Captain’s Log: Glaciers, Bears, and Whales with Craig & Jeanette in Stephens Passage

May 26-30

Hi All,

May 26: Up early and out by 7:45amish…..long way to go today…..heading to Tracy Arm Cove…about 41nm and we arrived around 3:00pmish in perfect trawler conditions….sweet as!!! And just like yesterday, as we rounded south of Tiedeman Island in Seymour Canal, the whale show started. We did stop and fish for halibut near more sea lions but no joy. In all we had 17 whale showings…..some up close and personal near Point Hugh, the southern tip of Seymour Canal….we had stopped to observe one whale close by and up pops 3 more…..ODG….to hear them blow, see their huge, magnificent bodies was surely a treat!!! And then for John-boy as I was gazing across the Channel up comes a Humpback and does a complete breach/body slam, showing all its white belly and landing on its back….ODG…..I have seen breaches but none as spectacular….WOW!!! We did stop at Point Hugh to fish but again no joy…..ugh!!!

As we were sitting in the cockpit having our passage beers….it was actually hot in the sun….Kathy cries out we got bears…..Browns, mama and 3 cubs, maybe 2nd season cubs….oh what a show…..maybe 300 yards away on the shoreline….all 3 cubs acting just like 2-year olds…playing, wrestling, standing up, getting spooked and running back to mama……mama constantly eating grass and giving anyone that gets too close stink eye…..they stayed out for 4+ hours…..whales and bears up close in one day….LIG!!!!

We did join up with M&R on mv Koinonia in the anchorage. They have with them their daughter, son-in-law and their adorable 2-year old grandson….who loves boats, whales and beaches!!!! I think grandkids trump even Admirals so Josiah rules on Koinonia:)))

May 27: Glacier day…..we decided to go to Dawes glacier…..hmmm, maybe should have done better intelligence gathering…..from the anchorage the glacier is 30nm away…..so a 60nm round trip day…..we start about 7:00amish and after about 10nm we get into lots of ice flow….yikes….20nm to go….Mark takes the south shore and I take the north shore and we start to weave our way through the ice….we do about 5nm of dodging and it is getting thicker and we are down to 3-4 kts with ~16nm to go….and all we can see up ahead is thicker ice….ok, we call it….not happening….let’s turnaround and head for Tracy Arm and the Sawyer glaciers!!!

We last saw the north and south Sawyer Glaciers in 2006….but it was raining so we did not get to see the Tracy Arm Fiord….ODG….gorgeous, a 1000-1500′ deep fiord with 4-5k’ snow capped mountains that are sheer cliffs…..maybe 1000+ waterfalls….wow, wow!!! We get to the South Sawyer glacier around 2pm and get to about 0.6nm and say….where is the glacier…..it has receded maybe 1 mile and the face is basically gone around a bend and is 80% obscured…..what we can see is gorgeous but overall a bit disappointing…..we do get lots of pictures!!! We then go to the North Sawyer Glacier which in 2006 had retreated way up the valley and was blocked by ice flow….this time no ice flow so we go around the corner and bam….a nice size glacier right in front of us….blue ice et al…..impressive indeed!!! So, we left on a high note and made it back to the anchorage around 6:30pm….an 11+ hour day, half the time dodging icebergs…yep, we all were ready for our passage beers and Grey Goose vodka glacier ice martinis!!!

Oh….as were were collecting a nice size ice berg for our glacier ice martinis, the salmon net we were using breaks….the pin broke off and Craig is left holding the rod but the net is attached to the ice berg floating away….yep, a bit humorous….we quickly maneuver Mystic to retrieve the net….letting the bergie bit go….put a bolt/nut through the rod connecting the net and try again….got it…LIG!!!

May 28: Slept in….yea….did a few chores….Kathy cleaning and John cleaning watermaker filters…..the plankton filter (80micron) is constantly getting very dirty….I guess the price we pay for so many whales!! We left around 9:30amish and went a few miles to fish for halibut where we saw a local fishing the other day….again nada…..too much current ebbing out of Endicott and Tracy Arm even at slack tide…ugh!!! We made it to SouthEast Cove in Snettisham Bay…..20nm…just a tiny cove….room for 1, maybe 2 boats…..but a glorious view of the Snettisham entrance and Stephens Passage…..and, we have whales….saw 3 coming in and 4-6 have been feeding and diving maybe 300-600 yards from Mystic…..like front row seats….Wow!!!

