Icy Strait Point

Click here to see the Video of our Day at Icy Strait Point

Our day began by having breakfast in the buffet before we docked at Icy Strait Point at 8 am. As we were eating, we heard a loud gasp from many people near the windows...a whale had surfaced right next to the ship! A sign of what was to come!!

The dock at Icy Strait Point was only a year old and made getting off the ship so much easier. In the past ships would anchor off shore and tender the passengers to land. We followed the instructions from Theresa (of Glacial Wind Charters) and walked through the visitor's center and then followed the path to where tours meet. When booking our whale watching tour in early October, I was disappointed to find out that Shawn (Theresa's husband) already had a full tour but was able to get into a group with Casey, their son.

Each of the two groups (for Shawn & Casey) had six people and the twelve of us piled into Theresa's van for the short drive to Hoonah...a little over a mile away. Theresa pointed out things of interest including a brand new (only a week old!) sidewalk bordered by large logs along the road to town.

At the marina everyone was divided into the two groups of six. Our group with Casey consisted of Bob and I, Kent & Laurel and another couple, Barry and Sharon, from Florida. It was Casey's first day as a boat captain for the whale watching tours and he was driving an older boat that had been his father's. His dad, Shawn, had a brand new boat but was very similar. Our boat was small, but had enough room for all six of us to sit inside and it had a bathroom...an important feature when we were going to be out on the water all morning.

Shawn followed his dad as we left the marina and we headed towards where some whales had been spotted. We had only been sailing for a few minutes when a whale breached right in front of our boat! No one was quick enough to catch it with a camera, but how exciting it was to see!

Once we reached the area where the whales had been spotted we saw a few, but none were close and they didn't seem very active.

Casey decided we might have better luck closer to where our ship was docked and headed back that way.

In just a short time we saw groups of whales, including a mother with a calf. At first the whales were closer to the shore, but then we began seeing them very close to our boat. At times we would hear them blow before we even saw them!

In between whale sightings, we also saw a seal playing in the water and an eagle clutching a fish in his talons as he flew by.

A couple of times we saw the whales breach. I wasn't able to get a photo, but Barry was nice enough to email me a copy of one that he took.

Just as I was thinking how incredibly lucky we were to see so many whales, we started noticing the sea gulls circling nearby.

And then...all at once a group of whales burst through the surface of the water with their mouths open. They were BUBBLE NET FEEDING! I had read about this behavior, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect to see it with my own eyes!!

(Here is a description of bubble net feeding from online...)

Bubble Net Feeding is a unique feeding technique employed by Humpback Whales, in which a group of whales swim in a shrinking circle blowing bubbles below a school of fish. This shrinking column of bubbles surrounds the school of fish forcing them upward. The whales spontaneously swim upward through the bubble net, mouths wide open, catching thousands of fish in one gulp. 

To see this once was amazing, but the whales continued to put on their show multiple times!! And unlike the breaches that caught us off guard, the gulls always gave us advance notice of where this was going to happen.

All of us could have spent the entire day watching the whales perform, but Casey had to get back to pick up the group for his noon tour.

I had been so busy watching and photographing the whales that I hadn't even noticed that Casey had set out smoked salmon dip (made by Theresa!) with crackers and various drinks...delicious!!

Theresa was waiting as Casey dropped us off and we continued to get a show from the dock!! There were a couple of kayakers nearby that had a very close encounter!

Theresa did a loop through the town of Hoonah and made a brief stop at their house so she could get us copies of the recipe for smoked salmon dip that we had just enjoyed. Here is the recipe:

Combine:
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup salsa
1 Tbsp. horseradish sauce
1 cup deboned, flaked, drained Alaskan smoked salmon

Bob happened to notice the carving shed in town and Theresa offered to stop and check to see if there was work being done on any totem poles. Since it didn't appear that anyone was around we declined.

A cemetery that we passed on the way back to Icy Strait Point.

Theresa  pointed out an eagle's nest.

As soon as we got back to the port, we went back on the ship to drop off our backpacks and have a quick lunch at the buffet.

Some carvings on display at the port.

We got confused on how to get back to the ship and took the long...but scenic way.

Casey passing by with his afternoon tour group.

I turned on my phone to see if I had service and a text popped up from Theresa saying she had stopped at the carving shed when she got back to Hoonah. No work was being done, but there were a couple of men there answering questions and explaining what they do. She even offered to come back to the ship to pick us up. I thanked her, but decided we wanted to explore what was available there at the port instead.

The day had turned out to be beautifully sunny and was so nice as we left the ship and walked around the port area. There were several different restaurants and a large gift shop run by the Tlinglet located in an old cannery building.

View of the old cannery building from the water.

The Duck Point Smokehouse Restaurant.

This raven had an injured leg and was flying from table to table at the outdoor restaurant begging for food.

The view from the cannery window.

And the view from outside.

A woodcarver working in the gift shop.

Displays had been set up in the cannery depicting what it would have looked like back when it was in operation.

Icy Strait Point boasts the worlds largest zip line which is about a mile long and takes around 90 seconds. It looked like fun, but paying over $100/person for less than 2 minutes of excitement was not going to happen.

As we walked along the boardwalk, the whales continued to entertain as they swam around the ship. You never knew when they would surface, but the gulls were a good indication of where the bubble net feeding was about to occur.

A seal playing next to the shore.

Bob and I wandered down to the beach area near the ramp to the ship. We had been seeing eagles in the trees all afternoon, including one who had caught a fish!

When he flew away several other eagles took chase trying to steal away the prized fish.

The path through the woods looked inviting...

...and ended right at the beach where Bob did some rock hunting.

I sat on a log enjoying the sunshine and after a bit, Kent & Laurel showed up. Kent joined Bob and Laurel and I watched as the gulls waited until the whales churned up yummy herring in the water.

Everything about our day in Icy Strait Point had been perfect...the whales, the eagles, the sunshine...and we really didn't want to leave! We waited until the last possible moment to board the ship and then went straight to our balcony to watch as the ropes were pulled and we sailed away. We were treated to one last show of the whales bubble net feeding and I felt like we had spent the day at Sea World where the whales were performing on command!

Once the ship left Icy Strait Point, it was just a short time before the winds were howling and the sea had become very rough as we headed out into the open waters of the Pacific.

Dinner was in the Four Seasons dining room. Expecting to have a wait for a table, we were pleasantly surprised to find the dining room only partially full. As I walked in, I stopped to look at a video a woman in the atrium was watching on her cell phone that she had taken of the whales next to the ship. I'm sure most passengers left with many whale photos and videos whether they had done a whale watching tour or not!

We lingered over dinner, but decided we were all too tired to enjoy the evening entertainment and were back in our cabin by 8 pm. Every joint and muscle in my body was aching...most likely from being on my feet all day, holding my camera up to my face, and trying to keep my balance while we were on the small boat.

Bob watched a movie on TV and I went online and sent the kids a lengthy email with photos of our wonderful day. (Bob never managed to catch a movie from the beginning so he watched it in bits and pieces...all out of order...but eventually saw the whole thing!)