Tracy Arm/Sawyer glacier

[jhp]

Just got Terry Breens latest newsleter. An interesting day in Tracy Arm earlier this month!

 

[Travelcat2]

This has been posted on several sites for the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately, at least one passenger was outside and was injured by flying ice. I'm glad to see that this part of the video has been removed. It does remind all of us that caution is necessary. In the longer video, it did not seem that anyone was able to appreciate this event. Instead, they were running for cover.

[mimito4]

Were these videos shot from the Navigator?

[Travelcat2]

No, they were from the tour boat. The Navigator only sails into Tracy Arm on the longer itineraries (in May and/or September, for example -- weather permitting).

 

The following is what was written by USA today on August 10th. Don't want to link the video because the last time I looked at it the injured person in need of assistance was included.

 

A highlight of an Alaska cruise for many passengers is standing in the cool air on the ship's deck to experience from a distance the spectacular sight of a massive glacier thunderously calving into the sea.

 

For a group of tourists on a small tour boat in Tracy Arm Fjord, about 50 miles south of Juneau, the experience was perhaps too intimate.

 

As seen in a video posted on YouTube that's gone viral, tourists on a boat operated by Tracy Arm Fjords Tours get more than they bargained for as an apartment building-sized chunk of startlingly blue ice breaks off a glacier, creating a massive wave and sending ice flying.

 

The impact from the wave was so intense a 60-year-old woman lost her balance and fell, breaking her leg, according to The Associated Press.The boat immediately returned to Juneau. The Coast Guard is investigating the incident.

 

It's not the first time a scary moment has occurred in the wilderness area of narrow fjords, surrounded by pristine forest and mountains. In fact, Tracy Arm is part of what's known as Ford's Terror Wilderness. The name comes from an 1889 incident when a crewman named Ford, who came off a U.S. Navy vessel, was trapped by himself for six hours in rough waters with huge ice floes shed by glaciers bumping his rowboat.

[mimito4]

Wow. Seems like that small tour boat was far too close. It's fortunate there weren't more injuries. :eek:

 

I know Tracy Arm is not on our itinerary even though it is the 12 day and the last one of the season. I wondered about that.

[jhp]

mimito4, my last cruise to Alaska was the first week in September, and we were lucky enough to have that excursion available on a smaller boat boarded directly from the Mariner. It was the not the one in the video, but it was a fantastic excursion.

[cruiseej]

...tourists on a boat operated by Tracy Arm Fjords Tours...

 

I thought being on Terry Breen's blog that this occurred on a Regent cruise excursion, bit it seems not. Navigator was in Tracy Arm on the 6th, and this happened on the 8th. I had also not heard of Tracy Arm Fjord Tours before. I know Regent uses Allen Marine Tours for their excursion in Tracy Arm, and the other company which I knew ran excursions out of Juneau was Adventure Bound; can't find anything about this other company.

 

I just hope this one incident doesn't result in authorities prohibiting all tour boats from getting close to the glaciers in the future

 

-- Eric

[MightyQuinn]

... and the other company which I knew ran excursions out of Juneau was Adventure Bound; can't find anything about this other company....

Adventure Bound was the operator involved in this recent incident in Tracy Arm where a passenger was injured. As far as I know, Allen Marine is the operator of choice for Tracy Arm excursions for most cruise ships in Alaska. They do not approach the glacier as closely as the smaller boats..

[ChatKat in Ca.]

That would be pretty scary I think. While it was one of the best excursions we have taken that could have been pretty disastrous.

 

I remember a few people having some professional camera equipment. One of the photographers had a lens worth over $10000 on the excursion

[RachelG]

Tracy Arm is truly spectacular. I hope they don't restrict tour boats from going because of this incident. We were with Allen Marine, and they seemed very experienced and professional. It is hard to weigh getting close enough to the glacier to experience it and staying far enough away to be safe. There was maybe a little warning in the video that a huge chunk was getting ready to break off--perhaps they should have started backing up sooner, but hindsight is 20/20.

[frequent traveler]

We were on the Allen Marine voyage from Navigator - in May. We did not get that close to the same arm where the incident occurred. At the other arm, we stayed much further away due to the calving that occurred on the prior day and the chunks of ice that were in the water. The Allen Marine guides communicated a great deal of respect for the uncertainties and danger of calving. Instead, the captain was very good at slowly rotating the cat so everyone could get a good view regardless of where they were seating or standing (inside or outside the cabin). Regent has very very good tour operators on our Alaska voyage - across the board cognizant of Alaska dangers.

 

FT