Heading to Tracy Arm

Cleveland Passage was the next stop on the journey north. We crossed Frederick Sound on a glassy sea under a low fog. For about a hour we must have been on another planet. A very large humpback surfaced and blew about a half a mile to port - a total surprise to us; Jay answered him with a few loud barks. Cleveland Passage is just off Stephen's Passage, tucked behind Fanshaw Island. A tug and barge were hovering in place in the passage, waiting for a current change. On the low tide, we roamed the spit. A whole silent orchestra of clams were shooting jets of water in 3 foot streaming arches in all directions. Jay and I dug a couple up, but we ultimately put them back. The number of shellfish poison cases has been on the rise in Alaska. The warmer waters mean the neurotoxic bacteria are now more common. Commercial shellfish are tested so it feels smart to just buy them at the store. The barge and tug pulled out and we went to bed. Just as we all settled into sleep Jay started barking. Kel and I could not hear anything but he definitely did. He likes to remind us that his senses are just so much better than ours. After five minutes of little "woofs" he settled down. 

We planned a longer 40 mile day up Stephens Passage on the following day. The wind, mist, and current would be behind us all the way to an anchorage near the entrance to Tracy Arm. As we left Cleveland Passage we saw a humpback resting (sleeping?) in an eddy inside the channel. The whale was slowly moving. He would just rise, take a breath, and then sink gently below the surface. We must have woken the giant with our motor, and eventually it dove out of sight.

We anchored in Tracy Arm Cove, with our sites on moving down the Endicott Arm and going through a rapid called Ford's Terror. Once past the rapid, you can anchor in what most cruisers claim to be the most spectacular spot in all of SE Alaska. But first there's Ford's Terror.