Well, we finally did it. On the Fourth of July we were ambling back south but just not ready for it. Comparing destinations with fellow sailors tied up at Baranof Warm Springs, we kept hearing Tracy Arm! This 45-mile fjord south of Juneau is clogged with icebergs and bergie bits that make their way clear into Stephens Passage. The big ones hang around all summer.
Behind a sea of icebergs, the South Sawyer Glacier beckons.
In 2009, on our first trip to Alaska, we floated near the entrance of Holkhum Bay contemplating whether to go up Tracy Arm to the Sawyer and South Sawyer Glaciers or up Endicott Arm to its glacier and Ford’s Terror. I’d been the one to chicken out and had not lived it down since.
Canadians Wayne and Randi and Americans Anna and Jim, sit us down, lay out the charts and tell us exactly what to do. “There’s an unnamed cove right at the beginning. Good anchorage once you get in.”
Cool. We know how to squirm into an anchorage.
“When we were there last week an iceberg floated in in the middle of the night and a couple of boats had to move,” says Anna.
Oh. Not so cool. In an attempt to recommend the best place to drop the hook, the four of them discuss iceberg movements. There’s no consensus. The only message is “Just go!”
There’s already a sizable berg in Unnamed Cove when we arrive. I watch its slow drift into late evening and worry. In the end I just sleep through the night. If it comes our way, we’ll know it and figure it out from there. Unfamiliar situations are welcome when there are other boats around.Access to Tracy Arm is immediate from Unnamed Cove, a tiny dent in north shore of Holkham Bay. From the first bend, Tracy Arm is spectacular. Each of the forks at the end has a tidewater glacier that starts in the enormous Stikine ice field.Age old blue ice greets us as we head out very early in the day.The steep cliffs and deep shadows of the first bend of Tracy Arm are dramatic at this time of day.As the sun breaks to the east, the steep cliffs glisten in the shadows.Gulls perch on the bergs, seals haul out on them.The upper reaches of the 5000 foot fjord walls have glacier-hewn U-shaped valleys.The lower reaches have V-shaped valleys sculpted by rushing water.Strangely colored rocks line the shore. The color of the water depends on what is reflected in it and the amount of glacial silt, which increases as we head up.Morning breaks across the water and there’s more blue in the sky.The fjord just keeps unfolding mile after mile.We proceed slowly. I run from watching from the to talking with Jack in the stern. Note how small our dodger is! Rain or shine we have a 360º view. So much to see!Finally the South Sawyer Glacier appears. The way to it is choked with ice and there are no other boats around. We hear it calve and know the this can produce waves up to 25 feet. That’s close enough for this year.This berg is approximately the size of our house!This is the view back into the South Fork of the fjord.Ahead is the North Fork of Tracy Arm, which has less vegetation, making its water a steely grey.This North Fork cliff face is particularly colorful.Of course it has waterfalls. There must be a spectacular lake up there.The North Fork glacier is not calving this year.Looking back toward where Tracy Arm forks.Every mile is different – the light, the colors, the flow of water.In the early afternoon the wind comes up on this section of the fjord. It’s on our nose so no sailing. Now I am watching out for hard-to-see (and just plain hard) transparent bergie bits anywhere from a foot to 15 fee across. They can do damage. We don’t hit any.A rather dramatic half-dome, no? Tracy Arm is a kind of watery Yosemite.The afternoon sun lights up the topography we’d missed in the morning shadows.The variety of the landscape never stops surprising us.Surprise after surprise.Delight after delight.With bergs of every shape along the way.And new scenery continuously revealing itself.Back near where we started a strong of intriguing icebergs are moving past Unnamed Cove.While it really lacks a name, its nameless name has become known thanks to its convenient location.Over drinks on deck we watch the iceberg parade past our anchorage.It’s still going on when we awaken the next morning. This black one is fairly sinister.As we exit Holkham Bay, we get a good view of Sumdum Glacier. It’s a hanging glacier not a tidewater one.We’ve done it! Good bye Tracy Arm. See you next summer!
Baggywrinkles Blog shares stories, adventures, and reflections from the Pacific Northwest’s waterways. Explore cruising journeys, local life, and nature-inspired insights designed to inspire you to step off the shore, embrace the unknown, and find your own adventure.
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