July 29/30

I borrowed my friend Rod's boat for a trip to the Berg Bay cabin, located on the mainland about fifteen miles south of Wrangell.  We'd tried the same trip twice before in prior summers but were always foiled by some fuel problem.  

The weather this week has been some of the most beautiful sunny weather on the face of the planet.  There was a cool breeze that prevailed over those two days that kept all but the most skilled flying insects in their place.   

Rod's boat performed beautifully and whisked us down the back channel at a brisk pace.  While there, we managed to convince Janet to hike the trail over to the Aaron's creek drainage- a remote area frequented by brown bears and wolves.  She's not crazy about bear encounters and would rather avoid any chance for one.  While we did pass bear scat and numerous bear trails, the marauding beasts decided to stay hidden.  

While we hiked, a very sleek helicopter seemed to follow us through the woods.  We all wondered if a search and rescue was under way or if homeland security was doing a preemptive sweep of the Alaskan hinterlands.  Later that evening, we took Rid's boat over to fish the mouth of Aaron 's Creek.  As we rounded the southern edge of Berg Bay, we saw an enormous black yacht - when I say enormous, I mean it.  There were six boat slips at the stern and a helipad at the bow.

It wasn't until we returned to town that   we discovered that the yacht belongs to Yuri Schefler, a Russian  businessman who owns Stolichnaya, a large vodka company, in the motherland - amazing what a few hundred broken thumbs does for business.  It is one of the largest yachts in the world, measuring over 493 feet in length and is valued at $330 million. Serene is the name of the yacht - Google it if you dare.