Three Days at Sea That Have Nothing to Do With Politics – Day Three (Updated with VIDEO)
7:43am – This morning’s “alarm clock” was a rapid series of loud bangings right over my head. The motor was already humming and we were making our way back in the direction of Whittier. I wasn’t sure if the banging sounds were intended for me, but then they came again, like someone urgently knocking on a door. My heart in my throat once again, I was up and out of my sleeping bag, and sliding the hatch open, expecting… I had no idea what. It turns out that this unexpected wake up call was far better than the threat of crashing on the rocks or overdone burritos. It was porpoises!
Dall’s porpoises are one of my favorite marine mammals. They are absolutely goofy looking when you see them in profile – barrel chested, with a strange little pin head – but from above on the boat, they are graceful, impossibly fast and fleet, and a joy to watch. Whales and sea lions will tolerate humans for the most part, but always seem to have better things to do. Porpoises, on the other hand, seem as happy to see us as we are to see them.
~Dall’s porpoises ride the bow
First two, then three, then five, they stayed with us for about 7 or 8 minutes, swimming right next to the boat, passing under, zipping to and fro, weaving this way and that, and having what I can only describe as a “high old time.” As quickly as they came, they were off to parts unknown. A straggler found us a few minutes later, did a couple little passes under the boat, but then he too was off to join the school.
8:42 – The porpoises came back! Or there were three new ones. Hard to tell. I managed to get one or two still shots, I think. They are definitely the most difficult subjects to capture and require a very fast shutter speed. Even then, nine out of ten shots come out as nothing but splashes. We’ve stopped somewhere in Culross Passage to have break, eat some breakfast and drop a line.
~The entrance to Culross Passage, Prince William Sound
8:49 – Fish on! According to Spouse it doesn’t feel like a halibut, and indeed it is not. We’ve landed the dreaded Irish Lord – super ugly and inedible to boot. But it did provide a moment of excitement during the catch. The young crew lets out a simultaneous “Ugh!” when the victims head reaches the surface. The hook is extracted gingerly with pliers, and the fat, ugly little guy is on his way back to the bottom. He’ll have quite a story to tell, if anyone believes him.
~Ugh! This is not a halibut!
10:16 –
Now we’re talking! A beautiful young humpback whale, only about 20 feet long, just put on quite a show for us! He must have been in a playful mood because I’ve never seen anything like it. He breached near the boat, so we cut the engines and watched as he made his way along, and breached completely out of the water over and over.
I grabbed my camera, and missed a couple of the best ones while I was fumbling around, but I’d guess he was fully out of the water 8 times in a row. Absolutely amazing. Finally, he’d tuckered himself out, and headed off to the north.
10:35 –
The porpoises have returned once more. Maybe we are more interesting than I thought.
The initial excitement has passed, and we are now able to just sit back and relax. If you heard an audio of us, it might remind you of people watching a fireworks display. There are oooos, and ahhhhs, and laughter as our little aquatic tailgaters perform their dance and occasionally crest the surface. One in particular amuses us as he swims on his side, looking up at us as we look down at him. I think how great it would be if I had a dry suit and could swim at 7 knots. Of course, they can swim much faster than our boat can travel, and have been clocked at speeds of 30 knots. You can read more about them HERE. Soon, they spot someone faster and more interesting, and we get a bubbly good-bye as we are jilted for a barge.
~Porpoises are off to greener pastures…
1:40 –
Back at last at the Whittier dock. The weather is holding and we must wait for two boats ahead of us to head out before we can hitch up to the trailer. While we wait, I take a stroll up the dock where I see a sight that surely would have resulted in a huge coffee spray, had I been drinking coffee at the time. Before I tell you what it was, let me preface it with the fact that I have been trying to come up with something that would be the Alaskan equivalent of Sarah Palin eating pizza in New York City with a knife and fork. Well, I found it in Whittier. Remember, the weather is drizzly, and the ground is wet and muddy with puddles. It’s an Alaskan harbor town, and 80 percent of the people are wearing Xtra Tuffs and clothing suitable for gutting fish, tinkering with outboard motors, and bumming around the dock. It’s also summer, and hovering around 60 degrees, so there are plenty of Alaskans in t-shirts and summerish clothes.
