The morning started off well when Rodney from Bonum Vitae announced, “We have crab!” With the help of using the head of a king salmon, the trap caught twelve Dungeness crabs. They sorted through the catch, releasing any of the young or females back to the sea. With a quick smack against the swim platform, they had cracked and cleaned the remaining crabs. Within ten minutes the crab were cooked and bagged to be enjoyed by the Bonum Vitae crew; great job guys!

Leaving the old Cannery Cove at Pybus Bay, the fleet had experienced the best whale viewing of our trip. Fredrick Sound lived up to its reputation of having the highest concentration of humpback whales in SE Alaska. At times, the boats had to come to an idle as whales popped up between our formation with spouts that shot twenty feet into the air. It was very exciting to be so close to these magnificent creatures counting more than 25 whales all together. Steve, Captain of Patos, was lucky enough to witness a double-fluke deep dive close to his ship. Not a bad way to celebrate Father’s Day with his family, I’d say.

Once we arrived at Tracy Arm, the hooks were dropped in No Name Cove, all six boats rafted together and hosted what we like to call an “open house.” All doors swing open aboard the boats, Deception hosts drinks for all, and everyone has a chance to wander each other’s yachts freely. It’s always fun to see how different the layouts of boats are in the fleet.

As tradition goes, 18-year-old scotch was complimented with glacier ice in our glasses. A short dinghy trip across Tracy Arm yielded armfuls of ice as Jordan, equipped with a hatchet, broke off solid chunks of the iceberg into the dinghy. As the ice flew, we all laughed together with tiny crystals covering Don, Jen, David (Victoria), Pascal, and myself (Deception) from the repeated swings of the hatchet. It was so much fun exploring these icebergs up close, arms stretched out touching ice that formed thousands of years ago. The intense blue from deep within the iceberg gave a surreal appeal to these floating islands and we were more than happy with our bounty of cocktail glacier ice cubes. Cheers to the crew and savvy sailors that have joined us celebrating another great day on the water!