Earlier this month I created and launched the 'Made In Puget Sound® Underwater Wildlife Photography and Videography' MeetUp.
​This is a group designed to help anyone that is interested in underwater photo and video. We will meet every third Sunday of each month at the Seattle Film Institute from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. 3210 16th Ave W., Seattle WA 98119.  PostFX Room, 2nd Floor. The parking is limited. Please respect QFC and do not use their parking lot.
Join up and bring a friend.

Since the first few months after becoming a certified scuba diver in Puget Sound, I've often wondered 'what's down there' nearly every time I pass a body of water. On various boat dives with the few remaining dive charters in this area, I've wanted to explore below the surface of the Sound in places the charters would not, or could not get to. I am now able to explore our waters and bring images back that most people would never see. As the first in my series of 'Explore Puget Sound' blogs, I've chosen the northern islands of Puget Sound first. Many are uninhabited islands and rarely visited by people.

Burrows Island is just south of Fidalgo Island, west of Anacortes. It is no longer inhabited by people, but is still home to an important and functioning Lighthouse. For years I've been curious about the plants and animals living just below the surface around this somewhat isolated island. This is a stunningly beautiful area with secluded coves and tiny sandy beaches. I chose the west end of the island because of its safe entry and exit point. 

What bottom topography might I encounter while diving throughout the Bull Kelp and rocky shoals surrounding the island? To learn more about this area, and to discover much more excellent information visit the Burrows Island lighthouse website.

As I motored on to a small sandy beach adjacent to the lighthouse, I found the perfect protected cove for me to gear up and drop into the water. My dive, although late in the day, was just prior to slack tide. This allowed me to explore the entire area during minimal current, for upward of an hour. 

Although not a deep spot, it is filled with beautiful and colorful life. Ribbed, Split and Bull Kelp surround the area.  The kelp cover the bottom. It feeds, hides and protects Northern Kelp Crab, and Purple, Red & Green Urchins, and a multitude of Sea Stars. A very large Widehand Hermit was not intimidated by my presence what so ever.

As I left the island, the sun was beginning to set behind the Olympic Mountains to the west. I passed Fidalgo Island, I was able to capture a spectacular shot of Fidalgo Head. It's ominous steep cliffs tower over Rosario Strait, the perfect end to an extraordinary journey.

​Our first task Friday morning was to retrieve and raise the five crab pots in hopes of capturing a few big ones for our final night’s 'Dungeness Crab Feast'. Much to our surprise, the first pot brought on board yielded 12 very large Dungeness Crabs. The second pot was filled with 11 massive crustaceans. In all we captured more than 50 crabs. A few small, a few medium, and many very large crustaceans. Although we kept only 15 very large, very delicious Dungeness Crabs, it was more than enough for an amazing dinner. They were very large, and very sweet, and very flavorful, but 8 of us could not even consume 8 full size crabs. The next morning after a perfectly prepared and delicious breakfast of fresh Dungeness Crab omelets, we gave a few crabs to some friends back in Juneau. 

​By Friday afternoon we had arrived at East Point on Admiralty Island. Time to bait our hooks, drop our lines and enjoy the final afternoon of Silver Salmon fishing. Today though, after only a few minutes, we were reeling in 11 to 15 pound Silvers with ease. Soon we reached our limit. Unfortunately, after almost full 7 days of calm winds and gorgeous blue skies, the weather was finally beginning to sour. The wind was picking up. Rain drops were lightly bouncing off the boats windows. Clearly, we were nearing our point of origin - Juneau.
 
Before the final anchoring and overnighting in Funter Bay, we were hoping to see a few more bears seeking their salmon meals. This would be my favorite and most important experience of the trip. My very up close and very personal encounter with two young Brown Bears. 

​As the Alaska Quest neared Pavlov Bay north of East Point, we viewed the waterfall about a half mile away. Salmon must are navigate up and over the falls to reach their spawning grounds. This is deadly dangerous place for salmon. Bears are keenly aware of the probability of the salmon jumping the falls and claiming a fresh salmon dinner of their own. Unfortunately, daylight was waning. The weather was turning south. Also, the crab we had caught needed to be prepared for dinner. The salmon needed to be prepared for travel back to Seattle. This was a very busy afternoon for Tom and Tish. If I wanted to see and photograph bears, I would have to head out on my own.
 
