22 May 2008, Hubbard Glacier.

On this cruise Hubbard glacier is the only glacier that we can get up close to. We pass several other glaciers but always at a distance as they are not on the route of the ship, or are land locked. Hubbard is a spectacular glacier as it calves constantly and that is also its problem. Sometimes it produces so much ice that we can not even get close it. Compared to that, Marjorie glacier in Glacier Bay is a “drive-in” glacier that we always can reach. It is beautiful but it calves intermittently and never in large pieces. Hubbard is a spectacle that calves in enormous quantities.

Hubbard glacier is located at the top of Yakutat Bay

By 06.30 we had entered the Yakutat Bay and stopped to pick up the two Indian Interpreters, who would do a lecture while we sailed up and down the bay and who were available for Q&A during our time in the Yakutat. They introduced themselves as Ed and Ted and to me looked the way old and wise Indians should look. By 8 am we entered the upper bay and to my utter amazement and disgust the fog came down. This was most unusual. If there is fog it is normally in the lower bay and near the glacier it clears as the glacier produces so much cold air that the fog cannot sustain itself.

So there I was, sitting at the edge of the ice field with maybe 300 feet of visibility and nowhere to go. I need about 1500 feet visibility before I can even decide to enter the ice field and dodge the bigger pieces but if the visibility is less I have to stay out. Ice does not show its size on the radar and it is not a good idea just to enter the ice field and assume that there are only small pieces and rubble out there. Hubbard is known to occasionally calve off pieces half the size of the ship; and you do not want to bump the ship into those. So in consultation with the pilot we skirted the eastern shore and tried to get a bit further up but the ice only got denser, even where it did not show on the radar. Time to stop the ship and hope for a miracle, e.g. that the fog would lift.

It looked like I had used up all my miracle powder in Ketchikan with having that glorious weather there, as the fog stayed and the ice started to move down the bay as the tide was changing. In the end I had to give up and swung the ship around and head southbound again. Hopefully Ed & Ted would be able to convey the grandeur that Hubbard is to the guests. They held a lecture in the Show lounge and then disembarked the ship near the town of Yakutat. Also our pilot left here as it is a different pilot organization that covers the ports in South west Alaska. He had his birthday today while with us in the Yakutat, so we got him a little birthday cake, with one candle, as life only starts at 60. Hubbard glacier remained a hidden treasure for this call.

The pilots who do Ketchikan and Sitka are called South East Alaska Pilots or SEPA, the guys who do Seward, Homer and Anchorage are called South West Alaska Pilots or SWAPA.

The weather outside the bay was very good, sunny and in the afternoon the sun shone on the Fair weather mountain range with only the tops being obscured. We saw Humpback Whales and also Fin whales, which are not always that prominent in this area. By 1900 hrs we passed Cape St Elias, which is a very prominent Cape, as it juts straight up from the sea for a considerable height. It is the edge/ bow of Kayak Island that is called that way as it just looks like a Kayak when seen from above.

Cape St Elias as seen from the ship during sunset.

Kayak Island as seen on the Radar screen

The weather for tomorrow is supposed to be overcast and dry according to one weather forecast and rainy according to another. But both agree on a very chilly day. We will find out when we get there. The pilot has been ordered for 4 am with a 5 am docking.