Airship | Flynn Cove to Mosquito Pass

We left Flynn Cove this morning and headed west in Icy Strait. We were hoping to see some humpbacks as we neared Point Adolphus. That turned out to be a big YES. This one below is called a male humpback called Lillian, SEAK-2042, first spotted in Hawaii in March of 2005: Not only that, they were bubble-net feeding. One came pretty close to Melissa Lynn while they were drifting. About … Read more

Airship | Icy Strait: Hoonah, George Islands, Inian Islands, Excursion Inlet

After our trip up Lynn Canal and back, we met up with friends/flotilla folks Ralph and Jeanette (on Rubicon) and Scott (on Impulse) over in Swanson Harbor (where Lynn Canal, Chatham Strait, and Icy Strait all converge). We all got space on the dock and had a nice visit. In the morning, we cruised over to Flynn Cove for one night (Ralph and Jeanette caught a halibut!) and then split … Read more

Day 9 | Flotilla to Alaska Leg 2 | Neka Bay to Swanson Harbor

We left Port Frederick this morning for Swanson Harbor, in the Couverden Islands, at the confluence of Icy Strait and Chatham Strait. The trip over was ideal: light winds, sunshine, calm seas, beautiful scenery. The two public floats (not connected to shore, managed by the city of Haines) were empty when we arrived, so we tied up all three boats to one of the floats. There’s plenty of room to … Read more

Day 7 | Alaska Flotilla Leg 2 | Excursion Inlet to Hoonah

After a group breakfast on the raft, we departed Excursion Inlet for Hoonah. Kevin had a line in the water, and when he pulled it up prior to departing, discovered that a large octopus had decided to snack on some herring for breakfast had gotten itself hooked. We easily freed the octopus at the surface, and felt lucky to get such a close up view of this cool creature!  Crossing … Read more

Day 6 | Alaska Flotilla Leg 2 | Elfin Cove to Excursion Inlet

Sometimes the forecast doesn’t cooperate with the plan. Today we’d intended to go from Elfin Cove to Dundas Bay, a large, scenic bay in Glacier Bay National Park (but outside the permit-required area). The weather today wasn’t the problem, but tomorrow looked a bit worse. Not bad, just a bit rolly when we would be leaving Dundas Bay, where the westerly was predicted to be blowing around 20 knots. Instead … Read more