Today’s run was short, and I wanted to get through Sitakaday
Narrows with the ebb current, so I was in no rush to leave North Sandy Cove. I eventually woke up around 9:00,
refreshingly to gray skies but no rain.
I read a bit, made breakfast, did dishes, and then emptied the jerry
cans into the fuel tank on the boat.
While I was transferring fuel I noticed a black bear on shore, so I hopped
in the kayak and paddled over. This one
was a bit more skittish than the one last night (perhaps it was the same one?),
and he headed into the woods soon after seeing me.
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| Eating, and watching me |
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| Taking a break between bites |
I continued paddling around the cove for the next hour or
so. The coastline was fascinating,
filled with little coves and lagoons accessible by kayak at high tide
only. No more wildlife unfortunately.
When I was getting out of the kayak I remembered that I had
taken a memory card out of my camera yesterday when I was watching the
bear. The camera I was using has two
memory cards. The first one was full and
the second nearly empty. I wanted to
take a video of the bear scraping at the rock for food, but for whatever reason
the camera refused to record the video because it said the memory card was
full. So I took the first one out and it
recorded onto the second. I don’t know
if this issue is a problem with Nikon’s firmware or my settings, but it is frustrating.
It turns out that by the time I got back to the boat I had
forgotten that I had taken the memory card out and set it on my lap. I searched the kayak and cockpit of the boat
in vain, but I’m pretty certain that the memory card is now laying on the
bottom of North Sandy Cove. Thankfully I
didn’t lose too many pictures and the cards are cheap.
I pulled the anchor around 1:00 pm and headed for Bartlett
Cove. The current pushed me along
nicely, sometimes up to 4.5 knots, and the weather improved. Looking towards the entrance of Glacier Bay
the sky was blue and the sun was shining.
Looking back towards the head of the bay, thick clouds hung low. As a bonus, the wind was nonexistent and the
seas were glassy calm.
 |
| Perfect day! |
 |
| Taking a break on the bow rail |
Sea otters and sea lions abounded, alternately relaxing and
frolicking in the calm waters. As I
approached Bartlett Cove, a small pod of orcas made an appearance, the first
orcas I’ve seen this trip. Sun, calm
winds, spectacular scenery, and beautiful wildlife made for an enjoyable trip
back to Bartlett Cove.
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| Nesting birds on South Marble Island |
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| A huge colony of Stellar Sea Lions near South Marble Island |
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| One of many sea otters |
 |
| One of the orcas |
 |
| And another |
Since the Bartlett Cove dock is for short stays only, I
anchored close by and paddled around the bay for a bit. I went to shore to find an internet
connection and schedule a shuttle for Peter and Grandma arriving tomorrow. On my way back to the boat a gentleman pulled
in in a 26’ C-Dory Pro Angler. He uses
the boat for sightseeing and fishing tours.
I asked him about what kind of ice he’ll go through and he said he
rarely worries about the hull, just motor damage. He’s used his boat for 30 years up here
without any problems, so I feel better about a few days in the ice.
No other news to report.
The boat is performing well and I’m still having an awesome time.
23.2 nm today and 1,373.2 total
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