Tenakee Inlet and Basket Bay, Chichagof Island, Southeast Alaska - August 8, 2005
“Thar she blows!” rang out early this morning as we headed into Tenakee Inlet on the East side of Chichagof Island. Two young humpback whales were surfacing in the calm waters of the inlet, their tall spouts hanging in the still air as we approached. These were two sub-adults, younger animals that weighed in at a mere 30,000 pounds or so (adult humpback whales may weigh as much as 45 tons). Our whales decided to grace us with a look at the underneath side of their flukes, allowing us to take pictures that might be used in helping to identify them by the pigment pattern of black and white on the ventral side of their tails.
To add to our excitement, Naturalist Lee Moll found a mother brown bear with her cub of the year (coy) in the shallow waters of a small salmon stream. Both bears were feeding on salmon and seemed to be quite content as we approached. Captain Kalbach positioned the M/V Sea Bird perfectly for an awesome view of both the mother and her cub. Simply amazing!
Perhaps the most exciting part of our day came after lunch as we launched the Zodiacs in Basket Bay for a close look at the Marble Grotto. Turning the corner into the narrow grotto was like going back to a prehistoric place and time. Water droplets gently fell into the waters all around us as we ducked to pull the Zodiacs into the small cave-like marble arches which surrounded us. Pink Salmon are running in vast numbers against the fresh water outflow from the lake above. At one point we simply shut down the motor and drifted back in time…
Our younger guests got an extra bonus late this afternoon as each and every one of them got the opportunity to learn how to drive the Zodiacs. Basket Bay was buzzing with youngsters putting our expedition craft through real life tests. Although these boats are designed and tested for military usage, our young guests pushed them to their absolute limits!
“Thar she blows!” rang out early this morning as we headed into Tenakee Inlet on the East side of Chichagof Island. Two young humpback whales were surfacing in the calm waters of the inlet, their tall spouts hanging in the still air as we approached. These were two sub-adults, younger animals that weighed in at a mere 30,000 pounds or so (adult humpback whales may weigh as much as 45 tons). Our whales decided to grace us with a look at the underneath side of their flukes, allowing us to take pictures that might be used in helping to identify them by the pigment pattern of black and white on the ventral side of their tails.
To add to our excitement, Naturalist Lee Moll found a mother brown bear with her cub of the year (coy) in the shallow waters of a small salmon stream. Both bears were feeding on salmon and seemed to be quite content as we approached. Captain Kalbach positioned the M/V Sea Bird perfectly for an awesome view of both the mother and her cub. Simply amazing!
Perhaps the most exciting part of our day came after lunch as we launched the Zodiacs in Basket Bay for a close look at the Marble Grotto. Turning the corner into the narrow grotto was like going back to a prehistoric place and time. Water droplets gently fell into the waters all around us as we ducked to pull the Zodiacs into the small cave-like marble arches which surrounded us. Pink Salmon are running in vast numbers against the fresh water outflow from the lake above. At one point we simply shut down the motor and drifted back in time…
Our younger guests got an extra bonus late this afternoon as each and every one of them got the opportunity to learn how to drive the Zodiacs. Basket Bay was buzzing with youngsters putting our expedition craft through real life tests. Although these boats are designed and tested for military usage, our young guests pushed them to their absolute limits!
