Marooned by a bear in Berg Bay

Kayaker Mary Maley was en route to Petersburg from Ketchikan when she stopped in Berg Bay for lunch on Saturday. Leaving her kayak behind on shore, she headed up to a cabin to dry off her tent and belongings. Strange noises soon drew her attention to the beached craft. "I heard a noise outside and thought it was maybe a boat," she recalled. A black bear had gotten hold of the kayak and began destroying it, though it only had her emergency radio inside. She tried to ward it off with spray, but the bear was undeterred. "It eventually just got bored and it walked away," Maley said. With her kayak rendered unusable, she swam to a sailboat anchored in the bay, the Caledonia from Germany. Local contractor Steve Keller is letting Maley use part of his workspace at the boatyard to mend the gnawed-on kayak. If anyone has a knack for plastics repair, she said help would be appreciated. Maley can be reached at maryrosegrace@gmail.com