Michael - what a Great blog!
That was a very interesting read. The scenery pictures reminded me a whole lot of our west coast.
That must have been really nerve-wracking trying to deal with charts that have so many errors, especially soundings. If the shoreline is off that is one thing, one can adjust by eyesight, but soundings and rocks are a different matter.
While reading the blog I couldn't help but think of the contrast with the experiences of the early mariners and explorers, both from the hazards department and the food end. The early sailors had to eat salted meat and infested bread while you had meals that would give a fine restaurant a run for the money.
I'm really envious of you and your trip!
Sounding: Do you think a forward-scanning look-ahead sounder like Interphase would be helpful?
I've thought about something like that for our Northwest to Alaska (mainly Alaska) waters but the salesman at Fisheries Supply in Seattle isn't really sold on how they work which bothers me so it isn't a high priority item. One of the boaters in our marina was using a Douglas cruising guide for Alaska when they really clobbered a rock that was shown on the wrong side of the channel. A forward scanning sonar might have picked this up.
That was a really great write-up and the pictures were wonderful. I'm sure my Admiral will be interested in the knitting pictures.