Exploring Cross Sound and Icy Strait
Where should I begin? The most productive waters of the Inside Passage put on a show today. Long forgotten are the anxieties of gridlocked traffic or queueing into long lines when wild animals are displaying their power and grace. This morning our distractors came in the fusiform shape of Northern or Steller sea lions. Zodiacs cruised amongst a small group of islets called the Inian Islands where the massive male sea lions patrol the Pacific’s strong tidal currents for incoming prey. Situated smack-dab in the middle of the northern entrance to the Inside Passage at a place called Cross Sound, the Inian Islands are known by many predators as a great place to find food. Accelerating with an effortless stroke of their long front flippers, we watched sea lions capture and devour Pacific cod and dispatch unidentifiable salmon all the while totally oblivious to the dozens of megapixels being created in their honor. Rather than reaching immortality through reproduction, these unlucky fish will only be remembered as 1s and 0s on our jpegs and as a meal for the hungry sea lions. We make fun of the sea lions for their raucous belch-like roar, but what must they think of our incessant clicking every time they draw near?
Continuing east the momentum of the day continued to build. In the distance a distinctive set of black triangles were spotted slicing through the waters of North Inian Pass. With time in our pockets and lots of warm layers, we would have plenty of time to view these giant dolphins for as long as they wanted. When it comes to wildlife, they often decide how long we can watch. As luck would have it, the pod of roughly 20 killer whales was more than amicable to our viewing, some of the calfs and young animals seeming to take pleasure in our presence. For some time the energy level on the ship was at a fever pitch as more than one animal made extremely close passes to the ship, sometimes even bringing pieces of kelp over towards us. The call of a killer whale’s exhalation was met with the ubiquitous response of camera shutters and sighs of joy. Using his photographs, Naturalist Mike was able to identify several animals of this pod as belonging to the family group AF, a group of fish-eating killer whales. They were heading towards the Inian Islands and hopefully towards the demise of even more cod and salmon.
Later in the evening, near the small town of Gustavus, Second Mate Chris and I did a little underwater exploring with everyone else aboard National Geographic Sea Bird in tow. Sending live footage back to the ship and using an underwater communication system, we were able to bring guests, staff and crew 40 feet down to the silty bottom. Although visibility may not have been great the wildlife didn’t disappoint. We were having a hard time choosing just which flat fish to film because the longer we stayed down, the more we found. Almost everywhere we moved, a flounder, sole or turbot would dart out of the sediment and leave a cloud of silt behind. Was it us kicking up the bottom or was the bottom exploding with buried fish? Eelpouts would dart in front of us or sometimes bounce off of us resulting in much laughter and confusion. For 30 minutes guests went on a dive with us to a new, unique ecosystem and shared in the joy of exploration without having to don a tight, uncomfortable dry suit and splash down in 45 degree water. Must be nice, I’ll have to try that some time.
