Frederick Sound
Mists were creeping through the forests like ghosts of the night as we climbed out of bed to and on to the decks to see what adventures the day might bring. Stephens Passage lay ahead as we sailed west towards Red Bluff Bay on Baranof Island. As we entered the bay we discovered a magical place. A rainbow at the end of the narrow fjord lit up patches of fog. The red cliffs were draped with tendrils of falling water. Schools of salmon and occasional lion’s mane jelly fish swam in clear view. Over 100 marbled murrelets and dozens of Bonapartes gulls fed on small euphosid shrimp. Six bald eagles rested in the moss draped trees. We felt we had found Eden.
After breakfast we returned east to explore Chatham Straight. Sharp eyes on deck soon spotted some blows and before long we were next to a humpback whale. The captain maneuvered the Sea Bird until we were actually able to follow the whale underwater. The whale swam directly towards us until we were able to see its barnacle-encrusted huge pectoral flippers. At least six other blows were scattered around the horizon.
Our resident botanist and historian William brought everybody together for a slide-illustrated talk on the history of Russia in America. It was a fascinating tale most significantly based on the killing of sea otters for their pelts and the fact that the US government bought the whole state for less than two cents an acre
We arrived at Saginaw Bay on Kuiu Island at lunch time and in the afternoon we kayaked in the bay and explored the intertidal on foot. By now everybody felt comfortable in a kayak and could explore the shoreline around a point to observe a pictograph high up on a cliff. A close look over the side of our kayaks showed the ocean to be thick with plankton. A sea otter paid a surprise visit which pleased everyone enormously.
Others explored the intertidal area of the beach and the beautiful flowers on the cliff including the blue hairbells. The cliffs themselves were rich in fossils and we easily found corals and brachiopods from times long past.
Mists were creeping through the forests like ghosts of the night as we climbed out of bed to and on to the decks to see what adventures the day might bring. Stephens Passage lay ahead as we sailed west towards Red Bluff Bay on Baranof Island. As we entered the bay we discovered a magical place. A rainbow at the end of the narrow fjord lit up patches of fog. The red cliffs were draped with tendrils of falling water. Schools of salmon and occasional lion’s mane jelly fish swam in clear view. Over 100 marbled murrelets and dozens of Bonapartes gulls fed on small euphosid shrimp. Six bald eagles rested in the moss draped trees. We felt we had found Eden.
After breakfast we returned east to explore Chatham Straight. Sharp eyes on deck soon spotted some blows and before long we were next to a humpback whale. The captain maneuvered the Sea Bird until we were actually able to follow the whale underwater. The whale swam directly towards us until we were able to see its barnacle-encrusted huge pectoral flippers. At least six other blows were scattered around the horizon.
Our resident botanist and historian William brought everybody together for a slide-illustrated talk on the history of Russia in America. It was a fascinating tale most significantly based on the killing of sea otters for their pelts and the fact that the US government bought the whole state for less than two cents an acre
We arrived at Saginaw Bay on Kuiu Island at lunch time and in the afternoon we kayaked in the bay and explored the intertidal on foot. By now everybody felt comfortable in a kayak and could explore the shoreline around a point to observe a pictograph high up on a cliff. A close look over the side of our kayaks showed the ocean to be thick with plankton. A sea otter paid a surprise visit which pleased everyone enormously.
Others explored the intertidal area of the beach and the beautiful flowers on the cliff including the blue hairbells. The cliffs themselves were rich in fossils and we easily found corals and brachiopods from times long past.
