We departed Klawock after lunch, and at 1pm we were passing by the local sawmill – another industry supporting those who live in Klawock:

We cruised for a couple of hours, all the time keeping a lookout for whales. They’re out there, you know… At 3pm we had our first sighting (at least that’s the first one we saw). Pretty far out there, but definitely a humpback whale:

Mid-afternoon wasn’t the greatest time for photos, especially with the water being a little choppy. But, that didn’t stop us. Rather than show you lots of pics with a little bit of whale, here’s a collage made up from one of them, as he was preparing to do a dive – we watched this type of action for about an hour:

We were happy – we’d seen more whales. But, wouldn’t it be nicer if they came a little closer to the boat? We did see more whales, but they kept their distance from the ship. In the meantime, a bald eagle flew overhead, checking us out:

And, some of us entertained ourselves by playing a new version of “Capture the Flag.” The goal was to get a shot of the Un-Cruise banner with all the letters showing:

And then, we had some whales venture a little closer. While they weren’t right next to the boat, it was possible to get a good photograph with a zoom lens, or a good view with the binoculars. Here’s a series taken of the same whale as he/she does a dive:
We watched the whales until Happy Hour, then I took a break before Lou signed me up for Whale Watcher’s Anonymous. Lou chose the duck for dinner and said it was some of the best he’d had. Around 8pm, I was back on deck, planning to try for sunset shots:
Watch Out !!! You never know what danger lurks around the corner …

We said “Good Night” to new friends and distant whales, as we watched the sun try to go down. Another great day of Un-Cruising.

Categories: Alaska, Week 2, Wilderness Discoverer