Aug 31-Sept 1
Hi All,
Friday: Woke up to that marvelous sunny sky, although with some patchy fog which soon burnt away….glorious views…..yippee!!! Also, as we went to bed last night we saw a big black bear eating salmon carcasses by the stream…..did not see any salmon in the stream….and we saw another one in the morning!! Kathy felt better to time the glacier viewing to go on a flood tide….the thought is it pushes the icebergs back to the glacier versus on the ebb the icebergs flow out and potentially can block off your path to get out….not a good thing to happen. So, we waited until until 9:30am, about 1.5 hours before low slack tide….it will take us almost 2 hours to get to the glacier face!!
When we had internet yesterday I did a bit of research on the Columbia Glacier….here is some interesting information from several sources:
“The Columbia Glacier is one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world, and has been retreating since the early 1980s. It was named after Columbia University, one of several glaciers in the area named for elite U.S. colleges by the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899. The Columbia Glacier descends from an ice field 3,050 meters (10,000 feet) above sea level, down the flanks of the Chugach Mountains, and into a narrow inlet that leads into PWS. It is one of the most rapidly changing glaciers in the world. The Columbia is a large tidewater glacier, flowing directly into the sea. When British explorers first surveyed it in 1794, its nose or terminus extended south to the northern edge of Heather Island….that is where we anchored in Jade Harbor…. a small island near the mouth of Columbia Bay. The glacier held that position until 1980, when it began a rapid retreat that continues today. In 1977 the glacier was 41.2 miles long and the ice was flowing at 1.3 miles/year. B
y 1999 the glacier was only 33.5 miles long but the ice was moving at 5.5 miles per year or more than 80 feet a day. Since the 1980s, the glacier has lost about half of its total thickness and volume!!!
The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other. When the glacier retreated off the moraine around 1980, the terminus lost a key source of support. Once freed from this anchoring point, the grinding and dragging between the sea floor and the massive block of ice was reduced, increasing the rate at which ice flowed forward and icebergs calved from the glacier. Between 2007 and 2010, part of the terminus began to float as it passed through deep water between the Great Nunatak Peak and Kadin Peak. This changed the way icebergs calved significantly. When the Columbia was grounded, calving occurred at a fairly steady rate, and the bergs that broke off were small. When the glacier began
to float, larger chunks of ice tended to break off.
The retreat of the Columbia contributes to global sea-level rise, mostly through iceberg calving. This one glacier accounts for nearly half of the ice loss in the Chugach Mountains. However, the ice losses are not exclusively tied to increasing air and water temperatures. Climate change may have given the Columbia an initial nudge off of the moraine, but what has accelerated its disintegration has more to do with mechanical processes than warming temperatures. In fact, when the Columbia reaches the shoreline, its retreat will likely slow down. The more stable surface will cause the rate of calving to decline, making it possible for the glacier to start rebuilding a moraine and advancing once again.”
So now you know a little about glaciers…..I find them fascinating…..such a show of the power of Mother Nature!!!
ODG….WOW, WOW, WOW….yep, 3 WOW’S…..incredible….I’m not sure I can describe it…..for 10nm coming and going we weaved our way through the ice flows…..some, very, very large ice bergs of all different shapes and sizes. As we got closer we realized there are 3-4 other glaciers besides the main one. And, it is 3nm+ off the chart. We had followed Glacial Spirit yesterday on AIS and made a track….we also had Spruce’s most northern point so we knew we would be off the chart. We went as far north as we could….got to within maybe 1.5-2nm from the glacier face as we were blocked by a solid maze of ice flow. The entire northern view was all glacier except a huge hill/mountain that had not been ground away…..maybe 1.5-2 miles of a glacier face…..with the glacier river flowing behind up into the mountains. We could hear some of the glacier speak but too far away except for the loudest cannon/thunderclap. But, we were surrounded by ice bergs, all making their own peculia
r noises and we had upwellings from something…..maybe submerged ice bergs or fresh water…..lots of bubbles and small waves and swells….sometimes it sounded like an animal but we could never see/find one!!!! We stayed for about an hour until we realized the flood had started and the ice flow was compacting. We were confident we were not going to be blocked in….then again, we are glacier rookies and one does not want to get trapped with ice in a fiberglass boat. So, the ADMIRAL said time to go and I reluctantly said ok….arghhhhh….I think I could have stayed all day I was awed by this Nature show!!!
Our most northern point was 61 08.947N 147 01.478W…..lets just say 61 09*N…..the most northern point we will ever be with Mystic Moon. 98* northing from Auckland….5889nm….whoa!!!
We made our anchorage at Jim’s Rest in Growler Bay on Glacier Island….suggested to us from Companera as it has excellent views back towards the Columbia Glacier and Mount Baker. I promptly fell asleep from so much excitement and hand steering while Kathy sat on the Flybridge and soaked in the sun and views!! Had another glacier martini from Columbia ice…..outstanding!!!
Saturday: Woke up to some clouds but soon it was bright sun!! OK….decision made after looking at the weather forecast….we are leaving on Sunday, Sept 2 for the 2.5 day passage across the Gulf of Alaska….~425nm, should arrive Tues afternoon the 4th!!!
We left Growler Bay around 8am for the 45nm run to Zakof Bay on Montague Island. We went by Bligh Reef, just outside Bligh Island at the mouth of the Valdez Channel….yep, named after that Bligh of the mutiny…he was up here earlier with Cook looking for the Northwest Passage…..anyway, Bligh Reef is where the Exxon Valdez went aground and spilled over 10million….yes, millions….gallons of crude oil….2nd worst marine oil spill ever….March 24, 1989 @ midnight. This accident was caused by poor seamanship pure and simple now that we have seen the area. The ship had to cross 2 shipping lanes, 2.5nm wide….wow. I reread the story and yes, the Captain had diverted course to avoid reported ice bergs out of the Columbia Bay….ok, I buy that….but wow, he had to be 5nm off course…..and their Radar was not working for the last year….incredible!!! The reports are inconclusive on the long term effects….sure did seem to us that the wildlife population did not compare to
the Kenai Peninsula or Kodiak….could be we are just late in the season and the wildlife has already migrated south….but one has to wonder????
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/March-April-08/On-this-Day–Exxon-Valdez-Captain-Acquitted-After-Oil-Spill-.html
We arrived at the anchorage in Zakof Bay around 2:30pm…..only 5nm to the Hithcinbrook channel, the main entrance to PWS and can be quite dangerous in rough weather….we should be ok as we have almost trawler like conditions for the next few days. Anhcor down and passage beers open by 2:45pm!! After a nap, I did some boat chores…..checked all the zincs in the ER….total of 6, topped all fluids et al, stored stuff in the laz, Kathy put the cover on the dinghy and winches and tides up the FB and inside to make passage ready….Mystic is now ready for her last 2 overnighters for MAC….as well as the Admiral and Captain!!!
Whale count on passage: 1 total; 1 unknown
Total Whale Count since Japan: 93; 38 Humpbacks, 34 Orcas; 3 Sperms, 2 Blue, 11 Fin, 5 Unknown
Total Bear Count: 198: 132 Alaska Brown; 57 Kodiak Brown; 9 Black
Bear Count: 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….we are done crabbing until we reach SE Alaska!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
GO MYSTIC GO!!
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