Friday, August 12, 2011

Day 58- Inside Passage

I set the time on the alarm of my cell phone but then didn’t turn it on. Can’t blame the technology, have to blame the operator. Anyway, Carl lifted the shade on our “stateroom” to see gray skies. I guess it doesn’t matter to the whales if it’s raining or cold so we got dressed in a hurry and climbed up two decks to find a somewhat sheltered spot. Sure enough there were a few spout off in the distance but none close to the ferry. We listened to some of the passengers talking of the great sightings earlier, of breaches and humpbacks displaying their fins and flukes before heading deep to feed. Another group was talking of the pod of orcas they had seen just before we put into Juneau last night. I sputtered to myself because I had gone to our cabin to work on a blog entry and edit some photos. I had no one to blame but myself. I knew I didn’t have an internet connection for a couple of days but I do like to get stuff down before it all runs together. The gloomy sky and light rain hounded us all morning, making it difficult if not impossible to be out on deck, but by lunch, there was a noticeable blue streak trying to break through. Finally, the blue patches grew bigger, the sun burst forth and brought along it’s friends, the big puffy whites. There are not enough words to describe the wonders of the inside passage. In fact, for me to try is a lame attempt at best. I can say there are countless uninhabited islands covered with trees, high mountains and rock rimmed coastlines. It would be accurate but it just doesn’t do it justice. I’m talking about land no human has likely set foot on in hundreds, maybe thousands of years or ever will, for that matter. The water is clear, of pollution and debris, the flotsam and jetsam of careless humans along shore or in small watercraft. Other than the drone of our diesel engines, all you could hear was the wind or an occasional gull that flew close. Along the trip, Stellar Sea Lions and Harbor Seals were sighted. Pods of Orcas, humpbacks and Porpoises kept the ship company while uncountable gulls, murres, cormorants and puffins fought over fish at the surface. Eagles occupied the tops of channel markers, low hanging branches or uppermost branches of trees with a constant eye out for a meal to be caught or stolen from another creature. On board was a National Park Ranger, Costanzio, who gave 3 short presentations throughout the day, one on the history of Petersburg including the 4 nations and 3 flags flown over the community, one on the history of Wrangle and a garnet mine left to the children of Wrangle and the Boy Scouts Of America, SE Alaska council and a third on Orcas and what they have to teach us. There was a 4th but I can’t remember it at the moment. What I can tell you is Costanzio is a member of the Tlingit ( kling Ket ) nation and has a palpable respect for the nature surrounding us. I can’t think of anyone better suited to be a ranger, a steward if you will, for the caretaking of the parks and the education of those who use them. Our time in the ports of Petersburg and Wrangle were short so Carl and I didn’t even try to go ashore and although we had a bit longer in Ketchikan, we didn‘t get off the ferry there either. I will tell you a bit about one stretch of the Inside Passage called the Wrangle Narrows, 17 miles of navigational nightmare. There are places in this portion of the journey where there is no more than 50 feet from the channel markers to the sides of the Matanuska. The ship draws 15 feet of water while portions of the Narrows are only 17 feet deep. The Captain did have a bit of good fortune in that we had a rising tide. Had it been the other way round, we would have had to wait or else risk going aground. I was one of many looking on from Deck 6 forward while the observer at the bow kept careful watch through binoculars, alerting the captain should anything be amiss. We could hear the communications for every person out on deck who witnessed this was silent as if the ship collectively held their breath. It’s clear you wouldn’t give a novice the responsibility of sailing this course. The navigational buoys seemed to set up a slalom course where the slightest miscalculation could spell trouble. And just like the overwhelming beauty of the area, there are not enough words to describe how the crew, in unison, brought the ship through. As I was taking photos, I must have said as much out loud because the man next to me remarked how right I was that only another mariner could really understand what precision it was taking to bring us through the Wrangle Narrows. By the time we arrived at Ketchikan, the sky had become a bit more congested, just enough clouds to give us a beautiful farewell sunset from Alaska. Our next port of call in the morning, would be Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

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