We left Cannery Cove and Pybus Bay around 6am and headed into foggy but super calm conditions. Our destination today is Explorer Basin on Kuiu Island. Today is a long day (roughly 58nm), and a bit of a detour to make between Pybus and Red Bluff, but the opportunity to see a lot of humpbacks and potentially some bubble net feeding is a huge draw, and today the gamble paid … Read more
We left Scenery Cove around 6am for the 50nm cruise up to Pybus Bay. Water was flat calm and the scenery was majestic. Kevin put the 360 Cam down at the bow and got some killer footage of the porpoises…he wins: We spotted a handful of humpback spouts ahead between Pybus Bay and the Brothers Islands, and Carrie on IF got some nice shots of a mama and a … Read more
Success!! We layered up with warms and waterproofs and headed out in the dinghies toward the mudflats at the head of Thomas Bay with the hope of re-finding our way into the glacial lake in front of Baird Glacier. Baird is no longer a tidewater glacier…blocked off by a moraine of mudflats and rockpiles…but if you’re patient, and time your IN with some water under the keel and OUT before … Read more
A leisurely morning in Petersburg today! Our cruise over to Thomas Bay this morning was barely 20nm, so some of us opted to leave between 10:30 and noon. Ron and Jean on Sound Waves left early and made a detour over to see Le Conte Glacier and they’re so glad they did! On a day like today, the water was flat calm and the ice was plentiful, but they got … Read more
Exchange Cove this morning was stunning in the fog! Kali left earliest to hit Petersburg at slack, and Sara sent me this fantastic shot she got at 4:30am: Then a bit later when the rest of us were up (6ish) I got some more great shots from DeAnne on Turnagain: Dave taking Bodhi to shore for an early morning shore visit: I took a few shots of Turnagain and Sound … Read more
We made a “leave whenever you want to” plan for today…some people left at 7, some at 8 and some not until after 9! Clarence Strait was bumpy for a bit (2-3ft chop, 15-22kts of wind on the nose), but it calmed down eventually and I think most of the boats saw some kind of wildlife along the way. We first saw a couple humpbacks, but didn’t get any great … Read more
Off the Kasaan public dock this morning around 7:30! Calm water and hardly any wind made for a very chill cruise up to Thorne Bay. As we were first heading out, we noticed our new friend Skip in his skiff out fishing, so we detoured a little bit to say goodbye and see ya next time! We saw two humpbacks, but the humpbacks were both pretty mellow, which didn’t make … Read more
We departed the docks in Ketchikan by 6am, hoping for a nice smooth cruise across Clarence Strait (which isn’t always guaranteed). We dodged (okay not really “dodged”) a couple cruise ships on our way north in Tongass Narrows, and were met with relatively calm water and not much wind as we crossed Clarence and headed into Kasaan Bay. We’ve been visiting Kasaan on our own (and once with a small … Read more