Sailing wing on wing up Glacier Bay
The main area of Glacier Bay National Park features eight named tidewater glaciers. One of the most accessible is Reid Glacier – there is secure anchorage right in the glacier’s inlet and it’s possible to hike right up to the face at low tide.
After a fantastic sail up the main body of the bay under partly sunny skies, we were pleasantly surprised to find Wags and Paula on S/V Gadabout in the anchorage, and they radioed over to make plans for glacier exploration the following morning.
At anchor in “front” of the glacier – front in this case being about two miles away…
That night was a lively one, as Reid delivered a steady flow of 25-30 knot katabatic winds down the anchorage. Madrone bobbed and pulled at her anchor, and the evening’s featured entertainment was watching the wind speed indicator to see if the latest gust would set a new record.
Wags and Paula of S/V Gadabout
Both crews survived the evening, and the following day’s trip to the glacier was a great one, despite the persistent mist and low rain clouds. From the anchorage, we could clearly see a river with rapids running down the beach. As we approached, we were surprised to find that the river flowed under the glacier and was doubtlessly reinforced by the melting ice. We explored the entrance to a few ice caves (without mustering up the courage to go very far inside) on the side of the glacier before doing a combination hike/slide through very slick glacial silt up to the face.
Angie sneaked up to the glacier face for a photo op before scurrying back to safety
Suspecting that the strong winds of the previous night wouldn’t be repeated with the change in the weather, we decided to spend another night in the same spot and were rewarded by glassy, flat calm conditions.
Reid Inlet anchorage, with more rain on the way
