May 30, 2012
Departing at 0707 after retrieving the crab pots which
contained only 1 legal crab, we headed west in Icy Straits to the entrance to
Glacier Bay. We are required to request
permission to enter and entered at 1105 AM across the imaginary boundary
between Point Gustavus and Point Carolus.
Arriving at Bartlett Cove docks at 1205 we went to the ranger station
and found they would give us a briefing immediately since it was before June
1. By 1345, after a pleasant orientation
experience by a young, enthusiastic NPS Ranger, we departed Bartlett Cove at
1345 and headed for North Sandy Cove.
Along the way we were entertained by humpback whales leaping clear of
the water. After anchoring we headed to
Serena for crab cocktails which we provided and then a steak dinner with Colin
and Donna, who also prepared several types of salads and, along with baked
potatoes with all the trimmings.
The rain continues to be heavy, but hopefully will switch to
showers in the morning.
May 31, 2012
Lampugh Glacier, Glacier Bay |
Marjerie Glacier |
Lampugh Glacier |
Reid Glacier |
The rain continued all night. In 2007 we saw grizzly bears on the beach,
but they seem to also be hiding from the persistent cold rain. At 0802 we raised anchor and headed up
Glacier Bay, dodging two humpback whales crossing our path. The rain finally stopped and there were
patches of sun as we stopped for photos of mountain goats on the cliffs near
Tidal Inlet. We headed up Russell
Passage, avoiding ice concentrations on the west side of Russell Island and
entered Tarr Inlet leading to the face of Marjerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers. Winter is still present in upper Glacier Bay,
with the snow reaching the water’s edge in many places. The wind really picked up as we approached
the end of Tarr Inlet and the ice movements and wind made for hazardous
conditions within 1 mile of the glacier faces.
We grabbed a few pictures and headed back down the west side of Russell
Island where we threaded our way through the ice for views of Lampugh Glacier
and the entrance to John Hopkins Inlet, which was choked by ice. Continuing to head south we diverted into
Reid Inlet where we checked out possible anchor sites for tomorrow’s shore
excursion. We were joined by several
cruise ships we could see on AIS, the Diamond Princess and the Norwegian Pearl,
but both were already headed back down Tarr Inlet by the time we arrived.
At 1830 we anchored in 80 feet of water in Blue Mouse Cove,
tired after another 78 mile day. We have
now logged 1331 nautical miles since leaving Anacortes.
June 1, 2012
After a peaceful night at anchor in Blue Mouse Cove we
headed back up the bay to Reid Inlet and glacier at a little after 0800. The skies cleared for most of the day, but
with brisk northwest winds creating chop.
Approaching the entrance which had been free of ice the afternoon
before, we found it choked with ice and impassable for us. We headed back down the bay and hunted for
birds and mountain goats, and even saw a few whale tails before anchoring at
1630 in the north portion of South Fingers Bay.
June 2, 2012
After trying halibut fishing with no luck we departed
Glacier Bay, crossing the boundary at 1330, destination Elfin Cove and Pelican,
then Sitka.
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