We said goodbye to the appropriately named Scenery Cove by 6am this morning for our 52nm cruise up Frederick Sound to Cannery Cove in Pybus Bay.
Conditions in Frederick Sound were calm, with just a little occasional drizzle. We saw several humpbacks in the distance, breaching, and tail- and fin-slapping.
Dall’s porpoises surfed the bow of Airship for a half an hour or so.
As we neared the Brothers Islands we spotted a few more humpbacks, and a whole bunch of otters.
I was able to identify this whale from its fluke using the Happy Whale app. The whale doesn’t have a name in the system yet, and is only referred to as SEAK-5206, sex unknown. It’s been seen a lot up here in Alaska (going back to 2014) and some in Hawaii, but today is the first recorded sighting of 2026. Cool!
Cute otter faces! 
Spotted another humpback as we were heading into Pybus Bay.
We’re starting to get a little more blue sky!
We arrived right about noon into Cannery Cove, dropped the anchors, and got busy!
Kevin, Scott, and David all headed out to fish the good halibut spot just before low tide. Several folks put out crab pots, and out came the kayaks and paddleboards. Within the first hour, Julie spotted a brown bear and I managed to snap a couple photos of it from Airship, others got a closer look by dinghy and kayak, and Ralph and Jeanette reported a sow and two cubs in a small inlet, and then another one later in the day. Five bears total.
Admiralty Island (known to the Tlingit people as Kootznoowoo, meaning “Fortress of the Bears”), is a pristine, 1.6-million-acre wilderness here in Southeast Alaska. This island has the highest density of brown bears on earth (estimates say somewhere around 1,600, exceeding the entire population of grizzlies in the Lower 48).
This little seal on the rock pile got all it could out of his perch as the tide rose and took away his sofa.
We hosted a casual happy hour on Airship for whoever wanted to take their eyes off of this view for a moment.
Tomorrow is another long cruise, down to Explorer Basin on Kuiu Island. We’re expecting fabulous weather…just in time for some of the best cruising scenery yet!
