Capturing the Moment

  Things are hopping here in Southeast Alaska at the moment, and by 'things' I mean 80,000lbs humpback whales! Frederick Sound in the middle of the Inside Passage seems to be the place to be. At one point last week we were surrounded by the leviathins. However one whale stepped up to really steal the show. So much so, that at one point a whale swam under our bow and hardely anyone took notice because they were still watching the showoff. Whale Photos   Once or twice a year I come across a humpback who breaches over and over again. I talk about these rare occasions during my photography talks. These repetitive breaches are a photographeres dream come true. It is still quite hard to determine where and when they might breach next but they give you multiple chances and you have some idea of what distance away they might be. Eventually everyone on the bow was able to snap at least a few pictures of this great whale as it breached away the afternoon.    I oft...

    Fortune favors the bold…the early bird gets the worm…    Here at Uncruise it should read, ‘never let a little rain hold you back.’         It was a beautiful drizzly grey afternoon as we pulled into Steamboat Harbor in Southeast Alaska. We had just seen dozens of humpback whales out the window during lunch. The conditions in the bay were perfect for open paddle, but with whales just outside the bay and within striking distance of a skiff, I also offered up an impromptu skiff tour for the guests.      Folks looked outside as the rain drops gathered on the railings of the Quests. They peered around inside at the beautiful lounge, bartender mixing drinks, and the library upstairs looking particular cozy for curling up and reading a book. I got the skiff ready and waited for the incoming guests to gather up… and waited… and waited…      One brave guests showed up. And it w...

Look Closely: Yearling and Mom  I started my Hawaii guiding season back in early November and I am pleased to say that I have been able to find humpback whales every week since then for our guests onboard. However, early season whales here in Hawaii can often come up for a few quick breaths and then dive deep for ages, never to see them again. The sightings are usually solo whales on the move, perhaps looking for the few other early season whales among the islands. But this week we saw a gathering of whales into what I think was the first competition pod of the breeding season.    The sun was getting low in the sky over Lana'i as we spotted two big blows and one smaller blow. We had just finished a wonderful snorkel in Honolua Bay and were planning on heading to calmer water when we stumbled across the whales. It is one of the beautiful things of living and working on a boat on the ocean, you never know what you might see next.   The smaller of the blows ...

Breaching whale in sunset colors whale pictures   As I finished up my evening presentation aboard the Safari Quest a crew member hurried in to tell me there is whale activity ahead. I let the guests know and hustled to get my camera and headed to the bow. It turned out to be a repetitive breaching humpback whale.    It has been unusually sunny and clear these last few days and we have been lucky with some pretty amazing sunsets. This night combined breaching whales with that magical sunset hour light. Usually once a season I get a whale here in Alaska that breaches over and over and over. This was that whale. All around the boat it breached as it made its way off into the golden setting sun. Alaska Sunset Alaska Moonrise  When we finally turned the boat to continue heading east I was greeted with another unusual sight for Alaska, a full moon rise. At first it was just a silver sliver behind the mountain tops. I was lucky to still have my camera ...

Breaching Whale in the Wind.       We had no trouble finding whales this week but finding active whales was another story. We found swimming orca right off the bat. I got pretty excited when they swam by a pack of scared looking stellar sea lions but they just swam right on by. Then we had breathing humpback whales in Frederick Sound for as far as the eye could see but none that wanted to jazz it up for the cameras. We decided to jet off to the middle of Frederick Sound to a couple of islands called the Brothers where sea lions have a pretty consistent haulout area on the rocks. Just before getting to the island the whale show began in earnest.   We came across another vessel following an active humpback whale. When I heard they had been following him for awhile I had do big confidence that we would get to see much more than the tail end of the show. However as we slid in behind the whale he proceeded to chin slap, breach, and peduncle throw while...

 Frederick Sound is a large body of water in Alaska's inside passage which acts as a confluence zone for all the water coming in from Chatham Strait and Stephen's Passage. A lot of nutrients are swept into the area which in turn brings in the plankton, small fish, and eventually the big charismatic mega-fauna. This is why we planned a half day of cruising and looking for wildlife in Frederick Sound.     We woke up to a good sign, not so far off blows of humpbacks. Things really heated up as we left our anchorage and venture out into the sound. Humpbacks could be seen for miles around with their hot, steamy exhalations lingering in the cool Alaskan air.          Then, as hard as it might be to believe, the humpbacks were upstaged. All of a sudden on the horizon a huge dorsal fin emerged out of the water. It was a pod of orcas heading our direction! We stayed with the orcas for a good part of the morning watching them interact with the humpb...

Me grabbing the rail at Honolua Some surfer getting shacked   What a way to ring in the new year! A week on Maui with old friends, borrowed camping gear, and a good winter swell brought out many smiles. We made sure to get in a couple of whale watches complete with muggings and breaches, and even managed a few dives at some of our favorite spots. Nate breaking the mystique Cutting hard at Honolua   There are a few spots on the island with big firework shows for new years eve but the real scene is in the local neighborhoods. Fireworks sell like crazy leading up to new years and it shows with explosions heard from noon onwards. I even heard a few the next morning. I checked a few times to see if Nate's car was on fire because of all the smoke. And despite her best efforts to fall asleep I still kissed Heidi at midnight thanks to some unbelievable explosions from the neighbors. Whale tails everywhere! Adult breaching Baby attempt   It was a n...