Enter a couple in their mid to late 20s. She has sleek hair pulled back in a long black pony tail, with enormous movie star sunglasses. He is wearing a very nice black leather jacket of the non-biker variety. But I cannot tell you more about their attire from the knees up because my eyes are drawn like magnets to their footwear. I reach for my camera and realize I have left it on the boat. How could I possibly have known the best photo op of the afternoon would be here? So, I’ll do the best I can to paint the picture.
[Insert imaginary picture which leaves you in stitches HERE]
Footwear – She in snow white long shaggy fur boots almost up to the knee, with fur pom poms on the end of laces tied in the front. He in molded rubberized swooshy shaped silver athletic shoes.
It was quite a sight to see. I’m sure they must have come from the cruise ship we spotted yesterday, that is now docked in Whittier and towers over everything like a giant floating city. And I’m sure that they hadn’t been on land more than a minute because the long silky white fur was still white. And I’m not blaming them. How would they know? But still. I figure if we’re going to give Palin a hard time, we may as well give equal time to the equivalent giggle-worthy cluelessness on this end.
3:00 – After grabbing a pizza, we sit and wait at the tunnel again. We wait a long time. Suddenly, the little gate in the oncoming lane goes up and a Whittier police vehicle whizzes past and in to the tunnel. Perhaps the car is going first to make sure the tunnel is clear for us and to avert all those unimaginable tunnel hazards I’ve been mulling over in my mind.
Finally, we head through, past the HELP phones and the Safe Houses, and pop out on the other side into the light at the end of the tunnel.
And what should we happen to see? In the pullout lane by the tunnel entrance there is a van. Coming from the van are billows of smoke. The van has no windows any more. The van’s paint job can only be described as “blackened.” And there’s the police car from Whittier. I had not actually considered that spontaneous combustion of a vehicle was a tunnel hazard. Live and learn.
[Insert horrifying picture of flamed-out van which leaves you speechless HERE]
We are back on the road now, headed for Anchorage and all the unloading, unpacking, hosing off, cleaning up, and putting away. All in all it was a good trip despite the lack of halibut and the excess of rain. Our great day of wildlife viewing definitely helped. Thanks for coming along, and if the weather cooperates and we get out on the water again, you can be my stowaway next time too, if you like.
*Note to self – chart, marine radio, coffee mug, hand warmers utilizing current technology, fire extinguisher for the tunnel – just in case.
Brings back lots of memories of our sailboat, “Zephyr”, that we enjoyed for 20 years on Prince William Sound. We sold her to our next door neighbors on Goldenview Dr. Rain is the norm on PWS!
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing your trip and the photos, although your descriptions are as good as photography much of the time. I missed your voice all those months you were working on “Blind Ambition,” and hope that this summer allows you to share more of yourself with us again.
Thank you for taking us along, AKM. Beautiful.
I am glad you had something to read! I have the Kindle App on my phone, and even read before a Cardinal’s Game at the stadium. A friend send me this, and I wanted to share the poster with all who love to read.
http://tinyurl.com/3rutp93
Sent.
With the three Trip on the Sea articles, I’ve had to double down on my reminding of myself: Envy is one of the Deadly Sins. Can’t help it, though…I’m green, green, green with it. Even greener than that!
Thanks for letting us be stowaways, AKM. beth.
Thanks for taking the time to tell about your trip. I enjoyed the dolphins, and the whales. The trip was to short. You need at least a week, but one takes the time they can.
I will hold good thoughts for sun, and halibut on your next trip. Take a pair of really good pliars to help with that halibut. They work great.
Thanks for shareing, and welcome home.
Lucky you to be visited by the Dall’s…they are the best fun when they are on your bow! Better luck next time on your halibut, try Homer, lots of chickens in close.
Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!
Ack!! Those boots have been around since the 70’s, although I can’t figure out why.
I’ve always thought they make the wearer look like a Clydesdale horse. Attractive? Neigh!!
Two summers ago,my sister and I left on a short cruise from Whittier. We rode a bus from Anchorage so we had the tunnel experience. Our tour guide informed us that Whittier was the “Armpit of Alaska”! I have to agree-it was pretty ugly-lots of junk around and dilapidated buildings left over from World War II.
