We saw several glaciers the most impressive was Hubbard. After fueling and a visit with rangers at Yakutat we were convinced that Hubbard Glacier was worth the all day trip north out of our way.
It is the largest tidewater glacier in North America and part of the distant snow capped mountain peaks stands Mt Elias like a perfect pyramid soaring 18,008 ft into the heavens, the second tallest peak in the United States. The Tlingit name is “Mountain in Icy Bay”.
Hubbard Glacier was magnificent however we had a slight mishap leaving Hubbard and returning to Yakutat. We tried to use the path created by the 10 story very large cruise ship to get out of the ice fence and just at the end of the passage the icy bits came crashing in against our hull and put our propeller out of synch resulting in a constant vibration anything over 1200 rpm’s. Which is pretty slow going for our Perkin’s diesel. That night as we backed on the anchor the Max-prop seemed to correct itself and the vibration went away.
few-w-w-w-w-w.
Our passage to Cross sound was not as pleasant as we had hoped. The seas built to 7+ feet and the winds clocked to be right on our bow, so any aspirations to head to Sitka were gone after 30+ hours of beating into waves and wind.
However choosing to take the inside northern passage turned out to be the best move. We stopped at Hoonah and spent 4 super nights there, did a little Christmas shopping at the old fish cannery that was converted into a very nice tourist destination for many cruise ships.
This creates an economic boost for this small village of 800 year round residents. After a great Dungeness crab dinner at the office bar, talking to a native about her healing salve (jjpate.com) and a gathering of Tlingit dancers on Sunday we headed for a Wachusett cove. Two more protected, very beautiful anchorages we anchored in and worth mentioning are Ell cove and Red Bluff Bay.
Then a hot bath next to a raging river in Warm Springs, I loved this experience almost as much as our banyan with Michael and Natura last year. Sooo squeaky clean we then head off to Petersburg.
With a high hanging over our heads we know that winds will be down and seas flat, so here’s to smooth motoring for us and warm peaceful summer evenings to you.
