Baranof Warm Springs to Deep Bay

The sunny weather continued for our last night out at anchor before arriving in Sitka. We had blue skies, sunshine, calm water and mountain views for our cruise through Chatham Strait today. And, a couple hours in, we had some great humpback whale sightings! We went to neutral and watched the beautiful creature swim through our fleet, showing us its tail fluke on a deep dive. From this closer distance we could hear the forceful exhales of the whale when it surfaced and get a sense of its massive size.

Eldean rejoined the fleet outside of Appleton Cove as we cruised by. They had decided to continue on yesterday after the fog lifted, and reported a nice night in Appleton Cove and a bountiful crab catch! In fact, they had caught enough to share with the fleet! Thanks, Eldean!

Deception hosted a happy hour this evening to celebrate our last night out at anchor on this trip. Along with the crab we had many other delicious appetizers that each boat contributed. The nice weather meant that we could all spread out around the boat and snack and chat. We talked through the departure procedures for the next day and then gathered round to watch a slideshow from our trip and reminisce about all of the beautiful things we’ve seen and the experiences we’d shared.

And then it was time for what we’d all been waiting for (drumroll please!), the dive competition! All seven swimmers who completed the polar plunge challenge and jumped in the water daily on this trip were eligible to join the dive off for the prize. Bing and Jeff had jumped in earlier in the day and opted out of the competition. Finn was the first to step up to the rail and dive. Our judges conferred and gave high marks to Finn- he would be the one to beat! The Deception crew stepped up next, prepared to execute a synchronized dive. But then Andy spied a giant jellyfish in the water, and it was looking pretty cold, and everyone started to have second thoughts about it… and there it was they all forfeited! Finn was the winner! After awarding him the prize money, true to their name, the sneaky Deception crew all dove in one last time for good measure.