This morning the ship sailed slowly past a number of fishing trollers as we entered a very special bay on the western coast of Kuiu Island. The Bay of Pillars is very remote, quite southerly in Chatham Strait. We arrived with plans to explore by boat and kayak the waters of the inner bay.
Low tide is the ideal time to arrive in order to see all the marine intertidal organisms exposed, attached to the rocky walls and shoreline. One of the most important organisms that in actuality interfered with our driving at times, were the enormously long bull kelp. The bulbs float at the surface, filled with carbon monoxide and looking like the heads of the marine mammals we were really looking for: sea otters! The dark green blades of the bull kelp flow elegantly from the bulbs on the surface of the glassy water. In summer, with 20+ hours of daylight, they are known to grow perhaps up to 2 feet a day. Attached to the bottom by a “holdfast”, they act as buffers when the waves crash mightily on the outer shores. In calm lagoon areas, sea otters use them as blankets and anchors.
Some of us traveled by inflatable boats, others chose the tranquility of travel by kayak to explore the area. Mink, a glimpse of a black bear, and most definitely sea otters were spotted.
The sun came out, the clouds came in, the clouds left, the sun shone. The day was a typical southeast Alaskan day.
Keeping with our policy of exploration when we can, the afternoon had us entering Patterson Bay on the island of Baranof. This was a new bay for us, and it is long and narrow, steep and dramatic, with snow visible in the higher reaches, and mirror-calm water all around us.
By nightfall we had reached our destination and date with the director of the Alaska Whale Foundation, Dr. Andy Szabo. While we heard about the latest research on humpback whales of Southeast Alaska, our undersea specialist Alyssa dove in the cold waters to see what could be found down under, coming out and about at night. We’re looking forward to seeing the footage tomorrow! What a day, in true expedition style.
