Lay Day in Cannery Cove

Awoke in Cannery Cove to another beautiful day with flat calm water, surrounded by verdant green cliffs softening to sweeping sedge grass and edged in golden rock weed. La Vida was up at 6:30 a.m. and headed out towards the opening of Pybus Bay in search of sleepy wildlife before dispersing for their daily rhythm. They returned from their adventure very satisfied having located a raft of about a hundred sea otters! Perfect photo-op!

The rest of the fleet enjoyed a more gradual awakening as Bonum Vitae, Exact, Arctic Star and Eldean all headed out for a dingy exploration expedition. Salmon were leaping out of the water and eagles were perched in their trees assessing the best catch to start their day. On our adventure we listened to eagles and ravens, watched as Bonaparte gulls and Arctic terns fly around us and later spied a group of harbor seal hauled out. Some of the seals slipped into the water and approached us, popping their heads up to get better look. A shy adolescent brown bear wandered onto the beach and, although we were far off shore, it decided it would return to the shadows of the forest.

Upon our return, Jane arranged a kayaking expedition with Ken, Phoebe, Sophie and Miles of Arctic Star and Dave from Thea. We paddled up to the head of the bay near a small creek. A large gathering of crows was causing a great ruckus and would all alight together and then land again simultaneously. Eagles called to each other with their creaking-door voices.

As the water became shallow, we could see schools of large salmon swimming under our boats. Every few minutes, for no apparent reason, the salmon would all boil up to the surface in a chaotic mass causing a ruckus of splashing that could be heard from a distance.  We quietly continued into the stream listening to nature and intently watching for bears. Phoebe noticed the brown bear enter the sedge grass, it remained for a bit and then quietly slipped back into the forest. Within minutes, another brown bear appeared out of the forest where we could quietly observe it but, generally they are shy creatures and very aware of our presence, so it too slipped away. Miles commented how unbelievable the experience was, “Here we are, surrounded by eagles overhead, salmon under our kayaks watching brown bears on shore! It’s Amazing!”  As we paddled out towards the boats, six harbor seals entertained us popping their heads up for a peak.

After the Arctic Star crew boarded their boat, Greg, Marnie, Konstantin, Marina and Jane all returned to the stream. We experienced a repeat of the previous adventure except this time, a very large brown bear strolled out of the forest. It immediately spotted us as we quietly looked on. It seemed sure of its territory and instead of retreating to the forest shadows, it advanced down to the salmon packed stream. It continued to follow the streambed slowly making its way downstream. Although we all would have loved a closer look, we decided to honor its territory and retreat while there was still plenty of room between us. The seals delighted us on our return and Debbie and Dale of Eldean showed up in their dingy. Greg offered to tow their dingy up the stream since it was too shallow to motor! Meanwhile, Jane returned the other kayaks and Eldean offered a ride back to Deception. It was time for us each to settle in for dinner after a long day of adventures.

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