After two beautiful days in British Columbia, the Sea Lion reentered the United States early this morning, and at 0600 the call came to our cabins that a welcoming committee of Killer Whales had been spotted ahead. Many of us rushed to the bow of the ship dressed creatively and rubbing the sleep out of our eyes to quite a wonderful sight. Across the glassy, calm water around the Hog Islands, a large male, 3 females and a calf killer whale were swimming close together and rolling against one another. Soon another large male was sighted about 200 yards away from the group. This male was playing with a raft of kelp and kept clear of the small family group. All these whales had the round-tipped dorsal fin of resident whale pods but lacked any distinctive marks that would help us identify them, in spite of the extensive effort of many of us leafing through the identification guide. There are well over 400 killer whales known by their distinctive dorsal fins and/or saddle patches in Southeast Alaska, but this group did not easily fit the description of any of those known. We watched this group gliding through the smooth, morning inland waters for 1 ½ hours and then left them to their killer whale business while we went about ours--eating breakfast. What a wonderful way to celebrate our entry into the abundance of Southeast Alaska.
Larry Hobbs, Naturalist
Ketchikan, ALASKA!
We crossed the line around 1 AM this morning. I think that this is my 12th season and it's still very exciting to come up through British Columbia, see more and more eagles, run across a few blackfish and then you're there. It's Alaska, it smells great, it feels good and the look is panoramic. You can feel the energy of this grand state the minute you cross the line.
For instance, Six AM it's a small pod of orca off of Hog Islands, flat calm conditions, low clouds, high snow on the mountains and clean air on the water. Not a bad way to start our day in Ketchikan (see picture above). Yesterday - We played in Oatswish Bay, kayaks, Zodiacs and Sea Lion in the waterfall at Fjordlands National Park, British Columbia (see yesterday's Daily Expedition Report ).
Tomorrow - Wrangell Narrows, Petersburg, Zodiacs and Planes at Le Conte Bar.