The mayor came aboard to give us a tour of Whittier. Not much to see. Everyone who lives there year round stays in the same building.
Once aboard our small ship, the wonders began, just like with Jeanne. A very special memory.
Wow very nice shot. Thanks for sharing this with us. I enjoy watching the video as well as to the photos. You have a great and interesting post.
That nasty fish looks like the sea robins we used to catch when I was a kid. Also very ugly and mostly bones and fins with sharp spines…very difficult and potentially painful to remove from the hook. My father was the only one in my family brave enough to tackle the evil-looking things!
I’m not a big fan of halibut so a day playing with Dall’s porpoises and humpback whales sounds like a little bit of heaven to me. When I was in Alaska, I was amazed at how the porpoises could not only keep up with the cruise ships, but leave them in the dust when they found something more interesting to play with!
It sounds like you had a simply wonderful trip and I am thankful that you brought us along for the ride!
AKM– Quyana Cakneq for sharing your trip with us!
Oh my.
What a wonderful day!
Thank you for sharing.
Can we go again soon?
A most Excellent Adventure !!! Might I suggest a small camcorder be added to the list ? I have a JVC that I can pull “stills” off of, and it captures all those “oohs” and “ahhhs” . The best part for me, is I can narrate what I’m recording – I hate having a bunch of pics, that I can’t remember the specfic location or why I took the pic at the time ( 500 shots in Europe.. Hon, where was THIS church at …?”)
Just realized the video didn’t post! I now have it up… Hope those who already read will catch it. Good stuff!
Amazing and so beautiful. You are so lucky to see these sights in your “back yard”. Loved the pics of the whale. They are amazing creatures. Whoever said it was like Flipper in the video brought a long lost memory and a smile. Glad you and your family had a great trip. Thanks for sharing these amazing photos and video. Sounds like a “real” Alaskan adventure as opposed to another one we have recently witnessed. 🙂
Great trip, AKM. I’m laughing at the white fur boots, and enjoying the dolphins (a variety I’ve not seen in person). Here’s a link to a great article about Clarence and Ginni Thomas:
http://www.truth-out.org/judicial-insider-trading-justice-clarence-thomas-and-wife-ginni/1307895791
Again, thank you, AKM.
That is the best trip I’ve had this summer.
Dolphins and a breaching whale? Wow! I guess you can die now since you have seen a bit of heaven.
At least no sunburn!
Nice of you to take us on your trip, AKM. Thanks.
that’s beautiful, and told beautifully. thank you!
Barry McGuire, the guy who say P.F. Sloan’s “Eve of Destruction,” has a great song complete with story, called “Callin’ Me Home.” He talks about being on a boat, and deciding to use a towel to bop a dolphin that had swam up to his boat. The dolphin, all of a sudden left. Barry was saddened thinking he scared the dolphin away, but then all of a sudden, the dolphin came back with all its buddies and Barry spent the afternoon bopping dolphins. The song, itself, is a good one, too.
Dolphins are as smart (at least) as humans, but wiser. Ric O’Barry and Fred Neil started the Dolphin Project on the first Earth Day. It was dedicated to returning captive dolphins to their natural habitat. Neil’s song, The Dolphins is a top ten all-time great song.
I think if everyone person is totally honest with themselves,haven’t we all been jilted for a barge in our lives?
More than once, Mike, more than once.
Ah, to be a stowaway! I’d love to have seen all of it except the fishing part. I’m just not cut out for fishing, I guess. Bad experience when I was little.
And I promise not to wear white furry whatever those were. I can’t honestly imagine where something like that would fit. They sound weird no matter where she is.
Thanks for the photos, real and imaginary ones.
“white furry whatever those were.” were probably apres-ski ‘boots’.
These are boots you normally wear indoors after skiing. The intent is to wear them as you go from on-slope lodging to the ski lodge where you can put your feet up and lounge around the ski lodge’s classic gi-normous (sic) fireplace. Naturally, white wine or rainbow colored drink with parasol would be di-rigeur (sp?).
i.e. – They’re meant for ski bunnies “to see and be seen/scene in”.
They are not meant for any place with mud. {Horrors!!}
And yes. These people are serious about the ‘look at me chic!’. My ex sometimes like to play ‘ski bunny’. I usually did NOT take of my ski glasses on these occasions.