Exploring Whale Bay, Alaska by Kayak

Water this calm is beckoning to be kayaked on. We explored all the nooks and crannies along the shoreline and ended up covering about 6.5 miles by the end of the adventure.

What an adventure! Today I took our guests, aboard the expedition ship Safari Explorer, to a bay in Prince William Sound that we have never been to before. This is what expedition travel is all about. We are all exploring together. This afternoon I had planned on showing them the massive Chenega tidewater glacier, but it had dropped so much ice into Icy Bay, that getting anywhere near it was impossible. So, after studying the charts of nearby adventure options, we decided to take the boat into the neighboring Whale Bay.

Whale Bay was historically a great place to see feeding humpback whales. It was a known spot for young herring fish to gather, a favorite food of the whales. However, the herring fishery collapsed after the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, when oil covered the normally pristine waters and shorelines of Prince William Sound. While we didn't see any whales today, the adventures were still memorable. We sent out half the guests in our skiff, to see what they could find. The other half came with me, on an epic 6.5 mile kayaking adventure.

Conditions started out as good as they can get for kayaking. The water was flat calm, so it felt like sliding on ice. As we explored the shallow bays, we could see the rocky bottom clearly through the water. Loads of harbor seals popped up around us, curious yet timid at the same time. We came across mergansers and harlequin ducks, sharing the calm bays with us. It was high tide, which is always a fun time to kayak here. You can feel like you are almost in the forest as the water almost touches the bottom branches of hanging trees. We passed waterfalls and snowy peaks, and even made it across the bay to a smaller cove called Orca Bay. While we didn't see the namesake, we did have waterfalls and more nooks and crannies to explore all by ourselves.

It was at this point, our farthest distance from the boat, that I noticed a few of our kayakers struggling. Needing to come up with a solution for getting them back, and with the winds starting to fill in against us, I called for a VIP skiff pickup for anyone wanting one. 8 kayakers took me up on the option. The skiff pulled in, the kayakers clamored aboard, they attached their kayaks for a tow, and were whisked back to the boat for hot showers and hot drinks.

For the rest of us, the adventure was just getting started. We turned our kayaks into the wind, and got our workout for the day. The wind was also building some waves, so it was a bit splashy on the way back, but everyone performed admirably, and had stories to tell later at the dinner table. The bonding continues aboard the Safari Explorer. And we are just getting started.

Kayaking in Alaska at high tide can feel like you are almost in the forest. These overhanging trees hid the oncoming storm clouds, at least for a little bit.

Our surroundings were pretty amazing. We started out in the middle of Whale Bay, surrounded by snow capped peaks of western Prince William Sound.

A male harlequin duck takes off with two females in this surprisingly good iPhone photo.

This is what kayaking in Alaska is all about. We have calm water, beautiful mountains, and an adventurous spirit. The clouds are starting to show an impending storm brewing. It was nice to get this activity in before the big winds arrived.

With calm ocean conditions, and a shallow rocky bottom, the water looked almost tropical in some places.

Everything is so big, and so vast, in this part of Alaska. Massive mountains tower right out of the ocean. It makes exploring this area a humbling experience. Somewhere in this picture is our skiff, taking guests out on a tour through this incredible landscape. Look again and see if you can find it.