We woke up this morning to some delicious true Alaska weather with a light rain falling over the temperate rain forest and low clouds intertwining with the ghostly shapes of Sitka spruces and western hemlocks. Only the occasional harbor porpoise or a solitary Steller sea lion broke the calm waters ahead of the National Geographic Sea Bird as we sailed towards our morning destination at George Island. Located to the north of the much larger Chichagof Island, George Island is a small but very interesting place, and we explored it using kayaks, expedition landing craft, and our own legs. Many of us went hiking looking for the many natural beauties of George Island as well as for the historical remains on it, as this is the place where a small group of soldiers guarded the entrance of the Inside Passage during WWII.
After leaving George Island, we headed to Elfin Cove, which is a very small and picturesque fishing settlement nearby; we had the chance to walk around this boardwalk community, talk to its friendly residents, and learn about their unique lifestyle. Meanwhile, Garland Sutton and I went scuba diving just off Elfin Cove to get some underwater video of some of the inhabitants of the kelp forest, including decorator crabs, leather sea stars, and rock greenlings.
During the afternoon we traveled a short distance to the Inian islands; the Inians are located at the northern entrance to the Inside Passage, just off the Fairweather range, and they create a bottleneck for the waters passing through; strong tidal currents bring lots of nutrients and schools of fish and the whole area is very dynamic and full of life. We spent the afternoon exploring it with our expedition landing craft and got the chance to watch many Steller sea lions, tufted puffins, sea otters, bald eagles, and many more species, making the perfect ending of a great day in Southeast Alaska.
