Cruising to Southeast Alaska #22

Capt. Linda Lewis - www.privateboatinginstruction.com and Capt. David Parker
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22 – Bartlett Cove Whale Whisperings – Middle Inian Pass: Whales, Sea Otters & Sea Lions

We are back at Bartlett Cove.

The teens are happy with the Wifi connection at the lodge. Facebook deprivation is being addressed!

They did look at the museum items, too; this is the skeleton of a small whale. Dinner in the lodge.

At Bartlett Cove, we saw another boat that had attended one of Linda’s Inside Passage Cruising Seminars: M/V Firefly. Royal Sounder (in the distance) - at anchor in the Cove.

There was lots of opportunity to stare at the beauty around us.

Dave had a wonderful whale experience during the middle of the night. First, here are a few photos of the whales that came right into this busy cove and cruised around all day and night. Then he’ll tell his story.

Dave woke up one night at about 2 AM to the sound of whales. Singing? He said no. Whispering? Hmmm. He couldn’t find a word for it. His story: “I was awakened by the breathing of whales very close to the boat. There were also occasional high-pitched, soft trumpeting sounds. I got up and went outside and stood in the moonlight for 30 minutes watching about eight whales. They were making sounds like small elephants trumpeting. The sounds were not like the singing they do when underwater; it was something different. I wondered if they were making the sound through their blowhole. (See photo.)

Their lunge feeding phosphoresced the water around them. Then, because my bare feet were frozen, I went back to bed. I had been transported back to a predordal state of oneness with the natural world.”

[Editor Linda's Note: Yep, he made up that word.]

The weather was good, so when we left Bartlett Cove we headed for one of our favorite spots in Southeast Alaska: Elfin Cove. Our friends on the kayaking charter vessel, M/V Abyssinia, told us that the Inian Islands (on the way to Elfin Cove) are their best kayaking location in Southeast Alaska.

We checked the currents and found it would be a smooth passage through Middle Inian Pass. What a gorgeous passage. We had anticipated the beauty, but not all the sea life we saw in that rather short stretch of water. Here’s a sea otter peering at us as we peered at it.

We saw literally hundreds of Sea Lions basking on the shore as we cruised through Middle Inian Pass. They were being lazy right now - at slack water. (Teaser: in the next installment you will see these Sea Lions in the water when the current is running hard and they are fishing. The view will be from the skiff: close up and scary.)

Whales were everywhere, so we got lots of close-ups. Is the whale below close enough for you? It was literally right next to the boat. The girls were ecstatic.