Sept 8-11
Hi All,
We did leave Sitka on Saturday, Sept 8 at 0700. It was a somewhat rainy day….rain on one side and sunny/partly cloudy on the other side…one of those days:))) We initially had to go through 3 narrows/passes which we did not bother to time…..Olga Strait, Whitestone, and Neva…..we had current from -1.5kts to +2.0kts….lots of kelp and some whirlpools. We came out into Salisbury Sound and then north up the coast for 35nm to Lisianski Strait to where we anchored in Lost Cove. It was 64nm, mainly trawler conditions….seas 1-3′ behind us and winds 10-20kts on the beam but little fetch…we arrived by 3:30pm….. but, the cove was small, >100′ deep in most places and full of rocks and kelp…..we hunted around for a spot to anchor, found one, but…..only lasted 1.5 hours. The wind came up and blew us towards shore and a large kelp patch….and we set the hook in mainly rock in 65’….the Admiral was a bit nervous and when the depth gauge read 7′ she had enough. We picked u
p and hunted some more with no joy. So, we left for Stag Bay….7.7nm away….got in ~6:30pm. ODG….beautiful…..the book didn’t even mention it but it has to be one of the most beautiful anchorages we have been in….an iconic Alaskan setting….golden meadow, stream, mudflat surrounded by 3,000′ mountains….we anchored and both had cocktails and then immediately saw a Brown Bear….lovely!!! When we got up in the am….it was bald eagle central…over 30 eagles in this 1/2 mile wide meadow…wow!!!
We left around 0715 and went up the Lisianski Strait into Cross Sound, then Inian Passage and finally into Glacier Bay….48nm…..ariived at 12:30pm. Wow…..did we have current or what…..through the Inian Passage we had currents of +6.5 kts….and many whirlpools that would turn Mystic 45*….we were doing 14.2kts….holy speed batman….that is the fatest Mystic has ever gone….the previous record was 13.9kts leaving Horn Island in the Hammond Passage in north Australia….whoa!!! Had wonderful views of the coastal mountains as we came in…..Mt Fairwether, Crillion et al and the Brady Glacier…..no whales though:(((
Yea…..we did it….made Glacier Bay National Park…..another bucket list item checked!!! Just 250 years ago GB was all glacier and no bay. A massive river of ice, roughly 100 miles long and thousands of feet deep, occupied the entire Bay. Today that glacier is all gone, receded far to the north. About a dozen tidewater glaciers remain. Captain George Vancouver in 1794 sailed this area and described it as one massive glacier!! In 1879, 85 years later John Muir visited the bay by canoe and found the glacier had receded 41 miles and doing so at about a mile/year. Muir built a cabin on Muir Inlet (East Arm) and studied the area for many years. It was the Tlingit native tribe that had settled this area for many thousands of years. They had a summer fishing village in Bartlett Cove but were forced to leave when the ice came in 1750!!
Bartlett Cove is the welcome ranger station for Glacier Bay NP. They give a boater orientation which we did after lunch and a passage beer. Lots of regulations to protect this NP and the Rangers were very informative helping us decide where to go, what to see and where to anchor!! There is a well maintained dock which before the 15th you can only stay for 3 hours…..gee Meagan, there are no other boats here….can we stay the night….hmmm, if it were up to me, of course, but the law enforcement guys may fine you…ok….we’ll go anchor, which we did. Meagan did tell us there are hardly any boats in the Park….maybe up to 10 total….including 2 cruise ships/day and several smaller ones…..you should have the Park almost to yourselves….WOW…..bring it on!!!
The Park is rather big….almost 60nm long with 2 main arms. We could not make it all the way in one day to the top of West Arm to see the Grand Pacific and Margerie glaciers…..2 of the more popular, iconic ones. The winds were 10-15G20kts on the nose and tide against wind created 2-3′ wind chop….yep, Mystic is all salty from the spray again….ugh!! We went 49nm the first day (Monday the 10th). Along the way we stopped at South Marble Island to see giant stellar sea lions…..~200-300 all hauled out on the rocks basking in the sun although a few pups were playing in the water/rocks to the irritant of the parents….wow, we got to within 100-200 yards…..what is that smell….odeur de sea lion/gulls/cormorant…..nice….the regulation is 50 yards but that seemed too close in Mystic to the shoreline and even at 200 yards the big males were giving us stink eye!!! From there we went to Gloomy Knob…..a big 1300′ rounded hunk of granite sliced in half at the shoreline…..
supposed to be home of mountain goats, which we have been trying to see since the Alaskan peninsula….but alas no joy….skunked again….looked for 30 min but nothing…..but we did see a huge raft of Surfscoters birds…..maybe 200-300 stretched over 100 yards….incredible!!!
From there we went to Russell Island and anchored on the NE side….passing Queen and Rendu inlets and glaciers high up on the mountains. We dropped the hook in 80′, came up on a ledge at 40’…..this was high tide and we were going to lose 22’…..the lowest we saw was 17′!!!! As we came into the the anchorage we saw a raft of 20-30 sea otters….all jumping/playing/splashing each other….maybe a mating ritual…..don’t know but we watched for several minutes as they moved along!!!! From our anchorage we had a view of Mt Abdallah, 6,000’…..some forests on the bottom but mainly a huge hunk of glacier carved granite forming a perfect bowl/trough where the glacier had receded….the colors on the rocks were all different and interesting to see. And, we saw 4 Brown bears walking the shoreline…..mama and 3 cubs….all very well fed…..looks like they will do well in the coming winter!!!!
