Cruise to Prince William Sound, Columbia Glacier, and Meares Glacier

Valdez, AK – Cruise to Prince William Sound, Columbia Glacier, and Meares Glacier

August 16, 2013

This was a long 9 hour cruise that was supposed to go only to the Sound and Meares Glacier. But since the weather was rainy in the sound, our Captain took us into see Columbia Glacier. We did not go in very far, but could see this fast retreating glacier. On our way we saw sea otters, Bald Eagles, some Stellar Sea Lions, and numerous birds. We also slowed to watch the purse seine fleet in action as they went after pink salmon.

Valdez, AK

 



Valdez Harbor and nearby mountains.



A small "raft" of Sea Otters resting.

Stellar Sea Lions

Columbia Glacier Iceberg - note the rock laying on the surface from ice that has melted.

Another Columbia Iceberg with moraine material showing.

Blue Icebergs from Columbia

 

 

We finally made it in to see Meares Glacier. It is an impressive sight to see and this one is advancing at a rate of 30’ per year. The glacier front is ½ mile wide and 300’ high. We saw a number of calving events and were able to clearly hear the groaning and crunching of the ice. We went in the ¼ mile from the front 3 different times as the wind (cold) pushed us away. The brash ice was dotted with hundreds of seals. We went over to pick up some ice to see on deck and got quite close to several who appeared unconcerned by our presence so close. The pictures show how blue the ice can be.

Harbor Seals

All those black dots on the brash ice are Harbor Seals

Piece of glacier ice.

 

 

 

 

On our way back our captain searched far and wide for whales and porpoises. We did stop at an island to see puffins (both varieties) and a Stellar Sea Lion rookery containing hundreds of sleeping sea lions. As we headed back to Valdez we spotted Dall Porpoises. We slowed to 10 knots and they obliged by playing in our bow wake. We finally spotted some humpback whales not far from Valdez so we spent some time watching a female with her calf.

 

Stellar Sea  Lion Rookery

 

Humpback Whale

This cruise was with Stan Stephens and was far superior to the last cruise we took in Seward. This boat had comfortable seating with ample room both inside and outside. The inside temperature was perfect with no window fogging or leaking water. The lunch and snack were served to us by the crew and we were give free access to the bridge.