Iyoukeen Cove, Chatham Strait and Icy Strait
The third day of our adventure began outside Iyoukeen Cove, just southwest of the intersections of Chatham Strait and Icy Strait.
The clouds that had obscured our skies for several days now were in tatters as the morning sun tore through them with enthusiasm. Shafts of light streamed through great gashes in the overcast while double rainbows framed the tree-lined shore.
Off in the distance, near a wooded point of land, a dozen whale spouts created the illusion of a fireworks finale. The humpbacks were on a school of fish—possibly herring—and they wasted little time. One by one, they dove in an orderly manner, creating chaos for the unfortunate fish, and breakfast for themselves and the flocks of hungry gulls, as they rocketed to the surface like so many attack subs.
The pods moved about the area, presumably to maintain contact with their elusive prey, while individual whales engaged in a variety of surface behaviors like slapping the water with their pectoral fins and flukes, slashing the surface, and breaching repeatedly… Wow!
While having lunch in the dining room, guests were treated to the sight of tall black dorsal fins—Orcas. Three males and a female (possibly a sub-adult male) were heading south. They were four abreast, but nearly a mile from each other, possibly staying in touch with each other through a kind of acoustic hand-holding.
The afternoon was peppered with sightings of more than a dozen harbor porpoise, at least three parasitic jaegers, hundreds of moon jellies, and spectacular scenery.
A series of pre-dinner walks at Fox creek finished the days activities.
Tomorrow is another day—we can’t wait.
