While this morning's activities were planned within the south arm of Kelp Bay and included interpretive walks ashore and kayaking, our afternoon had no fixed itinerary. We enjoyed the luxury of no specific plan. The Sea Lion cruised north in Chatham Strait until just past Peril Strait, when we decided to explore Sitkoh Bay. This narrow body of water penetrates some eight miles into the southern end of Chichigof Island. In 1804 Alexander Baranov, the first Governor of the Russian American colonies, laid siege to Sitka to establish a new headquarters for the Russian American Company. More than 1000 Tlinket Indians fled Sitka and settled at the mouth of Sitkoh Bay. There is little evidence of this settlement today but there are signs of other habitation and activity. The surrounding slopes have been logged in decades past and second growth is taking hold. A fishing lodge occupies the shore where there was once a seaplane base. Our Zodiacs explored the head of the bay in a light drizzle, the defining weather in the temperate rain forests of Southeast Alaska. Bald eagles, gulls and terns watched as boatloads of visitors in orange life vests toured their waters, then boarded the Sea Lion, bound for further adventures.