Saw lots of coral today all over the walls – orange, white, red, pink. There were also tons of nudibranchs. I got a picture today of a sea otter in the foreground, a whale spouting behind it and beautiful snowy mountains in the background. Where else can you see that. Robbie I saw a snail laying eggs in a circular […]
Read MoreLocation: Inian Islands, Icy Strait, southeast Alaska. There is a potential dive site at Inian Island that I have been super keen to check out for a couple of years. It feels right. It looks right with a sheer wall plunging to 220 feet. And it is current swept. So today we kitted up and jumped in the water […]
Read MoreAfter a great day of scuba diving, inflatable tours, zodiac kayaking (kayaking with a comfort boat ie. zodiac, tagging along behind with beverages, refreshments and an easy way to get home if you get tired of paddling) and whale watching around Inian Island, we took everybody ashore after dinner for a “look-around” the tiny boardwalk community of Elfin Cove. Our guests somehow got waylaid at the Coho Bar and Grill and bartender introduced them to “duck farts.” The Nautilus Explorer was anchored outside the Cove and during the various inflatable shuttles back to the boat it seemed that all we heard from our guests was “we want more duck farts”, “I’d like a duck fart waiting for me please”, “do you know how to make duck farts” and so on.
Read MoreThere is something very appealing about sea otters. Perhaps it’s the way they swim on their back much the way scuba divers do. Perhaps it’s because they appear to be so cute and cuddly and furry (they have the densest fur of any animal with over 1 million hairs per square inch which is what provides them with insulation in our less than tropical temperatures!). Maybe it’s because the Mum’s carry their babies around on their tummies as they float upside down and then wrap and stash their kids in the kelp before going for a dive. Or, as we saw last week, the Mum’s will throw a protective arm over their baby when startled and roll over and dive under the kelp with the babe. That is some pretty impressive breath hold diving for those babies!
Read MorePoint Adolphus is one of the most productive feeding grounds in southeast Alaska and the humpback whale sightings are usually quite awesome. Today was no exception, starting off with a pod of orcas cruising along on the surface 15 miles east of Adolphus and then loads of humpbacks right at the point.
Read MoreI am always up for trying 2 or 3 exploratory new dives on a trip if our guests are “up” for it. The folks on this trip are terrific sports and up for exploratory diving. We lucked out today with the discovery of a beautiful, albeit current-sensitive, pinnacle loaded with invertebrate life including corals, sponges and anemones as well as a giant pacific octopus and wolf eels.
Read MoreThe idea is that the floor will be completely clear and see-through (hence the see-through great white shark cage) and the divers will feel like there is nothing between their feet and the ocean bottom 250 feet below. Nothing that is, except for 17 foot long great white sharks swimming around below the cages.
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