Having crossed the Gulf of Alaska under leaded skies and rain squalls, we passed Ocean Cape, at the entrance to Yakutat Bay at 1:15 p.m.

Off Yakutat itself, we embarked our compulsory Alaska pilot and headed north up the bay.  16 miles further north, we pass Point LaTouche and thus enter Disenchantment Bay; so named by a Spanish explorer Alessandro Malaspina, who, looking for the North-West passage, obviously became disenchanted when he didn’t find it here. 

At LaTouche, the expanse of water ahead becomes visible, as does Hubbard itself, 8 miles away.  The size, variety and volume of ice that we will have to navigate through in order to get near the face of Hubbard itself becomes apparent. Early in the season, it’s common that ships can get no further, the entire bay being choked with ice, however today it looks manageable with some deft ‘weaving and dodging’.  Already the vastness of Hubbard is creating its own ‘mini-climate’; the clouds aren’t quite as grey and the rain has stopped, guests start emerging from inside the ship and the outside decks begin to get crowded.

Navigating through the ice requires the utmost attention; one has to avoid the larger (and thus deeper) chunks, keeping them away from the stern, for if ice and propellors clash, the ice will win, no question.  Lines of Brash ice, Bergy bits and the occasional ‘Growler’ are passed succesfully and we close the face of Hubbard, which has some convenient clear areas for us to stop.  We are dwarfed, it is over 300 feet high and almost 7 miles in length and we ‘hover’ on joystick just over 1/3 of a mile from the face.

https://vimeo.com/102884396

 

After almost an hour, it’s time to leave.  We have seen several falls and heard the ‘white thunder’, the cracking of ice as it moves relentlessly downhill towards the ocean.  As we move south, away from Hubbard’s influence, the rain and cloud build again; passing Ocean Cape, we set sail for Sitka.