Today was a magical day! We departed Security Cove with sea otters bidding us farewell. Just outside of the Cove we saw at least 10 eagles flying around in a tight group, a somewhat unusual activity for eagles. Then we noticed numerous humpbacks swimming around Meade Point. We soon realized they were bubble-net feeding.

This is a coordinated feeding method used by humpback whales when schools of forage fish are large and plentiful. About a dozen whales all mill around at the surface and then, they all synchronously dive. While submerged, they swim in circles exhaling air bubbles to create a column of bubbles that rise like a curtain to corral and confuse the fish and act as a net. After a vocal signal, they all surface together, mouths agape, capturing numerous fish in one lunge. Their throats balloon as they take in more than 500 gallons of water! Then they tighten the throat muscles to expel the water, using their baleen to capture the prey. It is a spectacular sight!  We remained on the scene for over an hour watching the show.

Cannery Cove is a spectacular cove surrounded by tall, steep mountains topped with field of snow. Waterfalls pour down the sides of the mountain, thick with verdant green trees and vegetation. At the base of the mountain is a salmon-bearing creek running through a grassy outwash estuary. The Thea crew didn’t waste any time and Karen and Bob weren’t far behind, going ashore to try fly fishing in the creek. Pink salmon were starting to return to the creek and could be spotted under our kayaks as Kim, Greg, Irene, Lynn and Marianne, Nicole and I all kayaked up the creek.

In the evening, Deception invited the fleet over to share chocolate cupcakes and drinks in celebration of Captain Chris’s birthday. It was a splendid opportunity for everyone to socialize and share fishing stories about the pink salmon caught in the creek. After about an hour and a half, everyone headed back to their own boats to make dinner and settle in for the evening. Tomorrow we are off to Tracy Arm Cove for another adventure.

P.S. Is Alaska on your bucket list? We can take you there! Email us to reserve your spot on our 2023 Mother Goose AK Flotilla. charters@nwexplorations.com