Sailing in Kodiak!
Welcome! This is a page about my adventures sailing in Kodiak, AK on my RS Aero sailboat, affectionately named Space Cadet! This page includes (in order) first time sailing in Kodiak, the short of my sailing background, how I got a racing dinghy to Kodiak, sailing location information, and my AK sailing explorations!
Hardcore sailors: I know the mainsail tuning is off in the photos, I had to Jerry rig a few things at first, it is fixed now!
Sailing in Kodiak!
Space Cadet‘s first sail in Kodiak was on a warm February day in 2024. After a cold snap that brought temperatures down to 0deg F, several uncharacteristically warm days in February melted the icy waters enough to launch my sailboat. I saw this, sunny skies, 12kts of breeze on the water, and thought it looked like magic. This was the first opportunity I had to sail Space Cadet since bringing the boat back from Seattle in November and I was itching to get out there! Rarely do I get photos of me sailing, but my good friend took some great shots. Check out the cover photo of this site and three photos below from that day.
Brief Sailing Experience:
The longer version of my sailing experience with more details and photos is linked here! I provide this section so you can see my years of preparation. If you are not experienced and ready to face harsh and testing conditions, do NOT follow in my footsteps. Weather changes quick up here and things can go from pleasant to nasty within minutes, do not put yourself in a potentially dangerous situation. Make sure you take educated and calculated risks… stay safe out there!
Grew up with epic sailing adventures throughout the Chesapeake Bay, lower east coast, and Bahamas. These were on live aboard sailboats: Kuivato, a 38ft monohull, and Miakoda, a 41ft catamaran.
Started racing from a very young age sailing Optis. Transitioned to racing seriously, skippering C420s year-round and high school sailing.
Competed on CGA Sailing Team for four years 2019-2023. Became very familiar sailing in frigid New England winter weather. Personally, competing in three National Championships (covid took the first), racing on the team when we earned rank of 5th and 6th in the country, and loved being team captain, helping out my friends and team : )
Space Cadet’s Journey to Kodiak, AK:
While in Seattle doing a scheduled week of inspections and drills on the Coast Guard cutter I was on, the opportunity presented itself to bring items back home to Kodiak. I was made aware of extra space onboard, space big enough for a sailboat, two days before departing Seattle. Stoked about the possibility of having a sailboat in Kodiak, I researched a bunch of different ones online and, within 24hrs, found and purchased this one! Two of my sailing friends, Charlie and Jack, came up to Seattle to visit me during this week. The three of us used Charlie’s car to pick up the boat, carry it over our heads across the brow of CGC ALEX HALEY, and stow it onboard!!! We got quite a few funny looks from the crew, it was awesome. I think I won “Most Unique Souvenir” from Seattle. The sailboat was then affectionately named Space Cadet, a reference to a joke from one of my first sailing coaches who believed in me.
Locations to sail in Kodiak – more updates to come, I’ve sailed more places since making this!
There are several places to launch a sailboat in Kodiak. Four main boat ramps in Kodiak AK are: Saint Paul Harbor boat ramp in downtown, the Saint Herman boat ramp on Near Island, the Woman’s Bay boat ramp just past BASE KODIAK (not available at low tide), and a boat ramp 10 miles down Anton Larson Bay Road.
Fortunately, I am also able to beach launch Space Cadet by hand on a dolly and pick up it up with two people to carry the sailboat over rocks/trees a short distance. This opens up many more areas to launch, such as Mill Bay, White Sands, Mayflower Beach, etc.
This is a screenshot map of Kodiak with all the places I have sailed or would like to sail in the future. The blue bookmarks are places I have sailed Space Cadet, and the green flags are places on island I have scouted out to sail in the future.
I would LOVE to explore the waters and endless mountains in Pasagshak Bay and Ugak Bay by launching my boat from Pasagshak State Park or Surfer’s Beach. Launching from White Sands beach and have a post sail campfire on the beach would be very fun. I would also like to travel down Anton Larson and launch at the Anton Larson Bay boat ramp to see a different side of Kodiak.
To see some weather and safety considerations, check out Sailing Gear and Safety.
My Kodiak AK Sailing Adventures
Saint Herman Boat Ramp – Near Island
My first sail of Space Cadet was on February 10th, when a warm spell melted the ice from single digit freezing temperatures that froze everything the week prior. This boat ramp was very easy to access, with adjacent parking and plenty of pier space for my little sailboat while I worked out tuning issues on from the first sail. Recovery was simple from the boat ramp with the help of my friend, although the ramp is very protected by the harbor and a few small islands, so the wind was light and I had to rock in a bit. I timed the sail with slack tide to reduce risk from strong currents in the area.
I stayed close to shore, testing this new boat out which resulted in inconsistent breeze of 10-15kts. Gorgeous snow covered maintains like Barometer Mt. and Kash stood tall and majestic in the distance. Several people told my friend onshore that I was crazy for going out in the dead of winter, they were probably right. A giant steller sea lion gave me a big scare towards the end, popping up a few feet away from me! Magical first sail.
Mill Bay Beach
Launching and recovering here was a bit difficult. Friends helped me load and unload my sailboat from the car to the beach, but I launched and recovered alone. We carried the sailboat over several rocks to get to where I could rig and launch from. Recovering Space Cadet alone was difficult. When I went to grab my dolly, Space Cadet capsized, and the mast fell out. I recovered all of that pretty easily, but I earned a few bruises when we were hit by a small breaking wave that smashed me between my boat and some rocks. Learned a few lessons there.
It was light wind, 5-7kts gusts to 10kts, so I put the big 9 rig up. Sailed out to the distant rock island and over to each point to enjoy watching the waves crash on the rocky points. Witnessed seals playing in the bright blue crashing waves and seaweed off Fort Abercrombie. A fisherman stopped dead in the water, looked very confused, took a photo of me and drove off… weird. But nothing compares to the feeling of pure freedom coasting over rolling waves on a gorgeous upwind sail to the open horizon.
Mayflower Beach
Mayflower Beach was certainly a bit of a drive with my boat strapped to the roof of my car, but worth it for the remote scenery and ease of sail. This was a very easy beach to launch from. You can drive right up to the beach and there is short dolly down to the water, clear of any major rocks or growth. Went sailing here with a friend before a lovely summer evening campfire.
After launching, we sailed around Jug Island with puffins flying about and clear skies. Then we went around the right point and Isthmus Island to Kalsin Bay. The wind increased dramatically over the open water, from around 6kts to about 14+kts and we enjoyed a nice reach into the bay. The increased fetch meant dealing with some big chop, which Space Cadet did not like handling with extra weight from two people onboard. This sail felt much more remote and desolate than the other locations due to the distance from town, which was amazing. Later I took the mast off and launched just the hull to lay on my boat and peacefully drift around at 11:30 pm in the midnight sun.
Photo Gallery of Sailing in Kodiak
My Kodiak Adventures 