Juneau to Petersburg

We left Juneau on an outgoing tide hoping to make good time by using the currents. Stephens Passage, which can be rough, was calm and we cruised along quickly. We were traveling in the middle of the passage but as we drew closer to Holkham Bay, which is the entrance to the Tracy and Endicott Arms, we began noticing huge ice bergs in the distance at the entrance so we decided to cruise over and get some pictures of them. I never get tired of seeing the beautiful blue of the glacial ice. It also amazes me how big these bergs are, even more so when you realize that what you are seeing above the water is only a portion of what is really there. In addition to the ice bergs we had a beautiful view of the Sumdum Glacier.

On our way through Stephens Passage and Fredrick Sound we saw several humpback whales. The water was very smooth and sometimes the whales were just resting on the surface of the water like logs. When we were on the cruise up the west arm of Glacier Bay, the interpreter said this is the way humpback whales sleep. She said they just rest on top of the water and actually turn half of their brain off while they rest that way. I have definitely learned more about whale behaviors on this trip and am more cautious when we are around them.

We had smooth water all the way into Petersburg. As we approached the busy harbor we noticed hundreds of Sea Gulls in the water. A boat raced past us and all the birds took flight. It was an incredible sight to see them all flying around. As we headed to the fuel dock we were busy watching all the boat traffic and I thought I saw an Orca fin in the water, but I didn’t have time to check. Then as we were just about to the dock I saw that indeed there were three Orcas swimming through the busy port. It was the busiest place I had ever seen whales of any kind. There was no time for pictures but it was very cool!

We settled into a slip for the evening and Don worked on the engine a bit. We visited with people on the boats around us and had Pizza at Papa Bears Pizza. We traveled 112 miles in about almost 9 hours. I would say that we definitely made good time.