Lots of miles to cover today. We departed early—about
5:30—so we could make it to Sergius Narrows for slack water at 9:00. Traffic
was light as I navigated through narrow Neva Strait and Olga Strait.
We arrived at Sergius Narrows about 30 minutes early and
transited with a nice boost from the current. After many uneventful hours we
made it into a very calm Chatham Strait. Humpback whales were all around, and
we enjoyed watching various groups of them. One group of perhaps six put on a
great show, surfacing fewer than 100 feet from the boat.
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| Lots of humpbacks! |
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| They typically dove deep in unison. |
As we approached Ell Cove the water came alive. Salmon,
headed for Hidden Falls Hatchery, were jumping everywhere. Then, not far off, I
spotted a small group. We watched them for a bit, then made our way into Ell
Cove and dropped the hook.
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| Orcas, too. |
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| At least five of them. |
With the salmon running we hoped to see some bears at the
hatchery. Soon after arriving we piled into the dinghy and set off. After
watching for half an hour with no bears in sight, we hiked up to the lake. When
we got back down, there were still no bears, so we headed back to the boat for
dinner.
After dinner we went back to the hatchery and were well
rewarded for our persistence. A lone bear fished in the creek, then a few more.
Then, not 50 feet away, a sow and three cubs emerged. The cubs played while mom
fished. She ate several fish by herself, then caught one more and took it to
her cubs.
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| The failed fisherman. |
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| Mom and three cubs. |
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| Mom got a fish. |
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| And quickly devoured it, and several more. |
Humpbacks, orcas, and brown bears. Not a bad first day in
Alaska!
74.85 nm today
1242.87 nm total
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