Inside Passage, Seattle to Seymour Narrows
On Wednesday evening Sea Lion guests were out of the chute with an evening tour of Seattle’s waterfront, Salmon Bay, Lakes Union and Washington, and the Hiram Chittenden locks. The next morning, under sunny blue skies, the San Juan Islands rose off the starboard with Vancouver Island dominating the port. This passage was backed by the snow-covered peaks of the Olympic Mountains to the south. During the morning most guests migrated to the top decks, settled into deck chairs, while the Naturalist team described the surrounding panorama.
After identifying Harbor porpoises, Dall’s porpoises, Harbor seals, and one lonely Steller’s sea lion, the first presentation was given in the lounge. Historian Junius Rochester reviewed Euro-American (and Chinese) incursions along the Pacific Coast, from the Columbia River to the North Pacific, 1500s to the 1800s.
Most guests returned to the decks after lunch and saw gulls, Rhinoceros auklets and the voyage’s first Bald eagle. The Marine Highway was busy with Canadian ferries and pleasure craft moving alongside the Sea Lion. Signs of human habitation were seen along the cliffs and shoreline of British Columbia’s Saturna, Mayne, Galiano and Gabriola Islands – known collectively as the Gulf Islands. During the afternoon guests attended Naturalist Elizabeth Bradfield’s power point presentation on sea birds in the lounge and Wellness Specialist Susan Weber’s Wellness Open House on the Bridge Deck.
Although occurring later tonight in darkness, the Sea Lion’s transit through the swift tidal currents of Seymour Narrows is anticipated by everyone. A brief description of that legendary site was presented during Recap.
On Wednesday evening Sea Lion guests were out of the chute with an evening tour of Seattle’s waterfront, Salmon Bay, Lakes Union and Washington, and the Hiram Chittenden locks. The next morning, under sunny blue skies, the San Juan Islands rose off the starboard with Vancouver Island dominating the port. This passage was backed by the snow-covered peaks of the Olympic Mountains to the south. During the morning most guests migrated to the top decks, settled into deck chairs, while the Naturalist team described the surrounding panorama.
After identifying Harbor porpoises, Dall’s porpoises, Harbor seals, and one lonely Steller’s sea lion, the first presentation was given in the lounge. Historian Junius Rochester reviewed Euro-American (and Chinese) incursions along the Pacific Coast, from the Columbia River to the North Pacific, 1500s to the 1800s.
Most guests returned to the decks after lunch and saw gulls, Rhinoceros auklets and the voyage’s first Bald eagle. The Marine Highway was busy with Canadian ferries and pleasure craft moving alongside the Sea Lion. Signs of human habitation were seen along the cliffs and shoreline of British Columbia’s Saturna, Mayne, Galiano and Gabriola Islands – known collectively as the Gulf Islands. During the afternoon guests attended Naturalist Elizabeth Bradfield’s power point presentation on sea birds in the lounge and Wellness Specialist Susan Weber’s Wellness Open House on the Bridge Deck.
Although occurring later tonight in darkness, the Sea Lion’s transit through the swift tidal currents of Seymour Narrows is anticipated by everyone. A brief description of that legendary site was presented during Recap.
