An iceberg juts out into Holkham Bay. Tracy Arm Fjord leads from Holkham Bay to Sawyer Glacier. Alaska031
Sailing from Warm Springs Bay after a rustic night on Baranof Island, we enjoyed breakfast aboard Maana II. The vessel headed up Stephens Passage past Admiralty Island to reach Holkam Bay. We sailed past numerous small islands, most of which were unnamed, said Captain Coon. Tracy Arm fjord leads off from Holkam Bay. Sailing up the fjord Maana II now passed icebergs large and small. At the end of the fjord is Sawyer Glacier. The glacier divides into two flows. North Sawyer enters Tracy Arm while South Sawyer enters Endicott Arm fjord, the latter infrequently visited. The glacier extends like a river of ice down into the fjord. Maana II was able to navigate right up to North Sawyer glacier, getting much closer to it than can modern cruise ships.
From Holkam Bay, Maana II continued up the Inside Passage towards Juneau and the end of our voyage. Lunch and dinner under the supervision of Chef Joe Romantini were served on board in the small dining room. The chef was something of an amateur opera singer. He was prompted by the group to sing at our farewell to Maana II dinner at the Baranoff Hotel in Juneau. However, he demurred,
explaining that the band did not know any of his music. (In retrospect, it seems strange that the Baranoff Hotel had a big band at all.)
What happened to Maana II? Much later I learned that Maana II sank in 1969 off Sitka. Captain Coon, Chef Romantini and their passengers survived. The Coon family later relocated to Hawaii. Chef Romantini was later noted as an Executive Chef in Alaska in 1974.
