Rafting fun.

From a day of whale sighting and photography, we sailed into Warm Springs, the next anchorage north.  We rafted up to Misty Fjords, a small excursion vessel, with Caption Jerry's permission and four cans of very good beer as a thank you.  We hiked up to the Lake Baranof, then took in the public bath house with constant piping of sulfer laden water mixed with ice cold waterfall runoff.

A luxury in the wilderness, public hot bath!

Warm Springs, many gloves laundry day

Boardwalk Village Warm Springs

Bubble Feeding

We had about four hours to view and shoot several families of humpbacks.  They surfaced right behind Allusion and came within 5 to 10 feet of the port side, so close my telephoto lens couldn't get the entire shot, but I did get a fairly good photo of the nostrils of one of them.  I tried to capture as many soundings as possible and noticed the different fluke designs of several individuals.  It was incredible day of close up encounters with these magnificent mammals.

Brandon and Annie joined us after hours traveling  from Missoula and a late arrival to tiny Kake.  We left the next morning and headed for Baranof Island in calm seas to anchor in a quiet harbor with many waterfalls.  The next day we exited and headed north up the east side and almost immediately sighted whales.

Annie whale watching on deck

Brandon shooting on the bow.

Unidentified swimmy critter.

Tim and I have listened to  dozens of fishermen since we've been in these northern waters.  Overwhelmingly nearly all believe that the current fishing practices are not sustainable, same as elsewhere on this planet. We are in Kake, Alaska, a tiny Tlinglit community where nearly all are or were fishermen.  They have fished themselves out of a livelihood and some blame the fish and game folks for not seeing the future outcome, some are just bitter that the past is gone and overfishing can't continue.  That said, traditional practices are long gone, and all use nets with by-catch. It seems to me that we are all culpable; those of us who purchase this unsustained product but especially non local fish such as tuna and sardines, and those who choose to make this industry their livelihood with over harvesting to make a living in six weeks of work.  It's impossible not to have an opinion about it, now seeing first-hand what has occurred here over the last century and that learning from past mistakes in the name of greed is ignored.  

Local fish, shrimp or crab is not available anywhere here in the local markets and some residents now say that they can't even get fish for themselves.  For many of these folks, it is the whales, sea lions, sea otters (they eat crab) and seals who are the enemies, not the fractured human practices of over harvesting herring, salmon, shrimp and crab.  The "abundance of fish",  I am learning, is a myth.  Old timers agree.

I put a line in recently and found only the little weird fellow in the photo above.

     Most everyone we meet is a current power boater and a small number are ex-sailors.  It seems that folks cross over from sailing to power but we went the opposite direction and whether a wise choice or not, we have yet to know.  For every thirty power boats, there is one sail boat. We also meet many power boaters who never tire of letting us know that Tim and I are, nevertheless, mostly motoring on this journey since the prevailing winds are either Northerlies or Southerlies.  That said, we have sailed every day but one since we left Poulsbo in mid May.  Every chance we get, we hoist the sails even if just for 15 minute increments.  We have had several stellar days with hours of perfect winds for excellent sailing.  We’re grateful.  

     Cruising the inside passage is challenging whether powering or sailing.  There are countless logs and wispy rafts of kelp to avoid, extreme currents and tides, shallow and/or crazy narrow passages, wildly dangerous rapids, fishing boats, crab and shrimp pots to avoid, cruise ships lunging at you through the fog and powerful, unexpected winds that can whip up even at anchor, called williwogs.  Once in Alaska, the charts are not reliable, depths are uncertain and rocks not charted. The boating guides that do exist are at least ten years old.  Suitable anchorages can be uncomfortably distant from each other.  Meeting up with other boaters and sharing local knowledge has been a vital help on this leg of the journey. The few sailors we do meet tell us that blue water (ocean and outside) is much better even with the gale force winds.  A sail boat can handle it, most trawlers and tugs can’t.  Has me wondering….

Henry's Arm in Pybus Bay, Admiralty Island
We were here in absolute solitude other than a few eagles.