Anchor watch time…..arghhhhh…..woke up about 1:45am with some motion on Mystic and winds…..up to 20 kts….yikes….not so good in a tight anchorage close to shore…..so, got up….winds were from SE…..WTH….models suggested <10kts West or North…..Mystic had moved off to the other side of the anchor….depth now in 50-70’…..hmmm…..and, off to the north, bright green sky…could that be Northern Lights….woke up Kathy…..about 30 min later the whole sky was lit so we concluded it was breaking dawn….eventually winds calmed about 3:45am so back to bed…..all is well:))))

May 29: Slept in from the anchor watch….left about 9:30amish….went a grand total of 10nm to Taku Harbor….saw 3 Minke whales on the way in….cool….had not seen this type yet this season!! Taku Harbor has a public dock maintained by Juneau and we docked next to Koinonia….wow….not since 2006 have the 2 boats been side by side….whoa!!! Let the games begin…..met a local man and his son from Juneau…avid shrimper and crabber….gave us some tips on better bait for the prawn trap….yea…we did set 2 crab pots and let soak for about 7 hours but no joy!!! Sun was out….almost hot….put some chairs on the dock and had a good visit with people!! For dinner, Mark & Roseanne had us over for king crab….yummers!!!!

Thursday, May 30: up and out by 8:30amish…..34nm to Auke Bay…..after an hour or so all 4 phones exploded with ding-ding-dings…..we all got mega emails et al from the cell tower in Juneau!!! We made it to Auke Bay about 1pm…34nm in 10-15kt North wind and a little chop headseas. Auke Bay is the harbor that is first come fist sever so you have to go in and hunt for a spot. We were lucky and found 2 spots on D-dock….but near the end so a good 10 minute walk to get to the marina ramp…yikes!!!

We had a quiet closing ceremony at the Squire pub about 1/2 mile away…..I say quiet because we were a bit tired from all the jocularity the past 2 weeks….cheeseburgers….yummers and oh, the Warriors 1st game in the Finals….albeit they lost but still a treat to see a game!!!

The Plan: C&J are moving off Mystic on Friday to an Airbnb in Juneau for a few days to enjoy the sites (we will go play with them one afternoon and celebrate Kathy’s birthday!!) and Kathy and I will do a good cleaning/provisioning on Mystic plus some boat projects….like the stern thruster….and be ready for Wayne & Sharon on June 3rd!!

Boat Stuff: The stern thruster has gone out…..ugh….still have the bow thruster but ugh….I’m hoping it is just the solenoid…..we shall see!!

GE Refrigerator: Mark delivered the aluminum heater wire for the defrost drain tube….the part was finally delivered to Petersburg about about 5 days late!!! We installed on Tuesday…..the drain was completely iced over and the ice was almost to the fan….caught it just in time. We will keep fingers crossed this solves the problem!!!

Critter Stats:
Dungeness crab: 48 total;
Prawns: 22: 8 Spotted, 14 Coon Stripe;
Whales: 133 total; 119 Humpbacks; 11 Orcas; 3 Minke: 17 more Humpbacks on way out of Seymour Canal; 15 in Southeast cove Snettisham Bay, 3 Minke’s on the way to Taku Harbor
Salmon: 0
Bears: 33 Browns; 1 mama and 3 cubs in Tracy Arm Cove, first cubs of the season
Wolves: 5
Otters: 750; another 30 at same rock/kelp leaving Pybus
Mountain Goats: total 42
Dall’s Sheep: 3
Moose: 3
Alaskan Husky sled dogs: 60
Stellar Sea Lions: 466; 2 entering Pybus; 4 in Seymour Canal; 4 in Tracy Arm

Hope all is well!!

Cheers,

John
Mystic Moon
Auke Bay Alaska