Heading into the strong incoming tide, National Geographic Sea Lion made its way east towards a major bottleneck for water and wildlife entering and exiting the Inside Passage. While open Pacific swells shape the north and west coasts of tiny George Island, we gently rocked in the flat calm waters of the protected and south-facing Granite Cove. Utilizing our fleet of boats and kayaks, guests explored by land and sea. Ashore they learned about George Island’s strategic use during World War II, but by water they marveled at the size and power of feeding humpback whales and the aerial antics of horned puffins.
Eventually the clouds cleared and rain stopped which fit in perfectly with our afternoon session of whale watching. Less than a mile from our anchorage and just a stone’s throw from the gun emplacement, a humpback whale repeatedly breached, to many guests’ delight. Countless pixels were captured in this bout of cetacean acrobatics. Then, as quickly as the excitement began, the whale stopped its feats of strength for a more leisurely swim along the kelp. We used this as a natural parting point and soon began small boat tours around a Northern sea lion haul out.
With some males topping 1,000 pounds, these pinnipeds demand respect and admiration. With a very strong ebbing tide running past these small islets and a few hundred sea lions scattered about on rocks or in the water, the hours flew past faster than a diving bald eagle. A blur of blubber later and we were back aboard the ship where I presented footage from our morning SCUBA dive to our guests during evening recap. The dive was a very successful one with more types of invertebrates than you can shake a stick at. We found 4 species of nudibranchs, or sea slugs, on one rock each more colorfully hued than the next. The swaying kelp hid many surprises like small Pacific giant octopus and curious black rockfish. Eventually the sun dipped lower on the horizon and we looked north to nearby Glacier Bay National Park, the location of tomorrow’s adventure, wondering just what would be in store for us. What will the weather be like? Will we find any bears? How many puffins will we see? Do I have to wear my boots?
