After a night of riding the swells across Hectate Strait, we woke to calm waters alongside Mary Island. Coffee in hand, we watched three humpback whales just off the unique square lighthouse. After breakfast we entered Behm Canal and the Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness. Here, we have a Lindblad tradition where guests travel ahead of the ship via Zodiac and photograph National Geographic Sea Lion as she comes through Owl Pass. On her port side is a massive natural rock formation that resembles the face of an owl. Further up, the calm waters at the head of Rudyerd Bay allows for fun Zodiac rides and kayaking. Sediments in the shallow waters sparkled with golden glitter flakes of pyrite. We wrapped up the day with cocktail hour on the bow as we paused in the glorious God’s Punchbowl off Rudyerd Pass.
4/26/2025
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National Geographic Sea Lion
Tracy Arm
After a soggy day in Petersburg, we were thrilled to find our day in Tracy Arm flooded with sunshine instead of raindrops. Winding through the labyrinthine fjord is always an adventure this time of year, and we prepared for a veritable wall of frozen icebergs. But the fjord was surprisingly clear until the final bend, where a thick layer of pan ice stopped us in our tracks. Undeterred, we boarded our Zodiacs, crept below the steep cliffs, and prodded into the pan ice perimeter as far as we dared. Several mountain goats watched us from above, and a couple of curious harbor seals followed in our wake, patiently waiting for the pan ice to melt so they can wiggle onto the massive bergs and pup their young. A handful of humpbacks escorted us north through Stephens Passage, along with some blissfully calm water and more of that rare Alaskan sunshine. We have a long sail ahead of us this evening as we motor more than 160 miles toward mystical Glacier Bay.
