Posts

A Farewell to Glacier Bay

Image
  The Mendenhall Glacier, just north of Juneau.  Within our own Alaska experience over the last 15 years, we have seen this glacier recede about 1/2 mile to its current state.   Amazing.   To be clear, I'm not saying that glaciers receding is necessarily bad.  280 years ago, the Tlingit lived in Glacier Bay enjoying warm summers and temperate winters.  Only 250 years ago, Glacier Bay was covered by a glacier over a mile thick.   That's only a 30-year span.   This is how quickly glaciers can grow and recede.   My comment is aimed at appreciating the change, not the state. We got underway at 0447 (4:47am) this morning.   This is John hauling the anchor. I took this photo from inside (I like inside, nice invention) so the yellow spots are reflections from the interior lights. As we exited Fingers Cove and rounded the point heading down towards the exit of Glacier Bay. This was our last day (and only a partial o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bearly Made It...

Image
  Finally, bears in Glacier Bay.   This is our 3rd trip into Glacier Bay and the first time we've seen bears.  This is a grizzly mom & her two cubs. OK, I know, going from bears, which are cool, to alternators which are not, is a shock to the system. Troubleshooting the alternator was my 1st mission of the day.  The first thing to do is to ask Copilot (or the LLM of your choice) how exactly to troubleshoot this.  I gave it the model number of the alternator (Balmar 9824-220-ig-bl), my WakeSpeed (500) external regulator model, the boat (Selene 57), and a description of the symptoms.   I then told it no marketing fluff and to give me a simple step by step procedure, including a diagram as to where to put the probes from my Digital Volt Meter and what readings I should expect. So, with the engine off, I tested the Field Resistance (16 Ohms), which Copilot suggested was high as it should be 2-6 Ohms.   Then with the engine running and th...
2 comments
Read more

Ice with Everything...

Image
The view from our boat in Blue Mouse Cove this morning. John did the anchor honors as I drove. The Holland America Line Westerdam as we exited Blue Mouse Cove. Heading up the western arm in Glacier Bay. Not a bad view, looking up towards the John Hopkins Glacier. Waterfalls litter the steep mountainsides on both sides of these channels. Cue the humpback whales. I made Karen nervous navigating us through a narrow channel enroute to the Marjorie and Grand Pacific glaciers. So, she is up on the bow looking out for shallow areas.   I don't really complain as our mutual caution keeps us out of any real trouble. As we passed through the narrow channel, a stream from glacier-melt empties into the channel.   Look at the difference in colors and density.  Totally cool! Triple Trouble (1+1 = 3)... Bergy-bits.   They are everywhere. So, we played Dodge-Berg.   No dodgeballs or wrenches involved. While these aren't dangerous, they are large enough to cau...
2 comments
Read more