This morning National Geographic Sea Lion made her way to the most marine of environments for our week long expedition to Southeast Alaska. The Inian Islands are the last small islands that make up the border between Icy Strait and Cross Sound. Just west of Cross Sound is the open Pacific Ocean. The changing tides push massive amounts of water into the sound. As the water churns around the islands, eddies and maelstroms are formed. These water disturbances can confuse fish as they make their way into Southeast Alaska from the open Pacific Ocean. Many animals take advantage of this and hunt for food in the Inian Island area. These include humpback whales and Stellar sea lions. Sea otters also hunt in the area. The largest member of the weasel family, sea otter males can be over 90 lbs. and they ply these waters in search of food in many forms. We had the chance to go out in our fleet of expedition landing craft to witness the tidal change and see the animals taking advantage of it. Several sea otters were seen amongst the abundant kelp in small bays.
In the afternoon the ship was repositioned to a small island called George Island. The island was the center of activity during World War Two. There was a concern that the Japanese fleet may try and use the inside passage for safe travel all the way to Seattle. A gun emplacement was built and soldiers stationed to counter any Japanese advance. We walked on a trail to the gun which is still present on the island. Other activities offered included kayaking or paddle boarding in the small cove where the ship was anchored.
Tomorrow we move on to Glacier Bay National Park and see one of the jewels of the National Park system.
