July 12 Welcoming Committee at Kake

We started out this morning for a 5 hour passage to Baranof Hot Springs but ended up coming another 3 1/2 hours to Kake.

It was a beautiful morning with calm seas and blue skies. We enjoyed our transit South to Baranof Hot Springs. Only one or two cruising boats out but LOTS of commercial fishing vessels...seiners. Well, when we got to the government dock at Baranof Hot Springs it was overloaded with the large commercial vessels already "rafted" three deep. There is a large beautiful waterfall at the head of the bay and it provides a strong current making anchoring out of the question. The inlets adjacent were all too deep and of questionable holding so we opted to take a picture of the falls and move on.

Next stop we had planned was the small Indian village of Kake ONLY another 3 1/2 hours away. It seemed like it took forever but we were well rewarded for our trip. As we entered the passage between Chathem Strait and Frederick Sound (just north of Kuiu Island) we began to see splashes in the water and whale spouts. Thus far we had only seen single humpback whales but this was a large pod of them which numbered about 40. Soon they were all around us and what a spectacular show they put on!!! If you know whales you will understand what "spyhopping" is and several were doing that. Some of the humpbacks rolled over on their sides and slapped the water with their dorsal fins to stun the fish. Others were just doing repetitions of diving with the raised tail as they slide gracefully under the water. One surfaced right beside the boat and I got a good demonstration of their size...massive is a good description.

We just took the boat out of gear and sat there awhile enjoying the sights and sounds...yes, they make very loud noises as they exhale when they surface. I rode out on the bow for quite awhile then trying to take pictures as momentos of our experience.

We told the harbor master here in Kake that we loved their "welcoming committee" as that is what it felt like and it was hard to "tear ourselves away" to come the rest of the way into the harbor.

Now we are being treated to a beautiful sunset...what more could we want?

Linda & Gary


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