Our day today started in a very nice way when the National Geographic Sea Lion entered the small and narrow Red Bluff Bay. Located on the eastern coast of Baranof Island, Red Bluff Bay gets its name after a prominent reddish formation with very little vegetation. But the most dramatic feature of the picturesque bay is how narrow it is, particularly at its entrance; a very nice large waterfall surrounded by Sitka spruces and western hemlocks just off the ship’s bow welcomed many of us on deck before breakfast.
After leaving Red Bluff Bay we sailed north and met Dr. Andy Szabo from the Alaska Whale Foundation, who came onboard and gave us a great talk about the humpback whales that spend the summer months in Southeast Alaska. Shortly afterwards we encountered a pod of what may arguably be some of the most impressive creatures on earth, killer whales! At least seven different individuals were traveling together, including one big male and younger calf. We watched them for a long time and enjoyed when some of them came closer to the ship to check us out!
Shortly after leaving the killer whales behind us we had another marvelous encounter—a group of humpback whales engaged into cooperative bubble-net feeding! As Dr. Szabo explained less than two hours before, there are only a few dozen humpback whales out of a population of about 3,000 individuals that spend the summer in Southeast Alaska that practice this most interesting feeding technique. Finding a group of them was great luck and allowed us to admire those huge mouths breaking the surface together as herring jumped for dear life trapped inside a curtain of bubbles.
During the afternoon we went exploring the forest trail around Lake Eva and the salmon stream that flows into the ocean. We reached the waterfall and watched numerous pink salmon—locally known as “humpys,” Dolly Varden char, and cutthroat trout in the clear water before heading back to our floating home, tired but completely happy after another full and exciting day in Southeast Alaska.
