Petersburg’s Norwegian heritage is immediately apparent the moment this vibrant fishing town comes into view as you approach from Wrangell Narrows. The shore is lined with Rörbua style fish plants on wooden stilts set against a stunning backdrop of snow capped mountains on the north side of Frederick Sound, making it look like a typical Lofoten fishing harbour in spring.

The harbour has three large pontoon systems all controlled by the harbourmaster. Whilst they are primarily intended for the fishing fleet, pleasure boats are welcomed and the harbour master says it is almost always possible to find space for visitors. The pontoons have potable water and electricity, there are showers in the harbour masters block and a laundrette 5 minutes walk from the harbour. 

For those not wanting to come alongside,  it is possible to anchor on the north side of the harbour opposite the pontoons provided you keep clear of the main fairway which is used by the Alaskan State ferry and the many fishing boats passing through the Wrangell Narrows. 

The town is interesting, compact and extremely well kept in keeping with its Norwegian roots. It has a small  selection of high quality shops selling things the cruising yachtsman might even be interested in buying , in stark contrast to other SE Alaskan towns where the majority of the shops seemed to be geared towards the needs of the cruise ship market. 

There is a small supermarket in the main high street which is perfectly adequate, with a much larger one 15 minutes walk out of town on the road to the airport. The latter, whilst not cheap, is without doubt the best supermarket we have come across in SE Alaska and a good place to stock up on luxury items that cannot be obtained elsewhere. One of the fish plants operates a small restaurant and shop outlet in the centre of town serving outstandingly fresh and tasty halibut, together with a wide variety of high quality vacuum packed halibut and salmon which are perfect to stock up the ship’s fridge. 

Petersburg would be a good place for those looking for somewhere to overwinter in SE Alaska. The harbour is well protected, is not so prone to the strong winds that affect other SE Alaskan towns, and has the strongest and most robust pontoon system we have seen anywhere in the world. If any pontoons could be said to be hurricane proof, then the ones in Petersburg certainly could claim to be. The harbour master welcomes boats overwintering on the pontoons, with the only stipulation being that if the boat is to be left unattended for any significant period then a local boat watcher must be nominated. It is understood that there are people in town prepared to do this for a fee.