Cordova, looking up Orca Inlet.
On departing Port Etches a skipper has choices to make: head for Cordova, go north and west into Prince William Sound toward Valdez or Whittier, or continue west on the outer coast. In all cases the boater should pass seaward of a distinct row of pinnacles south of Nuchek called Porpoise Rocks.
The Coast Guard maintains a Shipping Safety Fairway (see previous section) that begins southeast of Hinchinbrook Entrance and feeds into a Traffic Separation Scheme for Prince William Sound for tanker traffic bound for Valdez, consisting of two 1,500-yard-wide lanes, inbound and outbound, separated by a buffer zone. Small vessels are not required to report in to the Coast Guard when approaching Hinchinbrook Entrance nor must they adhere to the traffic pattern, but they are well advised to stay off to the side to avoid large, fast-moving ships that may not be able to see them and certainly would not be able to stop or swerve around them.
If a trip to Cordova is in the plan it is a simple matter of tracking just off the Hinchinbrook shore by rounding Johnstone Point, clearing the buoy at Middle Ground Shoal, and then keeping to the right side of The Narrows to Salmo Point. At the point turn south and take either Western Channel or Orca Channel into Orca Inlet, avoiding the shoal at the south end of Observation Island. The Cordova boat harbor (729 berths) lies at the southwest end of the town’s waterfront. Transient floats are near the south end of the harbor and the harbormaster’s office is helpful in allowing transient boats to use the loading dock for an hour to permit a quick run uptown for supplies. The Cordova harbor office monitors Ch. 16 and 68 and the landline is 907-424-6400. The harbor office has public showers. The fuel dock run by Shoreside Petroleum is near the north end of town. Weather in this part of the sound can be found on WX6.
Cordova has supermarkets, restaurants, a medical clinic, a dental clinic, a Coast Guard station, an airport with daily jet service, various marine supply and marine service businesses, six seafood processing companies at last count, and a very mariner-friendly attitude. The only hazard is the large number of fishing and tendering vessels transiting the waters in front of town, including many small, fast jet bowpickers. Points of interest include the Prince William Sound Science Center at the north end of the boat harbor, and at the south end is the Ilanka Cultural Center (Ilanka is “family” in the Alutiiq language), a very nicely appointed museum and gift gallery, staffed by helpful and knowledgeable people. Upstairs are the articulated skeletons of a killer whale and sea otter, there are maps and historical photos, and exhibits include locally made objects of art such as glass bead balls and pouches made of swans’ feet.
Prince William Sound is not addressed here, other than to say the first agreeable anchorage in that direction is Zaikof Bay on the north end of Montague Island. Note that the 1964 earthquake caused bottom uplift of as much as 32 feet in many parts of Prince William Sound and several areas have not been re-surveyed since then, so caution is advised when approaching shallows and shorelines throughout the sound. An abundance of information about the sound is available, including the excellent book Cruising Guide to Prince William Sound by Jim and Nancy Lethcoe.
Notes
This website does not address Controller Bay (except brief comments on the southern approaches), Katalla, the Copper River flats, Strawberry Channel, and the southwestern two-thirds of Orca Inlet. In other words, no inside routes between Cape Suckling and Cordova are included. Small fishing vessels and larger tenders do transit and work in these waters, but with local knowledge. Extensive shoals and flats, strong currents, and changing channels make the area hazardous to mariners not intimately familiar with it.