Leaving Ketchikan at 5 p.m. we headed north, up the northern stretch of the Tongass Narrows, proceeding at slow speed to avoid wake damage to the boats and docks on either side.

We pass Guard Island and increase speed, we have a very fast run to Juneau to make schedule, over 21 knots. Up the Clarence Strait, making for Snow Pass, an extremely narrow passage which has to be taken at slow speed. As we pass through, a pod of Orcas are patrolling the waters, no doubt prowling for a foolish seal.

Once through, building up speed again, we are making for open water, having to pass by Cape Decision and thus turn into the Chatham Strait, thence Steven’s passage and eventually, the Gastineau channel, on which Juneau lies. Here again we reduce speed, it taking almost an hour from the entrance to the channel to the harbour itself; a slow turn to port and we dock at what is known as the ‘Cruise’ terminal, although when I first came to this city, it was the Ferry terminal and we used to put our gangway on the ramp. Now it has been altered to accommodate larger cruise ships. We have to alternate our gangway on different decks, depending on the height of the tide during our stay.

A jaunt ashore, especially for the blog and some photographs, in the main they were taken from the cable-car, which lies nearby.

 

We stay until midnight, although most guests are home well before that and it is crew who we wait for, as they are last to return. I maneuver very gently, no thrashing of the bow thrusts or props, everyone is sleeping and I keep the noise to a minimum. Back down Gastineau channel, the fog appearing in wisps, coming and going, eerily rising from the water, it’s would actually be quite pretty if it weren’t such an inconvenience to us. Fortunately it clears soon after leaving the channel and we retrace our steps of yesterday, heading south towards Tracy Arm, a particularly scenic fjord, with towering peaks on either side, at the end of which lies Sawyer glacier, our ultimate destination.

5 a.m. and a call from the bridge, still groggy after what seems like a short sleep, I am told that the fog has appeared again and my presence is required. As I dress, another call, the fog has cleared and I have the luxury of a leisurely shower and shave before going to the bridge on what promises to be a beautiful sunny day. I sip coffee and watch the tell-tale signs of whales, their ‘blows’ glistening in the early-morning sunlight and their ‘footprints’ leaving ripples and eddies in the otherwise calm waters.

 

Entering Tracy Arm, we pass over the ‘bar’, where the terminal moraine of the glacier once was, at 8 a.m. The tide is ebbing out of the fjord and is strong.

We proceed through Tracy Arm itself and its winding and weaving channel.

Our destination and how close we can get to the glacier is dependent on the ice, how much and how ‘heavy’. One cannot take a ship such as this through heavy ice, damage to the propeller blades being the main factor. We pass Sawyer Island and can see the glacier, however there are large icebergs, calved from the face, lying ahead of us and blocking our path; I have to be content on drifting, adjusting my heading so that both sides of the ship can see the sight.

 

•  I have a new ‘gadget’, a GoPro camera and here is a link for a time-lapse video of the passage towards Sawyer glacier