Benefit Cruise Thanks
Dear Editor: The Sitka Maritime Heritage Society sends out a big thank you to all who contributed to the great success of our 4th of July fundraising cruise.
Allen Marine was particularly generous in helping us with the boat arrangements, and the crew (Donny and Stevania) and skipper (Steven Campbell) were the best! Our naturalist, Ryan Carpenter, made the magical trip around St. Lazaria even more special thanks to his enthused, informative narrative.
After seeing (among others) puffins, pigeon guillemots, murres and a nesting peregrine falcon at St. Lazaria, and after enjoying the antics of a sea lion and the thrilling beauty of a gray whale, we aimed for Kruzof Island to enjoy a beach picnic. We arrived to the warm sight of campfires and friendly smiles from our advance crew on the beach, Sitka Sound Ocean Adventures and the Dunlap family (John, Alison, Michaela, Holly, Bryan and Blake). Thanks also to Terry and Joe and several others who helped grill up yummy food, and to Joe for supplying us with some unexpected, and very much appreciated, frothy beverages.
Courtesy of Matthew Hunter and his website, we had a wonderful information sheet on Fort Babcock and related points of interest on Kruzof Island near our picnic site. We want to thank Ben Franklin for being our ticket outlet (and steady source of candy bars) in the weeks leading up to the event. We are grateful to Birch Equipment Rental and Sales for supplying us with grills, a table and a tent at a reduced rate, and to Shari Pergricht for help with logistics.
Finally, our appreciation goes out to all the fine businesses around town that display posters, and a very warm thank you to those in the media who helped publicize the event, including the KCAW Raven Radio, KIFW-AM Radio, the Sitka Soup, and the Daily Sitka Sentinel.
Sitka Maritime Heritage Society
Executive Director, Carole Gibb
