Ford’s Terror Lay Day

Karen was up early and, out of curiosity, scanned for AIS targets. Sure enough, Endless Song, a Canadian-flagged sailboat, was creeping into inner Ford’s Terror and headed straight for the East Arm. It’s a beautiful, one-boat anchorage—but known for uncharted rocks and tricky depths. To their credit, they took it slow and made it in without issue.

The skies were partly sunny—an invitation to enjoy a lazy morning. Karen had a bit of remote work to do, so we soaked in the view while she tackled a project surrounded by jaw-dropping scenery.

low morning clouds hugthe water

ford’s terror surrounds you with magnificant scenery

the river valley that feeds into ford’s terror

Over on Lituya, our neighbors launched kayaks and paddleboards for a shoreside dog walk and paddled by to say hello. They're based out of Juneau—friendly folks enjoying Alaska’s best, just like us.

In the afternoon, we dropped the dinghy and headed over to scout the East Arm. We could spot Endless Song’s mast, but strong tidal flow at the entrance ruled out any safe approach. We did find a temporary tide gauge set up near the mouth and took a closer look—always interesting to see science in action in such a wild place.

Lituya had mentioned prawning was decent here, so we set a pot before the wind kicked up and the water got sloppy. We took the long way back, hugging the shoreline to admire the cliffs and cascades.

Back aboard OceanFlyer, we noticed our stern was swinging a bit too close to the shoals for comfort. With Lituya departing, we made the move to their now-open spot, where the outflow from the creek keeps boats pointed safely away from shore.

low tide in ford’s terror

the river joins the flow from the waterfall on the right to create a steady flow that can hold your boat aways from the flats

With the prawn pot soaking overnight and no other boats in sight, we settled in for a tranquil evening. The entire West Arm was ours—a rare and magical kind of solitude you only find in places like Ford’s Terror.