May 17, 2015 – Petersburg to Portage Bay
We know we have lost a day somewhere, but so what. This morning we finally departed Petersburg
and fought a 5 knot flood tide against us for several miles as we headed out of
Wrangell Narrows and up Frederick Sound.
The seas were calm as we motored the short distance to Portage Bay where
we anchored about one mile into the bay.
Even one mile in, the peak current was over 2 knots, but he bottom was
mud and held well, since Steel Tiger rafted alongside of us. Our Delta FastSet anchor had no problem at a
4:1 scope holding the combined weight of 135 tons as the current ebbed and
flooded during the night. Crab pots were
set, but with no success. We suspect we
were not far enough into the bay.
May 18, 2015 – Portage Bay to Tracy Arm
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| Foot shaped rock on Entrance island, Holkam Bay |
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| Brown bear on the beach, No Name Cove |
Crossing the bar at Holkam Bay, we entered No Name Cove (also known as Tracy Arm Cove). There was a solitary brown bear on the beach when we arrived. Spirit rafted to Steel Tiger. We took Steel Tiger’s tender from the anchorage up Tracy Arm to assess the ice conditions for the next day. We turned around at mile 15 since the ice was easily navigable.
May 19, 2015 – Tracy Arm
We broke up the raft at 0750 and headed up Tracy Arm. Stopping at Ice Falls for photos we shortened the tow lines on the tenders and continued up the arm, easily dodging the sparse ice. Passing Sawyer Island we reached to within ¼ mile of the South Sawyer glacier face about noon. Shutting off the engine, we just drifted for several hours and watched the calving and listened to the noise the glacier made. We returned to the cove and anchored separately at 1715.
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| Looking up the "S-Curvess" |
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| The icebergs are constantly changing |
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| Finally - South Sawyer Glacier |
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| Calving every few minutes |
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| This one set up a large wave from the face |
May 20, 2015 – Tracy Arm to Taku Harbor
Spirit departed Holkam Bay behind the cruise ship “Star
Princess” at 0850, and after an uneventful trip, docked at the public dock in
Taku Harbor at 1255. The crab pots were set
and by evening we had 2 large Dungeness crab.
The harbor was windy, so we were glad to be at a dock. There is also another public float, not
connected to shore further south in the harbor.
Several humpback whales entered the harbor and provided entertainment
during the evening.
May 21, 2015 – Taku Harbor to Auke Bay
After pulling the crab pots, with 6 more legal crabs, we
headed for Auke Bay. Leaving Taku we were treated to a breaching humpback whale. We were able to get
on the inside of the breakwater and shut off the engines at 1220. After picking up the rental van from Juneau
Car Rentals, we picked up Steel Tiger’s guests at the airport. All eight of us headed for Mendenhall Glacier,
Costco and then Alaskan Brewing, before returning to the boat. We grilled steaks to celebrate the last night
with Bob & Dianne Tucker before taking them to their hotel in downtown
Juneau. They will continue to travel to
Anchorage and Homer before returning to Anacortes. Juneau was very warm, with most people in
short sleeved shirts and many in shorts.
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| Taku whale show |
May 22, 2015 - Juneau
After a leisurely group breakfast of blueberry waffles and
homemade German sausage we all piled back in the van and headed to downtown
Juneau where we dropped of the Tucker’s at their hotel and then spent several
hours mingling with the thousands of cruise ship passengers browsing the
jewelry stores, souvenir shops and Alaskan Native art shops. By now it was lunchtime, so we headed for the
Red Dog Saloon where we managed to get a booth with no waiting time. The sawdust on the floors, the server’s
costumes, the piano player and the décor all attempting to recreate a Gold Rush
era saloon atmosphere. The beer was good
(Alaskan Amber) and the food passable for pub fare, so we had a good time. Leaving downtown, we headed back to the
airport where we picked up our friends, Jon & Suzanne Liljegren. After a stop to pick up fishing licenses we
repeated the tours of Mendenhall Glacier, Costco, Alaskan Brewing and then
Safeway for some last minute provisions before returning to Auke Bay. We had a “welcome aboard” BBQ and enjoyed the
warm, sunny evening.
May 23, 2015 – Auke Bay to Swanson Harbor
After returning the rental van we said goodbye to Auke Bay
for 2015 and left the dock at 1030 for the 30 nautical mile run to Swanson
Harbor. Heading around the north end of
Admiralty Island past Point Retreat we encountered windy, choppy seas in the
southern Lynn Canal. As we headed south
the seas and wind gradually slackened and it was mostly calm as we entered
Swanson Harbor and found space at one of the two public floats, docking at 1445. By evening the floats were full of people
coming out from Juneau to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend. Crab pots were set in the usual locations,
but were empty at the evening check.
May 24, 2014 – Swanson Harbor to Glacier Bay
Patrick picked up the crab pots, there were only 2 legal
crab in the pots, and Spirit tossed off the lines at 0702 and we headed to
Bartlett Cove, Glacier Bay. Just outside
Swanson Harbor we observed a number of Sea Otters, which may explain the lack
of crab in the harbor, since they can decimate the crab population
quickly. We crossed the boundary at 1100
and after getting permission, docked in Bartlett Cove at 1224. We all visited the lodge, watched the movie,
and then the skipper’s orientation at 1400, where we signed the logbook. Both Spirit and Steel Tiger departed Bartlett
Cove at 1455 and by 1830 we were rafted alongside Steel Tiger in North Sandy
Cove. Along the way we stopped at South
Marble Island and viewed the massive colonies of Stellar Sea Lions and looked
for Puffins, to no avail.
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| Stellar Sea Lions, South Marble Island |
May 25, 2014 – Marjerie Glacier
Departing the glacier at 1600 we headed back down Tarr
Inlet, passing west of Russell Island, passing the entrance to John Hopkins
Inlet, past Lamplugh Glacier, Reid Glacier and finally anchoring in Blue Mouse
Cove where Steel Tiger rafted alongside Spirit. As the sun set we were treated to great views
of the Fairweather Range and portions of the Brady Icefields.
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| Skinny Moose on the beach, South Finger Bay |
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| Brady icefields from Blue Mouse Cove |
May 26, 2015 – Blue Mouse Cove to South Finger Bay
At 1000 we broke up the raft and by 1220 both boats were
anchored in South Finger Cove. Jon and
Suzanne took the tender out to the other side of the bay near Tidal Inlet to
photograph more Mountain Goats. We put
prawn pots down in Berg Bay and had to dodge Humpback whales both in Berg Bay
and in the entrance to South Finger Bay.
There were hundreds of sea otters floating at the mouth of the bay, many
with babies on their chests. Our halibut
fishing expedition was unsuccessful, but the Steel Tiger crew landed one nice
halibut. Returning to the bay, we
watched two skinny moose wander down the beach right behind the boat.
May 27, 2015 – Glacier Bay to Hoonah
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