The weather during this flotilla hasn’t all been great, but when it has counted the most (in the most beautiful spots), the weather weather has cooperated unusually well. Few experiences during a summer cruise in Alaska rival visiting a tidewater glacier, and being able to do it on a sunny day is a huge bonus. Somehow, we lucked into wonderful weather for our trip up Endicott Arm and into Ford’s … Read more
We left our anchorage at Tracy Arm Cove at about 9:00 in the morning and headed up Endicott Arm for Dawes Glacier. Our destination for later today is Ford’s Terror, which we’ll pass on the way to Dawes Glacier, but slack/entry at Ford’s Terror won’t be until about 5:00 p.m., which gives us plenty of time to visit another tidewater glacier! Kevin’s brother Craig (visiting from Miami), is joining Airship … Read more
We had a week off in between flotilla legs, so we invited friends Jake and Patti to fly up from San Diego and join us on a trip down to Tracy Arm and Ford’s Terror, and we buddy-boated with Ralph on Jester while his daughter Sara and her husband David were in town. We left Juneau on the morning of the 26th and headed for Tracy Arm Cove (~42nm south … Read more
Ford’s Terror is probably our favorite anchorage ever. There’s something about the challenge of getting in, the fact that you can only transit the entrance/exit once every twelve hours (knowing that the current at the entrance can run to 12 knots with large overfalls during non-slack) that makes it an accomplishment. This challenge is rewarded heavily by the enormous unspoiled majestic landscape that surrounds you once inside. Everywhere you look, … Read more
Time in port is usually super busy, and the few days I spent in Juneau after Anna and Rudy left was no exception. Grocery shopping, boat fixes (nothing major!), fueling, cleaning, laundry, paying bills…real life doesn’t pause while out cruising. Eventually I caught up on chores and headed out. That first night I had no destination in mind. Taku Harbor, with its dock and excellent protection, was an obvious choice. … Read more
(Updated June 2024). Ford’s Terror might just be the most beautiful place on the planet. Cliffs—absolutely enormous granite walls, really—rise from water’s edge to snowcapped bowls and peaks 5000 feet above. Countless waterfalls, some trickles, others torrents, plunge from these peaks. Bears forage ashore. Dolphins frolic around anchored boats. The scale of Ford’s Terror is difficult to comprehend and impossible to convey. It’s like Yosemite, but with water in the … Read more