Icy Straits, George Island, Inian Islands, Point Adolphus
George Island is a small island at the west end of Icy Strait. It sits right at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, at the northernmost entrance of Southeast Alaska’s Inside Passage. Because of its strategic location, during WWII a 6-inch gun was installed on the island to protect Cross Sound. Ruins of the old military buildings, as well as that gun are still scattered over the island. We explored George Island, walking on its hilly trails through young forest to the old gun and gorgeous views of other steep shorelines and distant, snow covered mountains. Those of us who cruised the island’s shore by Zodiac found orange and purple sea stars clinging tightly to the rocks, and an abundance of kelp in clear, blue-green water. On the horizon, many fishing boats were readying for an opening for Chinook and Coho salmon. Kayakers noticed many different species of jellyfish. Best of all? The sunshine overhead and the stunning views of the enormous, snow-covered mountains of the Fairweather Range.
We spent the afternoon in the Inian islands, cruising by Zodiac near a rock island which is a haulout for Steller sea lions. Currents can be strong here, and the water surface alternated between chop and smooth, glassy water. Seawater and salmon alike are forced through the channels among the Inian islands when returning to the Inside Passage, and the Steller sea lions living here are situated perfectly to catch returning salmon. We saw sea lions with entire salmon in their mouths. Unable to chew the fish, they whack it against the surface, biting it in half before swallowing. Gulls flew down to the water’s surface, picking up leftovers. Some groups of sea lions swam near the Zodiacs and watched and followed us, occasionally jumping clear of the water! What fun to watch!
In the late afternoon, National Geographic Expeditions speaker David Silverberg gave a presentation about coastal temperate rainforest. Then, as we neared Point Adolphus, we saw two very active humpback whales. They were slapping their enormous pectoral flippers on surface. Then they started to breach. Flipper slap, breach, flipper slap, breach, flipper slap . . . and on and on. Another humpback in the area breached as well. Based on the size on the animals, we figured the pair near the ship was a mother and calf. The breaching continued, again and again. . . and again. Occasionally we saw tail flukes, or pectoral flippers as the whales rolled on their sides and backs. The early evening lighting (actual SUNSHINE!) was beautiful. After a while, most of us got chilly and headed to the lounge, where, thanks to Captain Kalbach, we had beautiful views of the whales. We sat in the warmth of the lounge enjoying salmon paté, watching the humpback mother and calf breach. I noticed two glasses of champagne sparkling in the sun right in front of a window that looked out at the Fairweather Mountains, and then the two whales breached simultaneously. What a beautiful day to celebrate!
George Island is a small island at the west end of Icy Strait. It sits right at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, at the northernmost entrance of Southeast Alaska’s Inside Passage. Because of its strategic location, during WWII a 6-inch gun was installed on the island to protect Cross Sound. Ruins of the old military buildings, as well as that gun are still scattered over the island. We explored George Island, walking on its hilly trails through young forest to the old gun and gorgeous views of other steep shorelines and distant, snow covered mountains. Those of us who cruised the island’s shore by Zodiac found orange and purple sea stars clinging tightly to the rocks, and an abundance of kelp in clear, blue-green water. On the horizon, many fishing boats were readying for an opening for Chinook and Coho salmon. Kayakers noticed many different species of jellyfish. Best of all? The sunshine overhead and the stunning views of the enormous, snow-covered mountains of the Fairweather Range.
We spent the afternoon in the Inian islands, cruising by Zodiac near a rock island which is a haulout for Steller sea lions. Currents can be strong here, and the water surface alternated between chop and smooth, glassy water. Seawater and salmon alike are forced through the channels among the Inian islands when returning to the Inside Passage, and the Steller sea lions living here are situated perfectly to catch returning salmon. We saw sea lions with entire salmon in their mouths. Unable to chew the fish, they whack it against the surface, biting it in half before swallowing. Gulls flew down to the water’s surface, picking up leftovers. Some groups of sea lions swam near the Zodiacs and watched and followed us, occasionally jumping clear of the water! What fun to watch!
In the late afternoon, National Geographic Expeditions speaker David Silverberg gave a presentation about coastal temperate rainforest. Then, as we neared Point Adolphus, we saw two very active humpback whales. They were slapping their enormous pectoral flippers on surface. Then they started to breach. Flipper slap, breach, flipper slap, breach, flipper slap . . . and on and on. Another humpback in the area breached as well. Based on the size on the animals, we figured the pair near the ship was a mother and calf. The breaching continued, again and again. . . and again. Occasionally we saw tail flukes, or pectoral flippers as the whales rolled on their sides and backs. The early evening lighting (actual SUNSHINE!) was beautiful. After a while, most of us got chilly and headed to the lounge, where, thanks to Captain Kalbach, we had beautiful views of the whales. We sat in the warmth of the lounge enjoying salmon paté, watching the humpback mother and calf breach. I noticed two glasses of champagne sparkling in the sun right in front of a window that looked out at the Fairweather Mountains, and then the two whales breached simultaneously. What a beautiful day to celebrate!
