Glacier Bay to Skagway

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.

               It is the source of all true art and science.” 

                                Albert Einstein

Icy Strait

Setting a course for Hoonah, a small Tlingit native village across the strait from Glacier Bay, we arranged a pit stop to meet BCA members Tony and Coryn Gooch on their Nordic Tug. A tasty halibut supper and numerous sailing stories later we bid farewell and prepared to cross Icy Strait early next morning. 

Coryn Tony and Cathy on Chantey V

Hoonah,AK

Glacier Bay

    And so we arrived at Glacier Bay National Park and World Heritage Site. If ever we needed a place to intrigue and inspire us, this is it. Just 250 years ago Glacier Bay was all glaciers and no bay! Today fewer than a dozen tidewater glaciers remain. Sequestered at the head of the inlets, these glistening  jewels flow from soaring coastal mountains to the sea where they calve great shards of ice into the ocean below.  The occasional cruise ship passes by in the distance but otherwise we are left in peace with the eagles, seals, sea lions and sea otters. The sea otters are particularly amusing as they float along, belly up, like heaps of soggy teddy bears! 

Lamplugh Glacier

Margerie Glacier

Little Ice Age - who knew.

     Our first night we checked in at Bartlett Cove dock headquarters for our pre-reserved four day pass and then dined at the Lodge with the goal of cruising up to Blue Mouse Cove and on to the Reid Glacier. Although in recession, the glacier is impressive enough ringed in meringue-topped peaks. But what really captured our attention was the size of the paw prints we spied in the sand as we hiked to the edge of the glacier! A large bear and cub had been this way only a short time before!  From Reid Inlet we spent the following day exploring John Hopkins and stunning Margerie Glacier. The latter one of the few to still be tidewater, dropping off into the sea below. Kaboom! As we watched the glacier began calving off huge blocks of ice into the ocean. The inevitable fog was rolling in so we decided to make a move and head back to the safety of our anchorage. On our last day in the bay we started the long trek back and stopped for lunch at an idyllic cove beside Willoughby Island. Suddenly we heard the sounds of a blowhole! Three Humpback whales were lolling and diving leisurely in the shallows nearby, flukes skyward. A perfect conclusion to to a fine day.   

Lynn Canal to Haines

   A brisk sojourn back down the Icy Strait in big seas and we slipped into the shelter of Funter Bay for the night. On the floating dock we met Kris and John on SV Monarch and their black lab pup Boomer, from Sitka, Alaska. Kris invited us aboard for a seafood curry made with their fresh caught Spot prawns and crab, and related tales of life in remote Kodiak AK on at the tip of the Aleutian chain. 

John & Kris & Boomer on SV Monarch

   Turning north with a following wind up the often treacherous Lynn Canal, we aimed the pointy end towards Haines and Skagway. The mountain scenery here is becoming quite stunning with immense snow-clad peaks on either side of the fiord. Dropping the hook in William Henry Bay we were pleased to see our buddy boats coming in behind us. G and T’s with glacier ice were chilling with an impromptu drinks party aboard Nimue.  As we chatted a large brown rock started moving across the beach! A lone grizzly was foraging for his dinner as dusk settled over the inlet.

Almost there

Haines Small Boat Harbor

John and Marian, and 'Lucy'

Haines to Skagway

    The Burough of Haines with its’ incredible panoramic views of the Fairweather Mountain Range, is a hidden gem in the Alaskan hinterland. Only a few cruise ships stop here so the atmosphere is still one of a peaceful fishing village. Plenty of history in these parts with the old Fort Seward and the gold rush fever of times gone by. John and Marian decided to fly in on their darling little red float plane ‘Lucy’ and we spent the day strolling through the town under a cloudless blue sky. A weather window presented itself  and knowing how the winds can whip up in the channel we took to the sea and  cruised into Skagway under full sail next morning.

Ready to ride the rails

Skagway circa 1900

Skagway today!

A star is born

     

Petersburg to Juneau

Nimue, Tango and Chantey V

Maybe?

Sailor bread!

Petersburg

A challenging stretch of water, the long, narrow, current-ridden straight of the Wrangell Narrows, had to be undertaken before we arrived at the sheltered harbour of Petersburg. Originally settled by Norwegian mariners, the town prides itself on its’ unique heritage. A replica of a Viking ship stands proudly amid Norwegian shops and posters advertising dances and festivals from the homeland. Wilkomen! The old cannery is now silent but the vast fishing fleet appears busy and prosperous. Clouds have moved in and spires of snow-topped peaks hint at the massive glaciers awaiting us around the corner.

   Chantey V will be moving on to Hobart to anchor for the night in preparation for a run up Tracy Arm to the Sawyer glacier. Nimue and Tango will be a day or two behind so we bid them adieu with G & T’s in the cockpit, and a loaf of homemade Sailor Bread. 

Viking wannabee

There everywhere!

Tracy Arm

    Tracy Arm proved to be a major highlight of our trip thus far. Our first iceberg appeared off the bow even before we entered the arm. Its’ massive, aqua-marine coloured bulk shone iridescent in the sun. The spectrum of crystal blues, turquoise, and silver glinting from the light. Two bald eagles perched sentinel atop its’ jagged peaks. We passed and hailed MV Castaway -another OCC boat - as we crossed the bar into Tracey Arm. Once within the fiord snow-encrusted mountains loomed on every side as dodged ‘bergie bits’, huge chunks that break off the ice bergs. As we neared the final curve in the channel the enormous South Sawyer Glacier appeared ahead, its’ shimmering presence indescribably beautiful! We killed the motor and drifted silently watching for calving, crags of glacier ice breaking off into the sea. Seals with their pups sunbathed on the ice flows. Daragh snagged a chunk of berg and we toasted the moment with beers and glacier ice cubes!

Icy eagle perch outside Tracey Arm

The money shot

Bergie Bits and Beer!

Ice sculptures

The ice queen herself

Ice with that beer?

          

Juneau

 One month to the day we left Victoria we are now tied to the dock at Harris Harbour, Juneau after a nail-biting run under the Douglas-Juneau bridge with only three feet clearance above the mast at mid tide! I couldn’t bear to look! There at the dock was our old friend Nikki Germain from Mexico days to take a line - she had spotted us coming under the bridge! It was a great reunion with Nikki and John, from SV Seychelles - our buddy boat down the Pacific coast eight years ago. Lots of stories to share as we toured the town. Juneau has managed a successful mix of cruise ships and local charm with its’ majestic mountain scenery as a backdrop. At the top of the gondola ride at Mt. Roberts we enjoyed a panoramic view of snowy mountain ranges, deep valleys and yes, three cruise ships docked below with tourists streaming down the docks. You still have a sense of the old gold rush days as you ramble down the wooden boardwalks. Tomorrow we will rendezvous with old friends from the past, John and Marian, who call Auke Bay near Juneau their home. 

Juneau whale 

Gondola view from 2,000 ft AGL

Passing us out!

John & Nikki's Place, Juneau