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Thursday | June 16

Red Bluff Bay

Snorkeling Expedition and Cruising for Marine Mammals

An early morning scout in a small boat to the entrance to Red Bluff proves fruitful.  I find two excellent sites to lead my group of snorkelers.  What I look for in a site is an area where tremendous amounts of water cycles by during the ebb and flow of tide-waters.  This is found at the entrance to bays and headlands in larger channels.  One of the exposed rocky reefs is covered with the scrotum-like bodies of bright orange sea anemones.

Back in the ship I help the snorkelers get into their 6 mm wetsuits and ask them to carry boots, gloves, hood, snorkel, mask and fins into the waiting mono-hull. We head to the outside of the bay and land on a Caribbean-like small, white-sand beach! Starfish (not really fish, better to call them sea stars!) are everywhere, exposed by an extremely low tide.

I lead everyone across a small bay through thick kelp forests of Laminaria and Nereocystis to more sheer walls of intertidal goodness.  Every square inch is covered with moving and attached creatures vying for a niche in these biologically productive waters.  I’d have to say, of all the scuba diving and snorkeling I’ve the years in Alaska, this day has to top them all for pure fun.

On our way back to the ship, I ask our driver Jen to pull over toward the shore (where a patch of snow comes down close to waters edge) for a group photo.  Yes, we are all certifiably crazy.

We feel hypo-thermic and take the opportunity to become hyper-thermic in one of our two hot tubs at the stern of the 300-level deck.  Oh, the tingling sensations of capillary re-fill were numbing.

In the afternoon, we enjoy spotting several humpback whales, two of them “logging” at the surface for a mid-day nap.

Dozens of Steller’s Sea Lions swim toward our ship from a haul-out site on the Brothers Islands.  They are very playful and curious and we excited to snap a few pictures of these animals that are Federally listed as “threatened” with extinction.

Wednesday | June 15

Patterson Bay &  Baranof Island

Everybody onboard is excited and express how their vacation has far exceeded their expectations.

Today is a fabulous day for a kayak, and I have the privilege of leading a small group.  There is so much to see and so much to explore in this pristine wilderness area on South Baranof Island.

 

Following are a few notes jotted-down in my “rite-in-the-rain” waterproof journal:  “During the last mile or so of my kayak I was pondering how it is possible that each and every day seems to top the last day in terms of excitement.  I have often heard folks say that they don’t understand how we can possibly have a better day than the day we just had, and yet, invariably, it happens…day, after day, after day.”

“Undoubtedly, each day brings newness and surprises.  Due to the small size of the ship and our collective enthusiasm for being where we are, we have ample opportunities to get to know our fellow travelers.  Stories are swapped in the lounge, at the dinner table, in the hot tubs or out on the viewing decks.  Everybody seems to be relaxed, in a mood for a great time and certainly not caught up with appearances.  Preconceived ideas are dropped from our minds and we allow ourselves to get lost in each and every moment”

“After a certain amount of time hanging-out and getting to know each other, it seems as if we all become exposed to some kind of magic potion that gives us the capacity to be more receptive to the beauty and the power of the place that surrounds us.”

“Certainly we forget unimportant things like what day of the week it is, have little interest in current events in the world and have little time to think about what the boss back home might be thinking.  We let go of all worrisome, nagging doubts and become connected to something greater.  Is it possible that we are absolutely “in the present”?  Have we all arrived at the state-of-being where all that matters is the here and now? I am certain that a significant transformation takes place.”

Saturday | June 11th

The Voyage North from Ketchikan to Juneau begins at 4 p.m. with a new group of very energetic guests.  After settling into cabins, attending “welcome aboard” orientation meetings in the lounge and eating dinner, we are all astonished by a sunset that lasts for almost an hour.  What a way to begin a vacation!  The water is absolutely mesmerizing and hundreds, if not thousands of pictures are digitally etched on memory cards.

 

 

   

Sunday | June 12

We awoke in El Capitan Passage surrounded by breathtaking Tongass National Forest and then treked up to El Capitan Cave, where 400,000-year-old bones have been found. We had a great tour with National Forest Service Rangers Chad Bevenger and Cherie Barth.  Cherie does a terrific job of interpreting the highlights of the cave.  Guests enjoy donning their helmets and flashlights for the tour inside of the karst caves. El Capitan Cave is the longest mapped cave in Alaska.

Check out the video of our tour!

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