Tuesday the 11th: Woke up to partly cloudy skies…..had a moment of silence for 9/11!! Another WOW,WOW,WOW GLACIER DAY!!!! We saw 5 major glaciers; Grand Pacific, Margerie, John Hopkins, Lamplugh, and Reid plus ~6 minor ones high up on the slopes/mountains….one was named Topeka….yikes, as in Kansas….holy glaciers batman!!!! The Grand Pacific was the granddaddy of it all and has now receded way up the mountain. Now you see this 200′ wall of mud/rock/soil where the glacier had once been maybe 40 years ago. Next to it is the Margerie glacier….this is the iconic glacier for GB….the one you see all the pictures of blue ice and dramatic calving…it was very active with lots of calving but nothing that created big waves…..just gentle waves about 3 min after a large calving. There was quite a bit of ice flow but out from the center. We could get to the bottom side and then went back out about 2 miles and around the ice flow to the center and top part…..we were literal
ly blown away by this massive amount of ice created by Mother Nature. And as we are finding out with glaciers, they create 10-15kts of wind blowing off the glacier…..brrrrr!! We were able to get to 700-800 yards off and saw quite a few calvings…..stayed for ~2 hours….all to ourselves…. incredible!!!!
Mystic Moon, Mystic Moon, Mystic Moon….this is Eurodam on VHF 16…..a Holland America massive cruise ship. Good morning sir, how are you? We just wanted to call and let you know we are coming up behind you about 3 miles away and will be there in 15 min. We will not disturb you and will stay behind and not get in the way of you and the glacier…..wow, thanks, we have you on AIS and we will be leaving in a little while…..do not want too many pictures of Mystic and Marjerie on Facebook….LOL. We have found no cruisers in the Park at all….just 2 large cruise ships/day and maybe 2-4 smaller cruise ships…..we have had all the anchorages to ourselves. But wow, how professional was the Captain of the Eurodam…..and he indeed stayed behind us….and only moved up to our spot after we left.
From there we went to the John Hopkins Inlet….by far the most dramatic scene so far….huge 8-12’k mountains on each side….Mt Fairweather at 15k in the distance….this area is restricted in the spring due to a large harbor seal habitat…..and indeed we saw 300+ seals….all lounging on large ice bergs. You can only get to w/in 1/4 mile of a seal so we got to ~800 yards to the glacier as some of the seals were on ice bergs away from the face of the glacier. Another beautiful glacier, actively calving….I actually got a pretty good picture….well, of the splash at least:))) Sure enough about an hour later the Eurodam shows up and comes to about 200 yards but stays behind off our port qtr….we never the saw ship unless you looked behind….but wow, that is a big ship. Many people on the bow, many waving and taking pictures. We know some people will not go to places that allow cruise ships claiming the area has become too “touristy” but we don’t mind….we know for many
people this is the only means they can see such a lovely display of beauty from Mother Nature and appreciate what Mother Earth has to offer….and especially when the Captains are so professional and considerate of us little guys!!!!!
After all that sensory, we were both a bit tired….but, saw Lamplugh glacier on the way out….got to w/in 400 yards….wow. I should say these glaciers have a different glacier speak….no primordial moans but lots of canon/thunderclaps preceding a calving….Lamplugh was somewhat on the quiet side!! From there we went to our anchorage in Reid inlet and anchored <1/2 mile from this glacier….yes, very cold…water temp was 42*F.!!!! Reid Glacier is only tidewater on these very large tides…so, a few ice bergs floating by, but at the lower tides it rests on land. And guess what, another Brown bear on the shore….maybe 200 yards away…..stayed for ~2 hours eating berries….such large graceful animals. The Browns in the SE have all been a deep, dark chocolate color versus the cinnamon color in Kodiak and Kenai!!!
Weather: The reason we raced up to GP from Sitka….125nm in 2 days is racing in a trawler:))))….was the gorgeous weather…..a bit of Indian Summer here….sunny to partly sunny days…..air temps high 60’s/low 70’s…..we even have sat out in the cockpit or FB…..sea temps are now in the high 40’s thanks to the glaciers. We hope the weather can last a few more days….the forecast has clouds/rains coming this w/e….ugh!!! And the days are getting shorter….sunrise is ~6:40am and sunset 7:30pm!!!
Tides: We are experiencing spring tides now….up to 22’….wow….those are big especially since most of the anchorages are close to shore and steep to….makes the shoreline/rocks seem a lot closer at low tide!!!
Whale count on passage: 0 total
Total Whale Count since Japan: 101; 45 Humpbacks, 34 Orcas, 3 Sperms, 3 Blue, 11 Fin, 5 Unknown
Total Bear Count: 204: 138 Alaska Brown; 57 Kodiak Brown; 9 Black
Bear Count: 1 Reid Inlet, 4 Russell Island, 1 Shag cove, 2 Jade Harbor, 5 Humpback cove, 1 Otter Cove, 1 Hoggs Head, 10 Silver Salmon Creek; 40+ by seaplane; 17 Kukak Bay, 43 Geographic Harbor, 44 Kitoi, 12 Alpine Cove, 1 Three Saints, 22 Volcano Bay
Crab Count: Not crabbing
Total Dungeness Crab Count: 35
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO!!!
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