Wednesday, August 21, 2002 -- Ketchikan, Alaska (Mary Island) to Khutzeymateen Inlet, BC
The Na'walak crew for the week included five people from Orcas Island (Dave, the skipper; Deb, the chef; Michael; Loren; and Jim) and my mother and me. All are very interesting, intelligent people, which made it fun to sail with them.
We managed a little bit of sailing today, but mostly motoring. There was a bad weather report for the open crossing, so we got a very early start (3:00 or 4:00 a.m., I think). Didn't bother me a bit, as I just slept in my cozy bunk until I darn well felt like getting up. I don't know when I have slept so well or so much in my life.
Bald Eagle, on the wing
We took a little detour to Khutzeymateen, which is a grizzly bear reserve, in hopes of finding the elusive griz. No luck on that, but it is a beautiful spot, regardless.
Eagle flying in Khutzeymateen
Dave has an inflatable dinghy with an electric motor, which allowed us to move almost silently through estuaries and up rivers. Actually, I must admit to a little relief at not stumbling across a grizzly bear under those circumstances...the last thing I want to do is to sneak up on one! We did see and hear a lot of bald eagles, both mature and im-.
Immature Bald Eagle
On our way back to the Na'walak, we had a strange experience: at least 40 (probably many more) seals escorted us. I don't remember seeing that many seals in one place before, and it was a bit surreal to have them swimming alongside and behind us. The longer they stayed with us, the bolder they became, and so they got incrementally closer. It was so still in the inlet that we could hear them clearing their sinuses when they popped up to breathe, and a couple of Beavis and Butthead seals seemed to enjoy following behind, making rude noises.
Stalker Seals in the Rain
We also had a pink (humpy) salmon playing remora to our dinghy's shark. It swam along behind us, near enough to the propeller to make us nervous. Michael was able to reach down and grab it, but it slipped away like a greased...well, salmon. We're a little worried that it then became seal food. Maybe that's why they were all following us in the first place. Who knows how many salmon we had under the boat?
More seals
Thursday, August 22, 2002 -- Khutzeymateen Inlet to Prince Rupert, BC
Today, we had a fairly long, gray, rough (at times) run down to Prince Rupert. We did see a humpback whale or two, although we couldn't see too much in the rough water. We also spent some time to watch a purse seiner set their net and haul in what looked like a decent catch. Their net was also full of jelly fish, the red, stinging kind, which didn't seem too fun to me.
After dealing with customs, who weren't too pleased about us spending a night in BC without telling them, we had dinner ashore in Cow Bay. Everything in this part of town--dumpsters, garbage cans, barriers--is painted with a Holstein pattern.
Three bald eagles (one immature) in Khutzeymateen tree
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last modified: September 6, 2002