice make them dramatic venues to visit, but if a big slab falls the resulting wave could capsize or swamp a small boat. Potential camping beaches are at Northeastern Bight, Redstone Beach, and Southwestern Arm, but there is no satisfactory anchorage at Redstone. All in all, Northwestern Fiord is probably the most rewarding side trip on this whole Kenai Peninsula coast, but it is not without risks and demands careful attention at all times.
Anchorage at the head of Thunder Bay.
Departure from Northwestern Fiord is via Harris Bay, which is exposed to weather and seas from all directions. The Coast Pilot indicates a possible anchorage exposed to east weather at Cup Bay. The route west skirts rugged cliffs and scenic country that is deeply indented but offers little in the way of comfortable and secure anchorages. One exception is Thunder Bay, an indentation shaped like an L or an inverted boot, which provides protection from most summertime weather patterns. Two scenic pocket beaches, separated by a rocky outcrop, lie on the west side (heel of the boot) but get an ocean swell. The toe has a shelf big enough for several vessels to anchor against a backdrop of a small valley with rugged cliffs. At the northernmost part of the bay a spectacular waterfall plunges into the forest just behind the beach. Avoid the shallow outwash that extends into the bay.
Miller reports that anchorages also can be found in Paguna Arm and at the heads of Taroka Arm, and the east arm of Black Bay. Unless immediate shelter is required, transiting mariners may elect to head straight for MacArthur Pass.