Alaska Expedition 2003

12thhead

August 12 - 13

8/12 Later in the day, we moved the boat to Tracey Arm and up to South Sawyer Glacier for some ice fun and active calving activity. Icebergs were all over the place, though none large enough to unknowingly threaten the boat. We motored up to the face of the glacier, taking in the sights and sounds of the calving activity, and the thunderous cracking of ice echoing off the face of the ice sheet. We later moved the boat out of harms way and set anchor for an evening swim with the giant ice cubes.

The visibility in the water was a few inches at best due to the silt. Underwater photography was out of the question, making above water photography of the ice snorklers the order of the day. Our intrepid leader, Phil, went in search of the perfect iceberg for the iceberg contest. After 45 minutes of searching he finally finned up to the boat with his selection, only to be told by Captain Mike it was too heavy. Pointing to another one near the boat (it had been there all along), it was agreed to be worthy, so the 5x2.5 foot block of ice was hoisted on board. About this time, Kim performed her Bikini Iceberg Dance while Mr. Ito performed fully body stretch exercises, each on their chosen iceberg platforms. To end the day, the on-board hot tub capacity record was broken (11 people). The winnings (3 bottles of rum with an additional one poured all over the deck to enhance the aroma of the great outdoors) were then slowly consumed during the rest of the trip. We crept our way out of Tracey Arm, watching the low fog layers hang on the cliffs, and the icebergs pass, as we motor on to Pt. Coke for our overnight anchorage.

8/13 The overcast and foggy day was spent whale watching in Stephens Passage / Fredrick Sound just below The Brothers Il. Mid-afternoon we ended up in Gambier Bay for Phils deep, dark, and scary dives on the wreck of the State of California, a 300' long ferry that sank in 1913. 

From the Seahook Charters site: Seventy miles south of Juneau, the 'State of California' hit a pinnacle reef in 1913. It now sits on a steep incline starting in 70 feet down to 160 feet of water. Her final resting place? Gambier Bay, on the south end of 100-mile long Admiralty Island. 

The search for the wreck: Phil had found the wreck four or five years ago, so he knew roughly where it was. We motored about in the mother ship, using the sounder to look for the pinnacle the bow is resting on. We eventually dropped a buoy on what seemed to be close to the spot, and motored off to anchor in a quiet cove where the old cannery used to sit. All there is now are remnants of a dock, overgrown mounds of dirt that may have once been buildings, and a newish cabin populated by a couple of fishing persons unknown. Once settled in, we loaded up the skiff and headed back out to the buoy. We tied off and jumped into the murky water, expecting to see a deep, dark, and scary wreck. At 100', we found the anchor latched onto the wreck's starboard side anchor chain on the side of the hull. The wreck was perfectly located, and is in beautiful shape with lots of growth and fish life of various types.

The 300-foot-long California sits right side up at 50 to 60 degrees; bow up and pointing away from shore in 70 to 80 feet of water down to the bottom at 240 feet. The bow is resting on a rocky pinnacle at about 110 feet, with the large classic ship anchor in place on the starboard side hanging on a few feet of chain down the side of the hull. The visibility on the afternoon dive was maybe 8 feet down to about 50 feet, at which point it opened up to 20+ feet, providing an ominous view of the bow as it came into view around 65 feet. Running on Nitrox, we maxed out our depth to 120 feet, enough to see the large hole where the wheelhouse had been before it blew off under extreme positive pressure as the ship went down. We followed what is left of the deck structure back to the bow, and up our anchor line to end the dive. Captain Mike timed the slack tide perfectly as there was no current to speak of. This was by far one of the best dives of the trip, and well worth spending a few days exploring in the future. On the second dive on this wreck, the sun had gone down, so we would not be able to view the natural majesty of this wreck without an army of giant spotlights.

The evening consisted of lounging around the Nautilus Explorer, reading and taking in the scenery, cruising around in the two small metal boats fishing (a euphemism for beer drinking) and exploring the various nearby bays. A few kayaks also set off to explore the quiet waters of Gambier bay. Later that night, the first bottle of port was opened, leading to a second bottle much later that night to be shared between Captain Mike and our intrepid leader Phil.

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