Redwoods, Segways, and Hurricane Rick

We left Seattle October 9th on the M/V Ursa Major for Mexico under a beautiful Puget Sound sunset. The seas were relatively calm and the crew, (Josh, Sheila, Teal, Becky, Nick, and myself), was excited for the journey ahead.


Three days into our trip south, a strong southerly storm approached Oregon and California with predicted 50-60 kts wind and heavy seas. We headed into Eureka, California on October 12th to wait a few days for the weather to clear.


Coincidentally, it also happened to be Teal's birthday. It only seemed appropriate to hit all the quality watering holes in Eureka to celebrate accordingly. We dabbled in (chip) hot dogs and pool at "Dave's", beer sampling at "The Lost Coast Brewery", and not to forget some extreme ping pong at "The Shanty".


The following day we rented a miniwan and toured the Loleta Cheese Factory and Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The mirrors had to be folded in to get to through this particular redwood.


Becky, Sheila, and I decided to get out of the storm inside this redwood tree house.


After spending time with the redwoods, we headed toward the Lost Coast to investigate the sea state and wind conditions. We stopped in the hamlet of Honeydew for gasoline and snacks. Besides this sign, the only other structure in Honeydew was the gas station itself.


The road to the Lost Coast with Cape Mendocino in the distance. Note the storm clouds and crashing surf in the distance.


Teal and Sheila on our favorite Lost Coast beach.


Josh pointing the way to open water. Only two more land days to go!!


The Fishermans Memorial Statue at the Woodley Island Marina in Eureka. This photo was taken just hours after the storm abated. We left the following morning for San Diego.


Almost four days later, we found ourselves in San Diego awaiting the passing of Hurricane Rick on the western coast of Mexico. As always, we managed to find entertain ourselves in some fashion. The above photo was taken at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla.


Later that day, we took a segway tour of downtown San Diego. Most of us were new to the segway experience but we were able to see quite a lot in a couple of hours. Next to us is the ship used in the film "Master and Commander".


Our crew photo for the trip from San Diego to La Paz. Sheila and Teal "jumped ship" in San Diego for a vacation in Vermont and Bill, (center of photo), joined us for the remainder of the journey.

An Aero-tastic Adventure....

During the final week of our stay in Seattle before departure for Mexico, Josh and I finally accepted an open invitation to go flying with a favorite (and repeat) guest of ours from the M/V Ursa Major, Bruce Booker. The following photos were taken by yours truly from the backseat of the aircraft because our regular blog photographer, Josh, was otherwise occupied flying the airplane with Bruce!

Alaskan sunset

Josh took this photo our last night in Sitka. Mt. Edgecombe is seen in the background.

More photos to follow soon......

Octopus!!!

Despite current economic conditions, Josh and I have been quite busy with our charter work on the M/V Ursa Major all summer and have had little time to work on our blog. Until we have time to catch up, here are some interesting pictures of an octopus that was caught on a bottom rod this past week near Sitka, Alaska.

Summer Solstice

Since our last posting, we completed two charters on the M/V Ursa Major between Petersburg and Sitka. We had the opportunity to visit Tracy Arm, an ice-choked fiord south of Juneau.


The ice found in Tracy Arm is from the South Sawyer Glacier, (seen above).


Josh drove the M/V Ursa Major within two miles of the glacier face and close to many harbor seals and waterfalls.


My duties for the trip in Tracy Arm included netting small ice chunks for cocktails with the fish net and pushing ice out of the way with the boat pole.


Josh photographed these two brown bears near the Hidden Falls hatchery on Baranof Island. Brown bears can range in color from light tan to black. It is the shape of the head that distinguishes true brown bears from true black bears.


This family of killer whales were photographed outside Tracy Arm feeding on herring.


Dall's porpoise are known for their rooster-tailing behavior and are common bowriders on boats. These marine mammals are prey for killer whales.

Fishing in Sitka Sound

We took a day off last week between charters to enjoy rare sunshine in southeast Alaska and to fish in Sitka Sound.

Joyce, our fearless leader of the M/V Ursa Major, reeling in her halibut just off Cape Edgecombe.


Josh holding the fruits of his labor for the day. He caught the first halibut of the day.


Emily hoisting up her delicious halibut. This one proved to be quite the fighter.

Glacier Bay National Park

At the end of May, we took the M/V Ursa Major to Glacier Bay National Park with our fearless leader (and M/V Ursa Major owner), Dr. Joyce Gauthier.


The above photo of the M/V Ursa Major skiff was taken at the base of Reid Glacier, a tidewater glacier where we anchored for one night. Emily and Terry, a friend of Joyce's, were attacked by Arctic terns, (a sometimes angry bird species), when they accidentally walked too close to a hidden nest. No one was hurt but the wrath of nesting Arctic terns should never be doubted.


Part 1 of enthusiastic humpback whale breaching. Just when we thought we couldn't top the whale antics on the last charter, this humpback whale breaching just outside Glacier Bay National Park in Inian Pass took the cake. Not only did he/she earn bonus points for sheer acrobatics and enthusiasm, but this whale breached and taillobbed (vigorous slapping on the tail) for an hour.


Part 2 of enthusiastic humpback whale breaching.


Part 3 of enthusiastic humpback whale breaching.


Part 4 of enthusiastic humpback whale breaching.


Onto brown bears... This particular bear was caught him in the middle of barnacle tasting on the beach. Note the exposed tongue.


The brown bear kept turning over rocks in his continuing search for barnacles and seaweed.


Yes, we were really this close to the brown bear.... in a motorized skiff.... with a telephoto lens....


Glacier Bay National Park is also the home to numerous Stellar (or Northern) sea lions. This particular group was found swimming just off a Stellar sea lion rookery.


This juvenile Stellar sea lion was caught doing flips just off the rookery. Note the numerous Stellar sea lions laying on the rocks.


The park is also home to the elusive, and comical, Tufted puffin. They are designated as "Tufted" because of a yellow feather tuft found at the back of their head.


We managed to get pretty close to the Tufted puffins from the M/V Ursa Major but as seen in the above photo, they can be fairly skiddish.


Gray wolves were also present within the park boundaries. This pack was out for a morning stroll on the beach.


This whitish specimen of the gray wolf was also traveling with the pack on the beach.


Harbor seals were seen throughout the park on the ice flows near calving glaciers. The glacier behind this particular harbor seal is Marjorie Glacier.


This sea otter was seen on the way to Glacier Bay National Park. He was part of a flotilla of twenty sea otters found on the west side of Chichagoff Island.


Josh in front of Marjorie Glacier. This photo was taken just prior to the glacier calving into the bay. The wake from the ice fall was felt on the M/V Ursa Major moments later.


Emily enjoying the view from the sun deck prior to anchoring at Reid Glacier.


Our friends on the M/V Ursa Major for the trip: Nancy, Terry, Joyce (fearless leader), and John.


Steak night on the boat at Reid Glacier. The glacier can be seen just behind the barbeque grill.


The view between Marjorie Glacier and Reid Glacier. The weather and visibility for the trip was spectacular for both kayaking and wildlife viewing.