On days like today it sometimes seems like it would be easier to make a list of everything we didn’t see… With an uncharacteristically sociable Alaskan sun above our heads we explored the trails of George Island, the community of Elfin Cove, and the coast of the surrounding Inian Islands. The oceanic upwelling, rising up from the adjacent Gulf of Alaska, makes this region a veritable melee of life, teeming amongst the waves. Mother otters with kits in tow could be seen floating amongst the swirling bull kelp while northern sea lions frolicked and fished in the roiling current. Humpbacks dove deep, casually showing off their massive flukes to those in the National Geographic Sea Bird’s small fleet of expedition landing craft that had a front row seat.
And yet, even with this plethora of activity occurring on the surface, the real excitement required a more immersive examination. Undersea specialist Ian and second mate Chris Rhodes were only too happy to oblige in this respect and returned with footage to share with the more sensible majority of warmer and dryer humans on board. On the ocean floor organisms can be found that live on an entirely different plane of existence. Despite a seemingly slower pace, the creatures of the deep live in chaotic frenzy of action. Octopi and sea stars pry open bivalves by the dozen all the while avoiding predators more voracious than themselves. Anemones of all different shapes and colors employ a host of tactics to snare their planktonic prey moved to and fro by the tides. Snails graze amongst the holdfasts of kelp that allow the gaseous bulb to float towards the surface, taking with it the photosynthesizing blades that stretch like ribbons in the wind. All this, and infinitely more, inhabit more area than we will ever be able to survey on our voyage, but the very fact that there will be more “out there” to be discovered is what truly makes this an expedition.
