OH WHAT A NIGHT, DRAGGING ANCHOR

Last night we anchored in Fingers Cove, a spot recommended by a friend we had met along the way who had been to Glacier Bay seven times previously. When we entered Fingers Cove it was high water, we made a few attempts to find a suitable anchor spot and couldn’t. There were shoals and deep patches and a few rocks about. So we anchored temporarily to have dinner. Low water was around midnight, I decided to wait till around ten when there would still be some daylight remaining and find a better anchorage position when we could see more of the shallows and shore.

At ten thirty we re-anchored in what appeared to be a better position having 12 meters of water. By eleven thirty we were dragging into deep water in ever increasing wind gusts. By half past midnight we were anchored again and this time I paid out all the chain we had in the locker. Thankfully the anchor held this time. The wind was not really strong and had long periods of calms between the gusts. But when the gusts came down the mountain they were short sharp and the air felt heavy.

By six in the morning everything was flat calm and we had a long lie in bed to recover. A late breakfast was followed by a leisurely motor up from Fingers Bay to Blue Mouse Cove. The scenery is interesting but low cloud prevented us from seeing the tops of the mountains and the cloud cover prevented the sun from breaking through. We saw the usual sea otters, harbour porpoise and a distant whale, a few ducks but not much other wild life, a bit underwhelming. Certainly didn’t live up to the hype we have been hearing so far.

Until you experience Glacier Bay it’s difficult to comprehend how big the place is. Today we only saw four other boats and one cruise ship all day. Last night and this evening we are the only boat in the anchorage. Another surprise is how warm the weather is at the moment, apart from some cold air this afternoon the temperatures are very mild.
Tomorrow we will proceed to Reid Inlet and Glacier. Total voyage distance 1,511.1 miles.

Logged 10th July 2016