Misty Fiords, Alaska
Oh, me father was the keeper of the Eddystone Light,
He slept with a mermaid one fine night.
Results of their union there came three:
A porpoise and a porgie,
And the other was me!
Yo, ho, ho, and the wind blows free,
Oh for the life on the rolling sea!
(Traditional Sea Shanty)
In 1793 Captain George Vancouver was exploring and charting these waters when he saw this rock in the Behm Canal. It so reminded him of the Eddystone Lighthouse, his last sight of England as he departed, he gave it the name New Eddystone Rock. The canal was so named in recognition of the kind treatment that Magnus von Behm, the Governor of Kamchatka, had shown to a previous expedition when Vancouver had served as a midshipman under Capt. James Cook.
We were called from the warmth of our cabins by an announcement that whales had been spotted. Our early call proved well worth heeding. Close to Eddystone Rock we found a small pack of the wolves of the sea – transient killer whales in agitated pursuit of at least three Humpbacks.
But our morning among the mammals was nowhere near over. Small groups of both dalls and harbor porpoise paid us visits, as did a harbor seal. After Sea Lion entered a small side channel, her Zodiacs were lowered and we set off to explore. Some of us were favored with a close-up view of a brown mink sheltering amid the roots of a downed cedar tree. A brown bear, or grizzly, foraged in a meadow of lush grass for nutritious roots, while curious young harbor seals watched us. A handsome, blue and black steller jay picked over seashore vegetation in search of breakfast, while a hermit sought tidbits beneath the spray of a waterfall. Eagles, mergansers, murres and murrelets, gulls and guillemots ignored us, all busy with their own affairs.
We returned to our mother ship to a welcome of hot chocolate followed by lunch. A small choir was formed to express our joy with a serenade. As once more we passed the Rock, we raised our voices in the Eddystone shanty. Yo, Ho, Ho, indeed!
Oh, me father was the keeper of the Eddystone Light,
He slept with a mermaid one fine night.
Results of their union there came three:
A porpoise and a porgie,
And the other was me!
Yo, ho, ho, and the wind blows free,
Oh for the life on the rolling sea!
(Traditional Sea Shanty)
In 1793 Captain George Vancouver was exploring and charting these waters when he saw this rock in the Behm Canal. It so reminded him of the Eddystone Lighthouse, his last sight of England as he departed, he gave it the name New Eddystone Rock. The canal was so named in recognition of the kind treatment that Magnus von Behm, the Governor of Kamchatka, had shown to a previous expedition when Vancouver had served as a midshipman under Capt. James Cook.
We were called from the warmth of our cabins by an announcement that whales had been spotted. Our early call proved well worth heeding. Close to Eddystone Rock we found a small pack of the wolves of the sea – transient killer whales in agitated pursuit of at least three Humpbacks.
But our morning among the mammals was nowhere near over. Small groups of both dalls and harbor porpoise paid us visits, as did a harbor seal. After Sea Lion entered a small side channel, her Zodiacs were lowered and we set off to explore. Some of us were favored with a close-up view of a brown mink sheltering amid the roots of a downed cedar tree. A brown bear, or grizzly, foraged in a meadow of lush grass for nutritious roots, while curious young harbor seals watched us. A handsome, blue and black steller jay picked over seashore vegetation in search of breakfast, while a hermit sought tidbits beneath the spray of a waterfall. Eagles, mergansers, murres and murrelets, gulls and guillemots ignored us, all busy with their own affairs.
We returned to our mother ship to a welcome of hot chocolate followed by lunch. A small choir was formed to express our joy with a serenade. As once more we passed the Rock, we raised our voices in the Eddystone shanty. Yo, Ho, Ho, indeed!
