Columbia Glacier cruise from Valdez AK

Today is our third boat tour of glaciers, and we are afraid it will be one too many.

The boat has benches along the sides so people on the benches can only see by looking over their shoulders, or by staring straight ahead through the boat and out the windows on the other side.  Marcia and I are in the center, theater style, with seats facing forward.

Tommy, Kathy, Fred and Bev snack-down.

Look!!!

Capt'n Jones.

The real captain is quite busy piloting in fog, spotting wildlife, and narrating.  The cruise is from sometime around noon to maybe 6:30 PM and I’m not aware of him ever taking a break.  I guess it is too expensive to have a second person available with the proper ratings.  He must have quite a bladder.

Oil spill boats, new since the Exxon Valdez mess.

A piece of an iceberg.

Some thought this the best boat trip; I thought it a lot of miles for relatively little, but a clear day would have made all the difference in the world.  We did see orcas to add to our list.  The Columbia Glacier is featured but it was never anything more than a vague silhouette in the fog.

The captain did provide an excellent explanation of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.  By his account the ship ran on to some rocks because of poor shipboard communications during a shift change.  For three days the oil stayed close to the ship in unusually calm winds but little was done to contain it.  More typical weather returned and the spill traveled in some cases over 400 miles causing incredible damage.  Even today the oil can be found just inches beneath the surface, and Exxon continues to fight settlement suits.  The single-hulled Exxon Valdez was recently sold for scrap after hiding for many years under various new names.  Valdez is now much better prepared for spills, but still it is a messy business.