Exploring Tracy Arm: A Guide to the Enchanting Waters of 48° North

Our crew was new to glacier chasing, but we still held out hope for decent views of both the North and South Sawyer Glaciers in Tracy Arm.

A few days earlier, in La Conte Bay, we found ourselves battling icebergs the size of pickup trucks, ultimately coming to a standstill, unable to reach a viewpoint of the glacier. Despite our efforts, the dense ice blocked our way, hindering our navigation through the twisting fjord. This prevented us from witnessing the glacier’s majestic calving, which was clearly happening at a rapid pace. The sound of ice grinding against our fiberglass hull transported us to chilling Titanic-themed thoughts.

With uncertainty looming, we questioned how we would navigate past potential ice blockages in narrow Tracy Arm.

We arrived at Tracy Arm’s Entrance Cove in the late afternoon after a satisfying sail up Stephens Passage. Since departing Foggy Bay, our initial stop in Alaska, the winds have mostly favored us from the southwest. While we encountered some motoring, only one unpleasant morning in Frederick Sound near Petersburg involved significant pounding into the wind and waves.

We decided to spend the night in Entrance Cove, recognized as the best anchorage in Tracy Arm. The holding, depths, and swing room were excellent, with the occasional iceberg drifting past the entrance. While some cruisers preferred the head of William Cove, which is located 5 nautical miles to the north, reports indicated that finding suitable depth and holding there could be quite frustrating.

The next morning, we set off bright and early to explore the glaciers at the head of Tracy Arm. No matter the hour, our new crew member, Rob, would bounce out of bed without a hint of complaint, tangling with the piling chain in the bow locker and creating a bit of a ruckus.

Our journey took a memorable turn at the first corner, where we encountered a cruise ship filled with thousands of passengers enjoying breakfast while observing us, a small vessel, from their glass-enclosed space.

As we rounded the bend, the arm narrowed into a stunning, ice-polished mountain valley. Words cannot adequately capture the beauty of the smooth, glistening rock face, with waterfalls cascading from every direction. Rob remarked that he’d seen more waterfalls in those two days than he had throughout his entire life.

At about 20 nautical miles in, nearing Sawyer Island, small icebergs began to appear as we approached the fork in Tracy Arm—one route leading north to the North Sawyer Glacier and the other continuing east to the South Sawyer Glacier. We chose the southern route, maneuvering skillfully around the chunks of ice, sometimes venturing too close to the shore.

Then we reached the head of the fjord where a massive, kilometer-wide glacier of vibrant blue ice came into view. We navigated as close as we dared to this magnificent wall, but the rumbling glacier echoed ominously, signaling its potential for calving massive chunks of ice.

A tourist powercat, carrying around fifty sightseers, joined us in the bay. Along with the cruise ship, it was one of the only two vessels we would encounter that day. It was thrilling to imagine the photos being snapped, with Silom dwarfed by the impressive South Sawyer Glacier, later likely shared across social media and pinned to refrigerators.

Exiting the bay proved to be a challenge. The ice floes at the entrance seemed to have congealed more tightly, requiring us to push against several smaller icebergs to clear our way out—but we managed without much drama.

Heading past Sawyer Island, we steered north up a narrow channel to get a closer look at the other glacier. This glacier is enormous, sprawling across several mountains. However, it has slightly receded from the water’s edge and had nearly stopped calving into the sea, making icebergs less of a concern.

Yet, we were still met with stunning waterfalls pouring brownish, finely crushed ice into the water. The scene was mesmerizing, with the water around us filled with what looked like delicious Coke-flavored slushies. But maybe I would pass on tasting that.

As we journeyed further north, the Alaska we had long anticipated began to reveal itself in breathtaking detail. Each moment was more enchanting than the last.

Note: This post was originally published on SalishSeaPilot.com and is shared by courtesy of the authors.