Capturing the Moment

  A huge brown bear ambles past our group through the meadow. This bear was chowing down on grass as he slowly worked through the meadow. It is hard to explain the feeling of being on the ground, here in Alaska, and sharing that space with brown bears. All of us guides undergo intense bear trainings every season, as well as advanced wilderness medical classes every two years, so we can successfully and safely take guests out on adventures in remote Alaska. This coastal part of Katmai is about as remote as it gets. There isn't even another ship in sight as we set off on our small boats for the adventure of lifetime. I had twelve guests with me on our skiff, and they had heeded my advice that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing choices. They were waterproof from head to toe, which was good since the clouds opened up on us during the skiff ride to land. The rain let up quite a bit once we got to land, but the high grasses kept us wet. I led the group slowly, not w...

  Every winter, Humpback Whales arrive around the Hawaiian Islands for their breeding and calving season. If you get a chance to go out on the water and do some whale watching, you could be rewarded with some very interesting behaviors. I tell people there are three big goals while whale watching here; seeing a brand new baby whale, seeing a competition pod, and see a breaching humpback whale. Whale watching has been heating up here in Hawaii. The Humpback Whale migration is on in full force. One way to see it is to head out in a small boat from Honokahau Harbor near Kona, Hawaii. Babies are about the size of a small pickup truck, and they are born right here. The momma whales like the clear, calm, warm waters around the islands. The draw to Hawaiian waters must be pretty big, since the adult whales have no food here. They fast the entire time, and then head back to the food rich waters of Alaska when the need to feed outweighs the need to breed. Even though the babies are quite la...

  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...

Orcas from Water Level     Today was our morning to cruise for charismatic megafauna, aka really cool big animals, in the whale rich waters of Frederick Sound, Southeast Alaska. We were nearing a group of islands called the Brothers Islands which are well known for having a stellar sea lion haul out. I often like to take the small groups aboard the Safari Quest to these islands and then get a more intimate experience by loading into our small skiffs. As we neared the islands this morning however, I knew it was going to be a skiff ride to remember.    As we slowed down the Quest to load the skiffs the captain and I were both looking in the opposite direction from our destination islands. Sure enough there they were again, surfacing and heading our way. It was a pod of transient orcas, or killer whales. I can count the number of times I’ve seen orca from a skiff on one hand, so I was anxious to load everyone up. We quickly got all the guests ...

    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...

Breach of massive proportions   The humpback whales are here in force right now in Southeast Alaska. Frederick Sound seems to be the place to find them. These past two weeks have seen us skiffing with the giants, as well as getting breaches and bubble net feeding encounters as well.    It is so much fun to think that I may have seen these 40+ft whales back when they were tiny newborn babies in Hawaii. And by 'tiny' I of course mean the size of a pickup truck. If you like whale watching then August in SE Alaska is a great time and place to do it.  Bubble Net Feeding Close encounter on the skiff

Near miss in the fog Minke whale sighted!   I was pretty skeptical about our chances when we arrived at the harbor and we couldn't even see the boats on the dock. The fog was so intense that we could have played a game of hide-n-seek and the seeker would have had no chance. In reality the visibility was about 50 yards, and with the approach regulations inside the marine park being no closer than 200 yards I figured our chances were pretty much nil. But the crew surprised me and with a little help found us some whales! Horror Movie villain? The gang ready to go   Tadoussac is a tiny town in French Quebec, Canada where the Saguenay Fjord empties into the St Lawrence Sea Way. Its hard to understand how whales are here unless you zoom way out on the globe and see that the whales have an easy opening to the sea. They come here in the summer months for good feeding. 13 different species have been seen here, but I feel pretty lucky to have even seen one of those spe...