On Saturday morning, National Geographic Quest made her way through the Tracy Arm Fjord system. It was a beautiful, cool morning as we maneuvered the ship up to the Sawyer Glacier to get looks at the wall of ice, before repositioning the ship near Sawyer Island. From this vantage point, we took our guests out on two rounds of Zodiac tours. Our drivers took guests through a maze of freshly fallen icebergs and small chunks of ice, to get up-close views of the South Sawyer Glacier. While gazing at the massive, brilliant blue wall of ice, our guests were delighted to see towers of ice and sheer granite rock cliffs towering over hundreds of harbor seals hauled out on the icebergs. After the tours, we slowly worked our way out of the fjord, back towards Stephens Passage, taking in the sights of the tall mountains covered in low hanging clouds and the emerald-green waters slowly turning back to blue.
9/3/2022
Read
National Geographic Quest
Ushk Bay and Peril Strait
National Geographic Quest arose amidst light clouds within the protected waters of Ushk Bay. This area is known for a salmon stream and yields plenty of opportunity for kayaking and exploring the vast meadows of its inner waterways. On this day’s occasion, guests were able to hike and paddle their way along the coast of Ushk Bay and witness firsthand the life cycle of Pacific salmon making their way upstream. As we transited through Peril Strait, we were lucky to see humpback whales. These immense mammals were “lunge feeding” very near our ship. Being able to witness this event was unique for guests and staff. Lunge feeding is process through which individual whales push their gaping mouths through the surface and collect any fish or planktonic invertebrates in the process. Witnessing this behavior was truly a remarkable experience for all. We will cherish this moment for a lifetime.
