Saturday June 1st, 2024
Last night in Cleveland Passage was our first real night of shall we say “boating excitement”. The above picture is taken from Predict Wind’s real-time forecast of what was creating the HUGE weather system spanning the entire length of SE Alaska. Now of course we were NOT out there (that is the outside passage). We are in the Inside Passage, but obviously the size of this weather system has had an effect on the wind and weather in the entire area.
In checking Weather Prediction models (we use Predict Wind and Buoy Weather), the effects of this monster weather were predicted to be felt in our area around 3 to 4 AM this morning, making for a pretty sleepless night. We were expecting 9-10kt winds with gusts 15 to 20kts, which is nothing to mess around with, and is why we were securely anchored into Cleveland Passage anchorage by 2PM the day before. We could feel the winds building in the afternoon, and I rechecked the forecast in the evening only to find that the maximum winds were now expected to arrive that evening around 10 PM. We rechecked that the boat was as firmly secured as we could make it, and turned on the evening news to catch up on the current “wind storm” in the lower 48! Indeed the winds hit about 8PM howling down the mountain behind us and hitting the boat with force. Surprisingly the water inside the anchorage remained amazingly calm, so we were mostly jostled around by the gusts. By around 1030PM the wind was settling down and we decided to try to get some sleep. All in all we got more then we thought we would, and were up this morning to take off at 0730 bound for Tracy Arm.
We had a lovely cruise up Stephens Passage and by 1PM we were safely anchored in Tracy Arm Cove.
On our five hour cruise we encountered a pod of whales in Stephens passage and one that flicked its tail at us off our starboard bow. Great treat.
As we neared the entrance to Tracy Arm we were greeted by a fellow Nordic Tug heading south.
This big boy was exiting Endicott Arm just before we entered Tracy Arm Cove.
Tracy Arm is beautiful and this is the view out the stern of our boat. Beautiful and calm.
The above picture is of a “Bergie Bit” floating in the entryway to our anchorage. We are hoping it will not float towards our boat and knock us off our anchor loose. Chances of this happening are slim. We hope really slim, but Marlene assures me according to her research we are anchored on the correct side of the cove to prevent this event from happening.
We were delighted to find a guide boat and canoe boats here in the cove with us. These are the same indigenous crew we met in Petersburg. We are thinking about taking down our kayak and exploring the Bergie bit if the weather holds. Tomorrow we are off for an 7 hour round-trip cruise of Tracy Arm.
It’s 3:00 pm Sunday here in Palm Desert at around 102degrees. A little warm to be outside, but a perfect time to visit the Newtradition blog! What a fabulous summer cruise, and thank you so much for taking the time to share it. Of course I am a little green, not with sea sickness, but with envy. It was great to see so many familiar places of years past and your new places we haven’t visited. You two have become such seasoned boaters.
At any rate, wishing you a continued safe and trouble free adventure. I will be watching!
Don, Thanks for your kind comments. We are having a great time here in Alaska. Traveling down Tracy Arm and dodging (and watching) all the ice bergs was a special treat.