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Smoky Point is a point of land in the U.S. state of Alaska, located at 57°36′44″N 157°41′24″W / 57.61222°N 157.69000°W, where Ugashik Bay joins the much larger Bristol Bay. The most easily distinguishable landmark is the United States Coast Guard lighthouse which is visible to mariners on the eastern shore of Bristol Bay and all of Ugashik Bay.[citation needed] Located 10 to 12 miles from Cape Grey, the bluff at Smoky Point has long been considered the northern entrance point to Ugashik River.[1]
The long beaches, shoals, and sandbars of lower Ugashik Bay and the eastern shore of Bristol Bay make navigation through the area particularly troublesome. Shipwrecks, even of smaller vessels, are not unusual. Deaths arising from vessels in distress and from drowning are also commonplace. The combination of extremely rough sea conditions—surf arising in Bristol Bay is commonly 1–5 m (3–16 ft) high—and cold water make survival rates extremely low.
On a single day in July 2006, to illustrate, two vessels of the Bristol Bay fishing fleet were lost on the shoals of Smoky Point. The crew of the fishing vessels Kaos and Silver Tide were rescued by heroic efforts of the M/V Farwest Leader in extreme weather conditions in the dark.
- ^ Moser, Jefferson F. (1902). The Salmon and Salmon Fisheries of Alaska. Washington, DC: U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries. Government Printing Office. p. 214.