Airship | Pavlof Harbor to Ell Cove

We enjoyed two full days of bears (the ones I posted in the last post), warm weather and sun, jellyfish, two keeper crabs, and one nice silver salmon while in Pavlof Harbor. (I believe these orange jellies are Lion’s Mane jellyfish.) The first night there were only three boats, but the second night–ten. It was quite crowded, and people anchored too close and had to move, and there was a … Read more

Airship | Bears at Pavlof Harbor

We spent a few days in Juneau seeing Kevin’s brother off and reprovisioning before heading out. First night (last night) we stopped in Funter Bay…anchored way back in Crab Cove. We didn’t get any crab, and still had a bit of a rolly night from whatever wind and waves were making their way in. We thought this might be more protected than Coot Cove, and maybe it was, but it … Read more

Airship | Cape Fanshaw Bubblenet Feeding, Windham Bay

Our cruise yesterday from Thomas Bay to Windham Bay was whale-filled, including another (or the same?) group bubblenet feeding right around Cape Fanshaw. I took photos of a few more flukes to identify…uploaded to happywhale.com and will add captions once I have names. (Thanks to Andrea for turning me onto this site…I wish I’d have been doing this every year up here!) This one was identified as humpback whale Launaana … Read more

Airship | Thomas Bay, Scenery Cove, Baird Glacier and the Glacial Lake

We left Cannery Cove on Tuesday morning after pulling the crab pots (2 keepers) and headed out into Frederick Sound. Very little wind and quite nice besides the rain. As we neared Cape Fanshaw we noticed another boat that had been hanging out over there for an hour or so, and since it’s a popular spot with the whales, we adjusted course to veer a little closer, just in case. … Read more

Airship | From Sitka: Appleton Cove, Basket Bay, Takatz Bay

We hung out for a few days in Sitka while waiting for Kevin’s brother Craig to join us. We made pizza one night that turned out super good. Our usual pepperoni with fresh oregano, honey, and hot chili oil, and an experimental one with burnt ends, tomatoes, olives, and jalapeƱos. Both were great! Since we had a spot on the transient dock on the outside of the boat harbor, we … Read more

Airship | Redoubt Bay to Three Entrance Bay

Before we left Redoubt Bay yesterday morning, I took a few photos of the family of eagles hanging out in the trees next to us. We cruised the short 6nm around the corner to Three Entrance Bay, and right outside there were several charter boats fishing, as well as a couple of humpbacks breaching. It was a little far, and rainy and foggy, but I got a few shots anyway: … Read more

Airship | Leesoffskaia Bay, Redoubt Bay

We had a bit of drama yesterday morning in Leesoffskaia Bay! Well, WE didn’t, but this heron sure did. We heard a big racket outside and went to take a look. One eagle was going after a heron — big mid-air maneuvering and uncomfortable sounds from the heron — the eagle forced the heron to land in the water and then it landed in a nearby tree. Another eagle soon … Read more

Airship | From Pelican to Pinta Bay, Kimshan Cove, and Klag Bay

Monday: We opted to leave Pelican on the earlier side (not waiting for the cafe or the store to open)…dropped our lines around 7am and headed for the outside of Chichagof (Pinta Cove, 29nm from Pelican). Once outside Lisianski Strait we had a bit of swell from the southwest mixed with some wind wave and current — just a little rolly but not bad. We entered Imperial Passage and continued … Read more