Harbour

Funter Bay Seaplane Base

Name: Funter Bay Seaplane Base
Address: Angoon, US

1.6Angoon, United StatesAlaska

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Maximum draught: 6 m

Sheltered bay on the west coast of the Mansfield Peninsula on Admiralty Island, 14 miles south-west of Juneau, with a state marine park and a small public seaplane base.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Entered from Chatham Strait through Funter Bay itself, considered the best anchorage in the area. No road access: reached only by boat or floatplane. The state-owned seaplane base on the east shore has a pier where local air taxis from Juneau drop passengers in a 15 to 25 minute flight.

Practical

Five berths on the public float, no fuel, no shore power. Funter Bay State Marine Park covers part of the shoreline with primitive camping. Provisioning and repairs require a trip back to Statter Harbor at Auke Bay, 11 NM to the north-east.

Ashore

Trails from the bay lead into Admiralty Island National Monument, known to the Tlingit as Kootznoowoo, the Fortress of the Bears, which holds one of the highest brown bear densities in North America. Remains of the Thlinket Packing Company cannery, built in 1902, stand on the south shore.

History

The Mansfield Peninsula is the traditional territory of the Wooshkeetaan clan of the Auk Tlingit, who kept a summer fish camp called Shakananaxwk' at the head of the bay. The cannery operated from 1902 and was, in its time, sometimes described as the largest in Alaska. The site was also used as a relocation camp for Aleut civilians during the Second World War.