I took a week off from work and launched my completed skiff from the town of Whittier, AK, into the waters of Prince William Sound. Even I knew that none of my trip was going to go as planned when the predicted sunshine and fair skies became cold, dense fog on the other side of the tunnel....

But even before I got started, with all of the last minute flurry of activity it takes to get ready for a maiden voyage, I managed to lose the key to the lock securing my coupler. My grinding wheel made quick work of the lock, though, and I was ready to get underway.

Trailer is hitched to my car outside my home, and the boat is loaded with all of my food and gear.

When I got to Whittier, it was already dusk and the area was socked in with fog. Since there was no wind, I decided to launch anyway. I traveled about five miles in the fog, guided mostly by my Garmin GPS unit. I anchored in Shotgun Cove for the night. Another boat decided to anchor in the same cove. Those faint lights you see in the distant background are not on shore-they are coming from a passing cruise ship a little over a mile away, heading into Whittier.

Fog or no fog, I was here to boat. I left Shotgun Cove the next morning and re-entered Passage Canal. Four miles later, I headed south into Blackstone Bay.

The further I progressed into this 14-mile long bay, I kept coming across an increasing number of large floating chunks of ice. Ahead, my route seems to be blocked by an impenetrable bank of fog.

I traveled through the dense fog for about three miles. I couldn't see but 50-feet in any direction. When I broke through the other side, the clouds lifted to about 800 feet, but they then released a constant light rain. Still seven miles distant I can see what appears to be Beloit Glacier. Willard Island is on the right, and that skinny dark band of land that appears to start at the base of the island and extend to the left in the bay is a terminal moraine, left over from the last time the glaciers advanced. According to my chart, there is supposed to be a break in the moraine that is at least 3 fathoms deep. I am currently in 192 fathoms of water. In case you have forgotten, a fathom is 6-feet. 192 fathoms is 1152 feet. This is one deep bay. No wonder why the next day I had a whale come right by my boat.

Despite Prince William Sound being one of the rainiest places on earth, the sun does come out occasionally. After I almost...let's just say that the sea is very unforgiving towards the ignorant and fools. But if one manages to survive a trial where doom was forecast, and by all accounts, virtually imminent, that person will have learnt a skill, a knowledge that can be tucked away until again needed to light the way to safe passage. I learned two new skills this day.

The following day I broke out of Passage Canal into Port Wells, headed south into Cochrane Bay, and then took a quick right into Surprise Cove. This is one or the prettiest anchorages I have ever seen. It has several islands, a waterfall, seals and sea otters frolicking about, eagles soaring overhead, and sunshine!

I am anchored in about 15-feet of water, floating about in a 2-man raft that I brought with me. Does anyone else besides me find it funny that I boated to this location in a small boat, only to go exploring this area in an even smaller boat? When I returned later in the day, I cooked up the shrimp that I had caught earlier in the day. Yes, I had even brought a shrimp pot with me and 600-feet of weighted line!

A time for refection.

Back at home in dry-dock in my backyard. I promised my landlord that I would take my building shelter down after Intrepid's voyage. It held up exceedingly well during the two years I had it up.

Well, there you have it. Almost 500 pictures of the build of my boat, Intrepid. Not exactly meant to be a step-by-step guide, but maybe something to inspire someone like yourself to go out and build a boat, too. This was my first boat building experience ever, and though challenging at times, it was rewarding all the way through. I could have purchased a boat (used) more inexpensively than it cost to build one. But, as an example, what do you think carries more meaning, taking a helicopter ride to the top of Mount McKinley, or climbing the Mountain yourself. That's how I saw it. Ultimately my goal was always to put my boat in water and to go where no man has gone before. I really wanted to explore the bays and inlets in Prince William Sound, but I think any waters near one's home can be equally exciting.

If you would like to see how my voyage really went, to see a whale up close and Kittiwakes flying all around, to see how I cooked, lived, and explored on this homebuilt skiff called Intrepid, may I direct your attention to the other 131,000 pictures that I have? These would be moving pictures, of course. I took a camcorder along for the voyage and have produced a 91-minute film called, "The voyage of Intrepid-the Little Prince." This is an amateur film that captures the essence of my trip and may add fuel to the imagination of what may be possible in your neck of the woods. The film is available at Duckworks, the same site where I had originally purchased the plans to build Intrepid.
[Dorado, by Jim Michalak, designer]