Lower Herring Bay to Disk Cove
/It was a nice morning, and we were ready to move on and see some wildlife. Off to Disk Cove!
Our Ultra Anchor does well in the kelp
The radio has been very quiet this whole trip. All we would hear was the occasional chatter between fishing buddies. All of a sudden, clear as a bell we heard the U.S. Coast guard Sector Anchorage. They reported a 7.1 earthquake in the Aleutian Islands. A tsunami warning was issued for that location but nothing for Prince William Sound. Over the next couple of hours a few of the Glacier Tour boats called the Coast Guard for an update and eventually the Coast Guard issued a statement that there would be no tsunami warning issued for Prince William Sound.
Not long after leaving Lower Herring Bay, we spotted a pod of Orca north of Channel Rock; we were able to watch their movements for a couple of miles as they made their way north. There were 6 to 8 animals, and Karen spotted a mother with a calf. But they were hunting in the shallows, and there was no way we could get close enough for good photos.
Orca on our heading until they went fishing in the shallows
As we proceeded up to Lower Passage, we were accompanied twice by Dalls Porpoise that ran in our bow wake. One group made a very short stay, but the other lingered for 5 minutes or so. They even stayed with us as I made two course changes on the approach to Disk Cove.
Disk cove has a very narrow, but relatively deep entrance. Once through the doglegged channel, the Cove opens up to a circular bay. The bay is well protected on all sides.
There was a small boat already in the cove as we entered. We anchored in the Northeast corner in 60 feet and got a good set. (Love that Ultra!) While waiting for a lower tide to be able to make a good landing in the dinghy and try out some of the hikes mentioned in the Lethcoe guidebook, the rain started. It never let up until after 10pm.
That was our signal to do a load of laundry and make pizza.
Around 8 pm we received some visitors into the cove. It was a small converted fishing vessel that was marked “research”, called NoTea. Apparently they do some sort of research on the whales. Shortly thereafter two very small recreational fishing boats entered and anchored in the northwest corner, named Firefly and Save the Day. All this activity provided us with another “Alaska TV” moment as we tried to write the script behind each of their journeys.
We watched more of Season 2 Homeland before we turned in. As we went to bed, the sky started to show some signs of brightening. If the current weather pattern continues, we might see some sun tomorrow.