Ice with Everything...

The view from our boat in Blue Mouse Cove this morning.

John did the anchor honors as I drove.
The Holland America Line Westerdam as we exited Blue Mouse Cove.
Heading up the western arm in Glacier Bay.
Not a bad view, looking up towards the John Hopkins Glacier.
Waterfalls litter the steep mountainsides on both sides of these channels.
Cue the humpback whales.
I made Karen nervous navigating us through a narrow channel enroute to the Marjorie and Grand Pacific glaciers.

So, she is up on the bow looking out for shallow areas.   I don't really complain as our mutual caution keeps us out of any real trouble.

As we passed through the narrow channel, a stream from glacier-melt empties into the channel.   Look at the difference in colors and density.  Totally cool!
Triple Trouble (1+1 = 3)...
Bergy-bits.   They are everywhere.

So, we played Dodge-Berg.   No dodgeballs or wrenches involved.
While these aren't dangerous, they are large enough to cause damage to my stabilizer fins and prop.   So, I am really careful and I proceed slowly.
Look, they are everywhere.
This is looking behind us, and they are still everywhere.   Once these get to be about the size of a standard ice-cooler, I get concerned.   At that size, I can no longer easily nudge them aside.
Due to the prodigious amount of floating ice, this is as close as we could get to the Marjorie Glacier.   You can see the Marjorie Glacier just peeking out from behind the rock peninsula on the left.

This was the size of a motorcycle.  Big enough to do serious damage.   We thought it was really cool looking with the stripe of clear dense ice in the middle.
Hunter John, with his not-so-elusive quarry...

We will put this and the few others he collected to good use later!

The terminal moraine of the Grand Pacific Glacier.   It is no longer a tidewater glacier.   Tidewater means that the glacier directly ends in the sea.
Spotter John, manning the anchor platform giving me directions to safely navigate our way out of the ice.
The Lamplugh Glacier.

We tried to get up to the Johns Hopkins Glacier, but we were thwarted by thick pack ice.

So, we went to the Lamplugh Glacier instead.
Lots of photos of the Lamplugh Glacier.



This is the Reid Glacier, a few miles south of the Lamplugh Glacier.

Karen & I were here 2 years ago and took our photo from near this same position.   It will be interesting to compare the photos (look in the blog from 2024).
Susan started naming the icebergs as we passed them.

Eagleberg.
Alienberg.
Pegasusberg.
Shipwreckberg.




Clearly, she needs to get out more...   And with a better crowd!

We head further south along the western side of Glacier Bay.   This is looking at the Fairweather Range at the head of Geikie Inlet.

We (Karen) selected Shag Cove for tonight's destination.   It is a deep narrow bay surrounded by 3000+ foot peaks.
A number of small streams enter into the cove.
It is very hard, nigh impossible, to get the sheer scale of this cliff - even in person.   It is 3,000 feet tall and nearly vertical save for a few places where trees and shrubs managed to gain a foothold.
The "U"-shaped valley that extends underwater into the cove we are anchored in.   It is well over 100' deep right up to the point (near shore) where it is only 10 feet deep.   That means lots of anchor chain out tonight (300').

Just FYI, the peak on the right is also 3,000 feet.
More 3,000-foot peaks.
Remember, I said that the fruits of John's hunting would be reaped later.  This is later.

Breaking the glacier ice into glass-sized pieces... 
Pouring them into glasses...
Adding in the Scotch...
And reaping the rewards!
Scotch on the flybridge in the waning hours of the afternoon/evening.
BBQ pork ribs, jalapeno cornbread, baked beans, stewed tomatoes, and salad.

It is a wonder that we are not an ounce over 250 pounds each!
Need I say more?

Unfortunately, more...   My big Balmar alternator took a dump and died.   This sucks.  It isn't fatal as I can use my generator to charge the batteries, but that is not as efficient as using the engine while running.  In this photo, the engine is running, the alternator is spinning but generating no heat - even though the batteries are discharged.   This thing should be humming putting out 160Amps and cooking at better than 150 degrees.   It's dead, Jim.

Well, that's boating...

Good Night, All.

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