Mother Goose Leg 3, Day 7 – Redfish Bay to Scow Bay

The good weather that had seen us from Coronation Island to Baranof yesterday was forecasted to rapidly deteriorate. When we awoke this morning, a persistent rain was falling and a breeze was blowing. Since most of our day’s travel would be exposed to the open ocean, we departed promptly at 8 am to beat the winds. After cruising back out of Redfish Bay, we turned right and continued up the coast. Visibility was poor, but the sea conditions could have been much worse. A light wind stirred the water’s surface and 3 or 4 foot swells rolled in off the Pacific. It was certainly a lazy cruising day, with the mist closed in around us. As the skippers kept diligent watch, most of the crews napped or relaxed in their salons.

An hour or so into our day’s cruise, Deception saw some unexpected breakers or whitewater off in the mist. There was no obstruction listed on the chart, so we proceeded a little further to see what was up ahead. As we got close, we could see that the commotion was being caused by a number of humpback whales. We passed 5 or 6 individuals, and it’s likely many more were hidden by the mist. These animals were being very active on the surface, splashing around with their pectoral fins and flukes. Two of these whales put on quite a display just off the port side of the fleet. After this moment of excitement, we left these playful whales behind and continued forward.

Our original destination for today was Stillwater Cove, but due to the weather forecast we decided to push ahead and finish up all of our cruising that was exposed to the open ocean. So, we motored on for another hour to reach Scow Bay. The entrance to Scow Bay is very narrow and we arrived at low tide, so we very slowly nudged our way through the entrance with trees hanging so close to the boats we could just about reach out and touch them. Once through the narrows, we dropped anchor in the small bay. Rolling, forested hills stretched out around us and, except for the rain there was no indication of the weather outside. After anchoring, most everyone was in the mood for a mellow afternoon. Some napped, others read or played games. It certainly felt good to relax after some of our great adventures. As the evening wore on, we enjoyed our second to last dinner at sea and settled in for the night.