Fri Jul 29 2022
Tuesday morning we awoke to calm conditions and the promise of fairer weather to come. We killed a bit of time poking around in the dinghy then launched out up Endicott Arm to reach the narrows at Ford’s Terror around 1330, high slack tide time in Juneau. We hadn’t been underway long when the VHF crackled and it was a deck watch officer on the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas hailing us. We all switched to channel 12 and after a friendly greeting he briefed us on the conditions the cruise ship had encountered as they had cruised up to mile 25 of Endicott Arm. He assured us that it was passable with limited ice in the path. As we were going to turn off at Ford’s Terror we didn’t see the upper part of the arm that might yield a view of a tidal glacier, however we did appreciate the information exchange, and I noted that Isabel and I had enjoyed time aboard one of his sister ships to celebrate my mom and dad’s 50th wedding anniversary. It’s fair to say that he implied he’d rather be enjoying the scenery our way than as part of a job, but still, what a way to see the world.
Despite our best intentions we arrived a the lower side of the Ford’s Terror narrows a little early so we sat at idle reviewing the blog post from the Slow Boat website and familiarized ourselves with the various landmarks that would help us avoid grounding on a shoal during the narrows transition. When we saw the ripples in the water at the narrows entrance had flattened indicating a near end to the flood tide we readied ourselves for the short transit through the hazardous area. Ian and I once again donned our bluetooth headsets and as he peered into the water for shoals and helped me keep the waterfall on the stern we made our way into the channel and around a hard bend. The depths were less than the write-up had suggested so I eased more to the outside of the bend where a sheer rock face and the typical erosion should have provided deeper water. Nicola was watching the depth and speed over ground as I maneuvered Sunset and she noted about 3 knots still running into the waterway ahead. The action of the current against the cliff sucked the stern of Sunset in and I had to throttle up briefly to maintain a safe distance from the cliff. In about 60 seconds we were through the narrows with its whirlpools and shallow depths and everyone was able to relax. As we continued up the waterway Ian and I discussed the boat handling and the suction action of the current against that sheer rock face. Another learning experience for me, another disaster avoided. Typical life - lots of calm, boring bits punctuated by brief moments of high gain activity and a bit of terror. Guess Ford was right when he named the place.
We arrived in a heavy overcast and low clouds, the tops of the surrounding mountains obscured. There were numerous roaring waterfalls cascading from the high cliffs above, and before long we saw a bear wandering the grassy meadow near the water. Ian, Nicola and Charlotte launched in the dinghy to “get closer”, then Isabel and I took our own turn. The bear didn’t pay any attention to us even when we got within 20 meters of him/her. No threat, no harm, no foul, no cranky bear.
We awakened Wednesday morning to low fog and wispy clouds aloft, but by mid-morning we had stunningly clear and brilliant sunshine with all the terrain revealed. A second bear had appeared and the pair of them seemed to get along just fine, so we decided they must be around 2 years of age and juveniles from the same sow. Again we approached in the dinghy and they took no notice, and by then Charlotte was pretty darn sure she had a topic for “what I did during my summer vacation” upon return to school in September.
As we had enjoyed more than our share of liquid sunshine since our guest’s arrival, it was really wonderful to have a crystal clear blue sky simply to prove it could happen. We enjoyed exploring the area by dinghy and the occasional visit by a harbor seal or bald eagle before finally readying ourselves for the downstream passage back through the narrows. This time we were targeting an arrival of 30 minutes after high water at Juneau, and for extra safety we towed the dinghy the 4 miles down to the upper end of the narrows whereupon Ian launched out to reconnoiter the narrows and report back his findings. We delayed our transition about 10 more minutes before he reported that high slack water must be upon us and I guided Sunset on through the narrows without worry or controllability concerns. Once in the lagoon near the waterfall Isabel kept Sunset on station while Ian and I hoisted the dinghy onto the sundeck rooftop. With everything now in passage mode we made our way back down the channel then turned right and continued down Endicott Arm. We had intended to anchor at Wood Spit but as we approached the area we noted numerous boats fishing the area just by Harbor Island and the Superyacht Serenity anchored on the South side in a nice cove. There was plenty of room and it was closer so we wandered in and dropped the hook a respectable distance away, then launched the dinghy for more exploration and a little fishing. The fish weren’t cooperating but the weather did, and after a great evening meal we enjoyed a restful night in a quiet anchorage.
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