Life List:
Wild Alaska by boat
Ever see a whale blowhole? Scott was expecting whales in the distance, not right next to our boat.
A Whale of a Tale
We’re near Pinta Point, admiring the way the sunlight and clouds play with the colors of the water. Where there’s a cloud, the water looks slate gray, with highlights of silver. Where it’s bright blue sky, the water is a spectrum of blues and silvers. It’s then that we see four or five whale spouts in the distance and decide to head toward shore so we can get a better viewing and hopefully get some nice photos. It’s been eight days since we left Juneau, and to this point, we haven’t seen much whale activity and what we’ve seen hasn’t been very close to us. Today that changed in a heartbeat.
Another small boat is near the whale spouts, and they’re getting quite the show—complete with lobtailing, spyhopping and breaching—but as we approach, the whales start disappearing one by one. Scott and Vic climb out on the front deck and take a few photos but the whales—humpbacks—are heading in the opposite direction and Vic eventually gives up. Scott and I decide to follow the whales. We turn on the engine and slowly motor in the direction of the now-distant spouts. All have disappeared except one, and it is probably a mile ahead of us.
I just about have a heart attack, and yell out, “They’re right next to the boat. I think they went under the boat!”
Suddenly, a whale surfaces just off the bow. We cut the motor. Another appears. Another. And another. We are smack in the middle of them! How’d that happen? Vic comes to join us as we shout that they have turned and headed back into us. The next 10 minutes they surround us, playing around the boat, and we take dozens of photos. As quickly as they appeared, they disappear again. We all chatter excitedly, and Scott and Vic prepare to come back inside the boat.
Phhhhttt! A whale spouts right beside us. They are back! I see a whale off to the side of the boat, headed towards the rear, so I decide to go try to get a photo. Two of them surface right next to the dinghy. I just about have a heart attack, and yell out, “They’re right next to the boat. I think they went under the boat!” Phhhhtttt!! They pop right back up and swim around behind the boat.
Meanwhile, several whales are putting on the same show at the front of the boat, where Scott and Vic are still standing outside. All I can think is, “I hope they don’t come up under the boat! They’re bigger than our boat!” I also think about how it will be quite the feat to get Scott and Vic back into the boat if they fall off the front, since there is nothing but a flat deck.
We realize that yet again, being on a small boat creates intimate opportunities that simply don’t exist on
the larger yachts and cruise ships.
After another 10 minutes or so, the whales turn and swim into the distance, lobtailing and slapping the water with their flippers. None of us can believe what we have just witnessed—more than that, taken part in. It was a real adrenaline rush, combined with the awesome sense of being a part of the whales, if only for a short moment in time. I wonder if my heart rate will ever slow down.
A little bit of investigation puts our encounter with humpback whales into perspective: We are in a converted fishing troller that is 38 feet long and weighs about 12 tons. Adult male humpbacks are 46 feet long and weigh 25 tons; females are 49 feet long and weigh 35 tons; at birth, babies are 16 feet long and weigh 2 tons. We realize that yet again, being on a small boat creates intimate opportunities that simply don’t exist on the larger yachts and cruise ships.
As if the humpback whales weren’t enough, we later come upon a lone killer whale. His dorsal fin is very distinctive. On a full-grown male, it’s about six feet tall, so we have no doubt that we are seeing an adult male. It takes Scott and me a few minutes to realize we are seeing a huge fin. Vic comes to the front when we call him, and he says it is the first killer whale he’s seen all summer. We never did get very close to it, but it was exciting just the same.
First Day | Fiords, Glaciers and Icebergs | Secluded Coves
Steller Sea Lions | Bears, Bears and More Bears
Fishing Villages and Hot Springs | Harbor Seals
Rainforests, High-Alpine Lakes and Beaches
A Whale of a Tale | Epilogue | Your Turn: Charter a Yacht
Alaska Photo Galleries