After a thoroughly foggy morning cruising up Chatham Strait, the skies cleared just as we pulled into Hanus Bay on the north shore of Baranof Island. Having a great deal of sunshine as a constant companion, guests paddled the calm bay and hiked the verdant forest. Taking advantage of the incoming tide, a gaggle of divers suited up to explore the underwater world of Southeast Alaska. Engineer Will, head chef Michelle, and bartender Grace all enthusiastically suited up for our dive in the mild summer water. In fact, we generated so much heat getting geared up that the cool Alaskan waters where, dare I say, refreshing to splash into.
Rolling backwards into the green water, we plied the depths for interesting creatures to share with our guests back in the lounge. Piles of shells littered the rocky reef, a sure sign of a large, powerful, resident predator feasting on clams and crabs. We peered into the cracks and under ledges, hoping to find the source of the devastation. In one crack we found a huge gray face with a strong, square jaw. This mature wolf fish could surely be responsible for the crab parts, but he wouldn’t be the only one. Just a few moments later, our trusty engineer Will flickered his torch to get my attention. He then lit up one of the largest and bulkiest crabs of the Inside Passage, the Puget Sound king crab. This hulking beast of a crustacean can decimate most hard-shelled reef dwellers using a specialized, reinforced claw. Looking more like an alien warship than an underwater arthropod, this large crab will call the rocky reef home for the summer before heading to deeper water during the long, dark winter months.
Suddenly, from the clean green water came the rapid approach of an impressive king salmon. Darting at the reef with its black mouth agape and then sprinting back out towards deep water with a few flicks of its powerful tail, it was an unmistakable, albeit very rare sighting. Having spent years in the Gulf of Alaska growing into an impressive adult, what are the chances it has ever seen a human before? Hopefully I will be the last human it ever sees.
