At 07.30 we changed course from the South East to the North East and rounded Cape Spencer. Here we left the Gulf of Alaska behind and entered Cross Sound which forms the entrance to the Inside passage. Here we collect our American Pilots again who will stay with us until Ketchikan. They fly into a little village where there is a nice hotel run by a husband and wife and he also runs the pilot boat. I have never been there but the pilot likes the food and hospitality and I never hear them moan when the weather is too bad for the float plane to fly them out. I always offer breakfast as soon as they come on board and only when they board here, they refuse has they have been loaded up with sufficient food to last a week when they have stayed there. Needless to say that none of the pilots are really of the skinny kind. Good food in the hotel and good food on the cruise ships. Summertime pilotage in Alaska is not a bad gig. (I could not get a good photo off the internet, so here is the link: www.tanakulodge.com)
As soon as the pilots were on board the clouds came down to obscure it all. But the sun was shining behind it and that meant that it would burn off quite soon and so it did. By the time we picked up the Rangers it was a clear day and I thought: we are in business. It is going to be a grand day for us in Glacier Bay with as a bonus John Hopkins being thrown in, as it opened up on 1 September. We sailed up the Upper Bay, and it got wet and it got gloomy and the clouds came down again. Most unusual, as normally the upper bay is very clear due to the amount of ice around. Not this time.
By the time we came to Russell Island, I counted myself lucky that near the end of the season there is hardly any ice in the bay. The Glaciers still calve but the surface water and the sun provide sufficient warmth that the melting process goes much faster than in winter and spring. I did have to stop the ship and to drift through the area. We contacted the Westerdam who was 3 hours ahead of us and they reported more low clouds but Marjorie Glacier was clearly visible. That was at least one good thing. Now all we all had to do was keep the positive thinking going for John Hopkins Inlet.
With the bridge team radiating positive vibes all the way from Marjorie glacier, we came at the branch off between Tarr Inlet (For Marjorie Glacier) and John Hopkins inlet. And then it all lifted. So at least the guests had a very good 2nd part of the day in Glacier Bay. With that in mind I decided to dive in as far as possible and we sailed to about 8 cables away (that is 0.8 of a mile) from the face of the Glacier. It is the first time this season we are allowed inside John Hopkins so the guests on this cruise got something that others had to forgo.
John Hopkins Glacier from the entrance of the Inlet. Apologies to the maker as I cannot quote him, as the internet did not reveal who it was, but it looked like it was a panoramic photo to start with.
Although the pupping season had thus officially ended on 1 September, there were still plenty seals around and while I kept the ship away from them, they were still clearly visible as little black rolls on the white ice. It is about 5 miles into the Inlet to get to Hopkins and 5 miles out again and by the time that we had done our spin around and were back outside, all the haziness has lifted and we had good visibility for the remainder to the day. The whales were there again, and so were the Orca’s and where the Orcas were not present we saw fish otters peddling around, some still with their young on their bellys.
By 8 pm. it was time to say good bye to the Rangers, who were very excited themselves as they had not been inside John Hopkins Inlet this season either, so a good time was had by all.
Tomorrow we will be in Haines. The weather forecast calls for a very windy day in the Lynn Canal, but the wind is from the south and that means that the dock in Haines will be sheltered from most of it.
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