August 20 - 22
8/20 Three Hour Tour: It was a bumpy midday ride to Coronation Island. Somewhere mid-ride, it was noticed that the halibut filets had disappeared. It appears that they ended up as fish food when they bounced off the back of the boat. Everybody thought someone else had brought them inside.
Coronation Island has nice mountain topology, but is not really known for its diving. We stopped in a quiet bay with glass-smooth rolling water. No chop, just slight swells. The dive was just outside the bay, and reported to be one of the best dives of the trip, who would have thought. Others went fishing (really - fishing, for salmon - we were running low and gosh darn it, the boat needed more salmon). Others went for a hike and still others went kayaking. A nice day all in all.
8/21 We made an overnight run to Meyers Chuck for a day of relaxation (this is a theme) and diving. Meyers Chuck has its own Post Office and Gallery, and is one of the few remaining classic Alaskan Outposts. Mail once a week. No roads. Entry via boat or float plane only. Our morning dive greeted us with calm flat seas and a lush, steep (100+ feet), pinnacle to explore. The best diving was on the west side from 12 to 35 feet. This area contained vast fields of brightly colored metridiums in all colors. In the 12 foot range, the metridiums became smaller, but were grouped with many starfish (seastars to some) of many colors - the bright purple ones were especially colorful.
We did an afternoon dive at this location, which was equally fun. The ride out for the second dive was rainy, choppy, and a little rough for the skiff. No matter. The sun was out by the time we arrived on site. Again we found the metridium wall. Kim joined us this time and started out a little hurried, missing the little stuff - we were going way to slow for her taste. She eventually shifted to low gear and started looking at the little stuff, just in time to end the dive. The skiff ride back to Meyers Chuck was fun - lots of spray due to the not-quite flat seas, but it was not rough - just very wet.
Once back from the second dive, we left Meyers Chuck, heading to Ketchikan for the sights and shopping. We arrived mid-evening, oly to find Paul Allen's 'fishing boat' parked in Tongass Narrows. The $100 Million Tatoosh is the 12th largest luxury yacht on the planet, which he keeps very busy on trips around the world. We motored past, docking next to a 2800 person cruise ship with glass elevators, dwarfing the dock and local buildings. The thousands of passengers were already back on board, so most of the shops were closed at this time. The evening consisted of going walkabout downtown, finding a river full of salmon and Totem Park. We had very little motivation to stay out, so headed back to the mothership for R&R. I had the Ito Touch done to my back, and afterwards was not totally sure if the tight muscle was better or if it was differently sore from the abuse. Turned out it was better. I highly recommend one of Mr. Itos massages if you get the chance.
8/22 We motor out of Ketchikan at 6am, destined for an evening arrival in Prince Rupert. Midway, we stop in Foggy Bay for an exploratory dive on an outer bay pinnacle. We eventually find the pinnacle in open water...dark and currenty...low vis down to 65 feet. The bottom opened up to a white cap peak of metridiums. Very majestic. Divers reported an octopus or two, a few wolf eels, many rock fishes, and a lot of small life.
We moved on the our final dive location in Goose Bay, Dundas Island, New Arniston Point. It was a cloudy, rainy day in Canada. It was also the big wamma jamma octopus dive. Personal flight restrictions prevented some of us from diving, while others went for a shallow high octane nitrox dive. The skiff came back with no great stories of octopus attacks, only a few divers encountered one or two very shy beasts. We head off to Prince Rupert.