Boat Mail to Little Tutka

Several years ago I discovered one of the more unique aspects of Kachemak Bay: boat mail. A longtime friend of ours, Dave Seaman, spent many years living on the “wild side” of Kachemak Bay in the picturesque cove named Little Tutka Bay. While there, he received the post office contract to deliver mail and packages from Homer. Today, he lives in Homer, but for more than 20 years he has transported mail by boat to the people who remain there.

Bringing the mail bag to Little Tutka

Every Tuesday and Friday year-round Dave collects a bag of mail from the Homer post office, loads it on his boat (the Adelante), and makes the mail run to Little Tutka. I don’t know of any other Alaskan community that still receives mail by boat. Our family periodically joins these mail runs, and they’re always a treat for Ziza and Rio.

Christmas vacation provided an opportunity to hop onboard the mail run with my kids, but this time reporter Marcia Lynn from KBBI was also along to record a radio story. Find a sampling of boat mail photos from this beautiful spot at www.donpitcher.com/tutka, and listen to the KBBI radio story by clicking the podcast link below.

By the way, the chapel in Little Tutka Bay is a wonderful place for weddings; see an example at www.donpitcher.com/annie-paul.

All text and photos © 2009 Don Pitcher. All Rights Reserved

The Adelante in Little Tutka Bay