Tracy Arm to Juneau

Our first batch of glacial ice

The end of the line in Tracy Arm. Just ahead the ice is too thick for us!
Some of the spectacular scenery near the head of Tracy Arm

Even a cruise ship does not ruin the view!

Miriam carefully approaching the photo op berg

Our photo op with a berg - Tracy Arm

Miriam is driving Spirit around for each shot!

The weather could not have been much better, Sunny and Warm

At the top of the Juneau Aerial Tram

Our dockmate - we could be their tender, in fact, they might just have one stowed somewhere on board

The weather has continued to hold, and we left Petersburg for the relatively long dull run to Tracy Arm Cove, where we would spend the night before going as far up Tracy Arm as possible the next day. For most of the 74 nautical mile trip we had flat calm water and no wind. There was a little local wind for the last 5 miles before we rounded Harbor Island and crossed the bar into Holkam Bay, the beginning part of Tracy Arm.

We followed a cruise ship in, the "Norwegian Sun", but proceeded directly to "Tracy Arm Cove", just inside the entrance to the bay. We were the only occupants, and after anchoring, put the tender over and collected the first batch of glacial ice for drinks. It was not hard to fill the ice chest. We had leftover crab cakes under a nearly full moon and mostly clear skies.

May 26, 2010 dawned with clear skies, so we left early. Not early enough as it turned out. There were already two cruise ships ahead of us, turning Tracy Arm into a sea of "bergy bits". No problem for them, but a real hassle for us. With the amount of ice, we were only able to get within 2 miles of the island. Both cruise ships stopped at the island also due to the amount of ice. We decided that pictures from that island would be no different than we had taken three years ago, so we reluctantly turned back. Three years ago we not only made it to the island, but were able to "sail" much of the way back down Tracy Arm, also enjoying sunshine. The day was still spectacular, so we picked a "photogenic " berg on the way back and made a photo stop before returning to Tracy Arm Cove for the evening. We still cruised some 46 nautical miles up Tracy Arm and back to the cove.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the sun, bbq'ing some steaks and having drinks made with our glacial ice. BY sunset, we were joined at anchor by two other boats that had also travelled up the arm, but later in the day. All in all, a very good day, from both scenery and weather viewpoints.

We plan on getting to Juneau sometime on Thursday, May 27. It is about 45 nautical miles away. Our log now stands at 1078 nautical miles since leaving Anacortes.

May 27, 2010

The day dawned clear and already warm as we hoisted the anchor and set our course for Juneau. The wind stayed out of the north and at times created enough chop to coat the windows with spray. At least the salt spray washed off the pollen which has coated everything with yellow dust. We are not ready to wish for rain, but the pollen is really exacerbating our allergies. We arrived at the Intermediate Vessel Facility in Juneau (right between two cruise ship docks) shortly before 1400 under sunny skies, with a temperature of 81 degrees. Hard to Believe! The crew at the IVF was really helpful, handling lines and giving us passes to the Aerial Tram. Later that afternoon, we were joined by a very large (250 foot) nearly new 4 deck Feadship named "Ocean Victory". They dwarfed us, and blocked our sun, so with the help of the Juneau port crew, we slid back a few hundred feet so we could enjoy the fine weather and not listen to their generator run all day and night. There is one other vessel slated to arrive tomorrow. This facility is a convenient alternative to Auke Bay or Douglas Basin since it is so close to the center of town.

The ride up the tram was interesting, but the pollen made breathing a chore.

Tomorrow we plan a major Costco run to stock up for the next month, with three sets of guests slated to arrive.

Julie Gill (Patrick's sister) and Kathleen Bullock (longtime friend) arrive via Alaska Airlines on Saturday morning. The current weather is slated to hold through Saturday evening.

The log now stands at 1120 nautical miles!