Excerpts from the log: 20 June 2020 1145 Depart Sunny Cove, Fox Island 1730 Cape Aialik 2135 At anchor in Coleman Bay What a day! Slow start after a long day yesterday, but we were rewarded with our leisurely departure. Woke up to a pattering noise on deck and burst out laughing when a duck came into view standing on the clear hatch over the vee berth. Once underway from Sunny Cove we could see lots of gull activity off Hive Island. As we motor-sailed closer we saw enormous dark shapes emerging from the frothing water - humpback whales bubble-net feeding! There were probably eight or nine whales working together to feed using the incredible technique. The whales swim in circles at depth and exhale bubbles of air. These bubbles rise towards the surface and expand to form a curtain of air that traps small fish and krill. The whales swim up through concentrated prey with their mouths wide open. They burst through the surface, close their mouths to trap the fish and krill, and strain the extra seawater out through their baleen before swallowing their catch. We cut the engine near the northwest corner of Hive and enjoyed the silence as we drifted and waited. But it wasn't quiet for long! The whales were deep below the surface and their calls were resonating and being amplified by the hull of our sailboat. Amazing. These calls allow them to communicate and coordinate their bubbling and lunging as a group. There was a pattern: lots of individual trumpet-like calls were followed by a prolonged, high-pitched call by a single whale that appeared to signal the group's ascent to the surface to capture the fish they had corralled. The first time the whales broke through the surface with their mouths wide open they were only a few boat lengths away - sure surprised us! We drifted and watched while the humpbacks continued feeding nearby, taking photos and listening to their calls through the boat's hull and over the hydrophone. We used this underwater microphone to make some recordings of this groups bubble-net feeding calls - the same trumpeting followed by a single prolonged call. There were only a few smaller boats around, and most had shut down their engines to watch, so there was minimal sound interference and background noise. The humpbacks continued to work the coastline and we set our mainsail to parallel their course towards the south. It was so quiet under sail, an incredible experience to observe them feeding as we glided along. It was also lovely to see friends on some of the small whale watching boats, and they excitedly shared that a film crew onboard got some great video footage of the scene.
After a while, we set the genoa and pointed towards Cheval. We sailed all the way there on a single port tack before the wind died as we neared the Cape. Lovely golden evening light on the cliffs of No Name Island. Gentle swells around the Cape, so we stopped and caught a black rockfish on the first cast - dinner! Probably in the 6-8 lb range, a good size for this species. Brent filleted the fish as we sailed north into Aialik Bay. Graying skies and increasing clouds signaled a front moving in, with east winds blowing more forcefully out of the coves along the Aialik Peninsula. We made it to Tooth Cove before the peninsula blocked most of the wind and we had to start the engine. On our way into Coleman Bay we saw a small zodiac and said hello to the National Park Service folks onboard (who Brent worked with last summer) as they were heading back to the ranger station. We dropped anchor in Coleman Bay and immediately enjoyed a hot yellow curry with fresh rockfish and veggies that Brent had prepared while I was on the helm for the final stretch. Some wind gusts over the ridge through the evening, but overall feeling full and fulfilled after a stellar day on the water.
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Voyage Log
AuthorCanvas & Ice Archives
April 2021
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