Mother Goose Leg 3, Day 4 – Craig to Coronation Island

In Southeast Alaska, the wind generally picks up in the afternoon as the sun rises and warms the land. The mornings are usually calm and still, perfect for pleasant cruising. To take advantage of this phenomenon, we left Craig at 8 am and set out for Coronation Island. Our journey took us through a number of narrow, winding channels. The scenery was stunning, with emerald isles and a smattering of small, forested islets. The rain came and went, and we were even treated to a brief period of sunshine. The wildlife became denser and denser as we cruised along. We saw humpback whales, sea otters, and a multitude of seabirds, all feeding in the productive waters.

Before we knew it, we emerged out into the open Pacific Ocean, and Coronation Island appeared in the distance. Aside from a gentle ocean swell, the crossing was very flat. It did not take us long to cruise across the open stretch, around to the northern shores of Coronation Island. We pulled into Egg Harbor in the early afternoon. The local native peoples traditionally used this bay as a meeting spot for expeditions to the remote seabird colonies where they would harvest eggs. The bay derives its name from this ancient practice.

After dropping anchor, Casey led a dinghy tour of the surrounding area. We saw a multitude of seabirds including pelagic cormorants, pigeon guillemots, common murres, rhinoceros auklets, and marbled murrelets. A lone humpback whale spouted off in the distance, but we decided not to venture out that far in our little dinghies. Instead, we headed east, planning on exploring the neighboring bay. To our great surprise and pleasure, another humpback whale spouted up ahead, this one much closer than the last. We made our way closer to the animal and shut off our engines to watch and listen as it swam in the near shore waters. This particular individual must have been feeling a little exuberant, because it repeatedly slapped its flukes on the water’s surface and even lifted its entire hind end out of the water a few times. Finally, the whale seemed to tire of this game and moved on. The dinghy flotilla motored up the bay and went ashore to explore the beach and tide pools before returning to the fleet for dinner.

While the dinghy tour was taking place, Pat and Steve took the Kingfisher out and did a little fishing. They had great success, returning with two big lingcod and number of big healthy rockfish. Upon their return, the fish were promptly cleaned and filleted. The crew of Deception enjoyed a wonderful seafood stew, with fresh local spot prawns and the rockfish that was caught today. Before long, the light was fading and it was time to go to bed.