Just after the sunrise on our transit through Frederick Sound up to Kelp Bay, our bridge team spotted feeding whales. As we all sleepily emerged from our cabins and tottered outside, still groggy with coffee in hand, whales surrounded our ship. The morning light was soft and the waters calm, and the whales so close their breathing made you jump. There were around 20 whales spotted and some as close as 15 feet from the ship.
Whales were a theme for the day. As we approached the entrance of Kelp Bay, we found a large group of bubble-netting whales feeding cooperatively. They put on a great show with breaches, tail slapping, and lunge feeding. We were in awe at their behavior and headed into the bay not knowing even more wildlife would be waiting there for us.
When we arrived at our ship’s position for afternoon activities, we saw a group of harbor seals on shore hauled out near a salmon stream. A few had unique white coloration. We also spotted 12 bears wondering the tidal flats and salmon stream in Kelp Bay!
