The Disappearing Beach, Kelp Bay, Baranof Island, Alaska
It was “blowin’ a hoolie” out there, which is to say that a low pressure system had seized Southeast Alaska, bringing strong winds through the major channels. Captain George Doherty and Expedition Leader Bud Lehnhausen combined their years of experience and brought us into Kelp Bay, on Baranof Island, where the steep slopes provided protection from the wind. We looked out across a broad tidal mudflat and coastal meadow, with harbor seals hauled out at the water’s edge. It was a fine spot for a kayak experience, a vigorous hike across the meadow and through the forest, or a more leisurely Zodiac cruise along the shoreline. As the tide turned and began to rise the seals left the beach, and soon each or our fleet of colorful watercraft was surrounded by bobbing, round heads with large dark eyes gazing at us in apparent curiosity.
As we were going about our morning activities the crew of the Sea Birdwas busy preparing a surprise – a barbecue lunch on the shore beneath a series of waterfalls cascading through the forest, with harlequin ducks and marbled murrelets swimming just offshore. What an idyllic spot! And in the process we learned about the tides in an Alaskan fjord. Low tide: -2.5 feet at 08:30; high tide: +11 feet at 2:30. That is a 13 ½ foot change over six hours. And that means that our barbecue beach was disappearing pretty darn quickly. We moved the first row of chairs, then the second row, then the life jackets, and, finally, everything that we could grab and carry to higher ground ahead of the rapidly rising water. A stubborn few held their place and ate their cookies with the rising water lapping around their rubber boots (without which we would NEVER go ashore!) It is funny how the unanticipated event often turns out to be the most memorable, but that is the nature of an Expedition.
It was “blowin’ a hoolie” out there, which is to say that a low pressure system had seized Southeast Alaska, bringing strong winds through the major channels. Captain George Doherty and Expedition Leader Bud Lehnhausen combined their years of experience and brought us into Kelp Bay, on Baranof Island, where the steep slopes provided protection from the wind. We looked out across a broad tidal mudflat and coastal meadow, with harbor seals hauled out at the water’s edge. It was a fine spot for a kayak experience, a vigorous hike across the meadow and through the forest, or a more leisurely Zodiac cruise along the shoreline. As the tide turned and began to rise the seals left the beach, and soon each or our fleet of colorful watercraft was surrounded by bobbing, round heads with large dark eyes gazing at us in apparent curiosity.
As we were going about our morning activities the crew of the Sea Birdwas busy preparing a surprise – a barbecue lunch on the shore beneath a series of waterfalls cascading through the forest, with harlequin ducks and marbled murrelets swimming just offshore. What an idyllic spot! And in the process we learned about the tides in an Alaskan fjord. Low tide: -2.5 feet at 08:30; high tide: +11 feet at 2:30. That is a 13 ½ foot change over six hours. And that means that our barbecue beach was disappearing pretty darn quickly. We moved the first row of chairs, then the second row, then the life jackets, and, finally, everything that we could grab and carry to higher ground ahead of the rapidly rising water. A stubborn few held their place and ate their cookies with the rising water lapping around their rubber boots (without which we would NEVER go ashore!) It is funny how the unanticipated event often turns out to be the most memorable, but that is the nature of an Expedition.
