Monday, June 12, 2006 - Today is my birthday, and I got to celebrate it by sleeping in until 5:30am. It was off to the fuel dock so we could be first in line when they opened at 7:00 am. We departed Auke Bay at 8:00am and were going to head up the Saginaw Channel into Icy Strait with this evenings destination being Excursion Inlet, which was recommend by Mike from the Kelley Bay. The scenery never ceases to amaze me, especially on clear sunny days. Everything was fine until we made the turn into Icy Strait and found some 5 foot plus seas. They had not flattened out as predicted by the weather report. We were continuing to take water over the bow so we decided to duck into Swanson Harbor and spend the night there. There are two state floats that are "designed primarily as protected moorage for refuge in bad weather on Icy Strait" and the cats were happy that we decided to seek such refuge. We were assisted with our docking by a couple we had met on our bus trip to Juneau and they invited to join them later that afternoon. We later assisted a new 44' Grand Banks, Fireworks, tie up to the dock. They had been part of the Grand Banks Rendevous and were also on their way to Glacier Bay. It was only 11:30am and the floats were filling up fast. We noticed a crab pot in the harbor and decided to lower the dinghy and try our luck as well. We joined Bill Stockton and Diane Fasel on their boat True Love, a 53' custom built sail boat, for hors devours. Bill and Diane had spent the last 3 years cruising Mexico and decided to cruise SE Alaska before returning home to San Francisco. They were still trying to adjust to the temperature differences but loving their adventure. We returned to our boat and Bob went to retrieve the crab trap and we had two big Dungeness "keepers". What a perfect birthday dinner.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - Daylight begins somewhere around 3:30am and the calmest seas are often found early in the morning. We rose early and poked our nose out of Swanson Harbor at 5:15am to head for Glacier Bay. The conditions were much better than the day before. We were able to traverse the outside of Pleasant Island and bypass Icy Passage. As you cross into the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, you must radio the Park Service at Bartlett Cove, announcing your entry and providing your Permit number. You are then given transiting instructions for entry, the speed and distance to shore that you must maintain as well as the approach to make (must execute a 90 degree turn into the dock). You must report immediately to receive you orientation before proceeding further into the park. We arrived at Bartlett Cove at 10:00am and although instructions seemed somewhat intimidating, we were graciously welcomed to the park and the orientation consisted of educating us as to the "closed to motorized vessels" areas (harbor seal and sea otter reproduction areas) and the whale feeding areas and bird habitats where distance restrictions need to be observed. We were also give information on the mountain goats, moose and bears (what to do if you have a close and personal encounter) that inhabited the area. As it had been an unusually cold spring, the whales had not entered in to Glacier Bay but were seen "hanging out" at the entry. We took a short hike along the Forest Loop Trail and then headed back to the boat to start our voyage to the glaciers themselves. We had a 5 day permit and decided to make a 35 mile run to Blue Mouse Cove, which would position us for the additional 30 plus miles to the glaciers. The park restricts entry of pleasure vessels to a maximum of 22 per day. The number of large and medium size cruise vessels are also limited. Smaller commercial cruisers are also managed so that you never feel crowded. A number of the pleasure boats who opt for a 3 day permit will anchor in Bartlett Cove and take the Lodge excursion boat up to the glaciers. The number of secure overnight anchorages total about 15 throughout the various arms and inlets. When we arrived at Blue Mouse Cove at 4:15 pm to drop anchor there was only one other boat anchored. We were treated again that evening with another bear sighting. We were about 250 yard from the shore when the black bear decided to come out for dinner. They are truly amazing creatures and we need a new camera with a better telephoto lens (what looks like a dark rock is really a bear).
