June 8 – 11
Hi All,
June 8: After saying good bye to Beauty and Grandpa, (Brown Bears we saw trying to mate while in Kelp Bay, well he was at least:)))….we sure hope they finally mate), we set off for the 32nm run to Hood Bay around 8am. As we were leaving Kelp Bay, we had a pretty good whale show….our lone, Sei whale along the shore, and then 4 Humpbacks….feeding on the surface, tail and fin slapping and diving showing beautiful tails….we stuck around for 15 mins or so hoping for a bubble feed but not to be!!
We crossed Chatham Strait in very calm waters….such a change from the last two times….brilliant blue sky, snow capped mountains all around…we could even see as far north as the coastal mountains on the east side of Glacier Bay up into Lynn Canal….like 50-60 miles….those mountains were all snow covered and are in the 8-10k’ range!!!
We checked out both arms of Hood Bay….North Arm looked gorgeous with a huge meadow, but South Arm is surrounded by 2-4k’ snow capped mountains, very scenic, also with a long green meadow for bear viewing…..almost like Cannery Cove in Pybus Bay which just happens to be 5 miles away on the other side of these mountains….whoa!!!!
We saw 2 bears on the beaches coming in to Hood Bay, 1 bear in North Arm and for the day, 5 bears in South Arm….one couple was another mating pair…..doing the dance….she plays indifferent, lets the male get close, then runs away about 100 yards, the guy chases, this guy is younger so much faster than Grandpa, but stops short…they do this a few times, then go eat some grass:)))
Fresh Dungeness crab dinner….warm, brilliant sun….LIG!!!!
June 9: The yellow ball is still out in deep blue sky….the surrounding snow capped mountains and gazillion waterfalls….gorgeous….I broke out in song….the Hills are alive…..hmmm, the birds scattered, the deer ran, but the bears looked up chewing on grass and said bring it on silly man:)))
Yep…the mating pair is out….we named them Romeo and Bearletta…..well, she hasn’t “letta” yet but such a cute couple and he is still a smitten/perfect gentleman:)))
1 crab trap pull in the am, soaking overnight: 4 males, 3 keepers….yep, there are crab in the bay. Kathy now says no more crabbing, the freezer is full….ah, comforting words to the crabber….now to work on salmon and prawns!!!
Sightings: what’s that, whoa, a whale blow…John scrambles to the shower to tell Kathy, races back up stairs to grab camera and yep, there he is….does a few blows then shows a nice hump but no tail, maybe 200 yards off stern, we then hear more blows but further away against the shoreline, then gone baby gone!! Oh, while that is going on we see another bear on the same shoreline as the whale….hmmmm…we couldn’t hear what they said but our ears were burning:)))
Then late afternoon….John come see, we have 5, count them 5, bear showings. We saw another mating couple, a mom and big juvenile…..they both had cinnamon hind quarters and the rest darker brown….two tone….wow!!! All in we had 15 bear showings, a new daily record!!!
June 10: Up around 6:30am…yep, slept in:))) One bear on the beach, coffee, emails, weather et al and raise anchor by 8am for the 25nm run to Sitkoh off Peril Straits. We crossed Chatham Strait again in perfect calm waters but this time no sun….a very grey day with low clouds….what a change from 2 days ago. Sitkoh is a long somewhat narrow channel 5 miles long, surrounded by 1-2k’ mountains and ends with one of the largest meadows we have seen so far this year. Only 1/2 mile across but extends back over a mile and the mudflat extends way out so the bear viewings are pretty far away….binocs a must.
Kathy had read it used to be a seaplane base and as we went by, there were many abandoned, buildings and a wharf in ruins. But, there are also ~6 newer buildings that look somewhat cared for. Our book says it is called Chatham, which is what the new sign said as well, and it is a privately owned inactive cannery. We did see a couple working around a home so they must be the owners or caretakers.
As we reach the mudflat….ODG….at least 10 bears out in the meadow, one mom and 3 cubs, one mom with 2 cubs, one frisky bear hunting in the stream, and a bunch of single bears scattered through out the huge meadow. By lunch, we had seen >13 bears. By dinner we had seen >20 bears, with another mom and 2 cubs. We saw bear behavior….cubs wrestling/playing, males chasing females, males standing up and warning off another male to back off….wow, wow, wow…..but, it is all long distance so need really good binoculars which we have!!! We think because of the huge meadow size, all the bears can stay a safe distance from each other…..or, it’s grass laced with something yummy:)))
Weather: It is back to being grey, somewhat dark, misty, some wind and cold….whaaaaaaa!!! Sunrise now 4am, sunset 10pm, that’s 18 hours of sunlight and 20 hours of daylight!!!
June 11: Woke up to cloudy skies, a few sprinkles but some broken clouds with blue sky in the distance. Checked crab trap….nada, WTH in this huge mud flat….hmmmm. We saw another 5 bears in the meadow….another mating couple….wow. All in, we had over 26 bear sightings in Sitkoh Bay, maybe >20 yesterday and 6 this am….this is definitely bear central!!!
The Plan: As much as we like the bear show, they are just too far away to truly enjoy and it’s rather cold sitting in the FB now….so we are moving on to Saook….still in the Peril Straits, about 20 nm further west!!
Critter Stats:
Whales: 44, (12 Orcas, 28 Humpback, 4 Sei)
– 5 in Kelp Bay leaving, 1 Sei and 4 Humpbacks tail/fin slapping
Bears: 118 (106 Brown, 12 Black)
– 6 Browns in Hood Bay day 1; 15 on day 2, 1 as leaving
– 31 Browns in Sitkow, > 25 day 1, never less than 7 out at anytime, 6 this am
Wolves: 1 (big male Grey on the mud flat in Klu Bay)
Dungeness Crabs: 56 (5 in Manzanita, 0 Punchbowl, 8 Fitzgibbon, 11 in Yes Bay, limited 1st day, 2 in Klu, 3 in Marguerite, 0 Santa Anna; 0 Farragut, 8 West Gambier; 0 Snug, 6 Cannery Cove, 10 Kelp Bay(1 trap, limited 2nd day), 3 Hood Bay South Arm, 0 Sitkoh)
Prawns: 237, (209 Spotted: 7 Punchbowl, 36 Fitzgibbon, 50 Shrimp Bay, 56 Marguerite, 48 Santa Anna; 12 Snug; 24 Kelp Bay), 4 Coon Stripes, small size (Fitzgibbon)
Marten: 1 (1 Punchbowl)
Stellar Sea Lions: ~30, (20 in Sucia Bay, 10 on buoys out of Wrangell)
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
Position: 57 25’33.56 N, 135 12’55.03 W
Course: Stopped.
Position: 21-06-11 14:29:22 -0800
http://maps.google.com/maps?&ll=57.42599,-135.2153&q=57.42599,-135.2153&z=16