Tom offered to place me at a spot on the river popular for tourists from Juneau traveling by float plane, but I would be all alone on this adventure. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity, fully aware of the inherit risks and potential dangers.
 
Tish provided me with a radio, bug spray and most importantly, bear spray. Tom placed me at the safest spot for viewing any bears that might arrive at the falls. A good distance though from the falls. After about 30 minutes, a female appeared near the falls. I decided I needed to be closer. Fortunately, bears are much more interested in the salmon than people, as long as cubs or aggressive behavior are not involved. I was in little danger.

Soon after another bear appeared on the falls, then moved across to the other side and up into the forest. This went on for the next 45 minutes or so. I was very cognizant of keeping a safe distance, while trying to get good, clean shots of the bears. As I watched the falls down stream, about 50 feet away, awaiting another bear and paying little attention to what might be behind me, I heard a noise. Quickly from out of the trees, only 10 feet in behind me, appeared a two-year-old brown bear cub. He immediately stopped, probably as shocked to encounter me as I was to encounter him. Within a few seconds, a second cub appeared with the first. Clearly his brother or sister. At this point my heart was racing, my palms were sweating, my hands were shaking, but I was not panicking.
 
I fumbled a few seconds trying to pull out the bear spray. Then slowly and carefully removed the cap from the spray while keeping my eyes on both bears, now in front of me. With a calm and gentle voice, I spoke to the bears. “Bear, bear” I repeated the mantra a few times as they looked around for their mother. I slowly raised my camera and tried to capture a couple shots. Of course, I was shaking too much to capture anything, plus I was shooting with a 400mm lens and my subject was only 10 feet away.  I believe the sound of my shutter startled them. They both quickly bolted up the 15-foot trail above me and headed into the woods. A few seconds later I spotted all three at the falls. Mama bear never heard or saw me.
 
After getting many shots of the family and a few others over the next hour, I then decided it was time to call and return to the Alaska Quest. Almost everyday I think about what might have happened had mama appeared. Our crab feast was amazing.

​Wednesday morning, just before breakfast, Capt. Tom and I took a few minutes in the skiff in search of spotting a bear or other wildlife. We quickly spotted a couple Blue Herons working to capture their breakfast in the lagoon. Soon after we set out heading towards the fish hatchery at Hidden Falls. This very large hatchery works to provide millions of salmon every year. During this time of year though, hatcheries are inundated with millions of returning salmon eager to spawn. This area is also a very popular spot filled with lots of Brown Bears feeding on those salmon. Mama bears with up to three cubs will work hard to fatten up for their long Alaska winter hibernation.

In many areas around the world with bears, on average there may be approximately 1 bear for every 50 square miles. In SE Alaska, there is 1 bear for every square mile. The food source is extremely plentiful and the bears thrive. During our 90-minute visit, we enjoyed viewing at least 18 bears during our 90-minute visit, and many were only 20 to 30 yards away, with no fences or barriers. ​

​The next morning, Thursday, we set out for Morris Reef to do some salmon fishing of our own. Like so many areas, King salmon are in serious decline. Alaska is not immune to this problem. We had hopes of finding and expectations of catching the large, fatty, delicious Chinooks. Unfortunately, the day we were leaving Juneau, Alaska Fish and Game closed the Chinook season for 2017. Their numbers are down drastically. Fortunately, the Silver Salmon, or Coho runs are still healthy. We would enjoy 2 afternoons of great fishing. I do not recall the actual numbers, but with six of us working two fishing poles, we were catching 8 to 12 pound silvers with ease. 
 
That evening before we dropped anchor, we bated and dropped our crab pots at Kadashan, near Tenakee Springs. 

I’ve been on a few whale watching tours in the Northwest and Sea of Cortez. I’ve seen many whales breach, spy hop and dive. Its a marvelous site to see. I never tire of observing these magnificent and mighty 70,000 pound creatures rise from the sea, turn, twist and dive. I love how they slap their fins and roll. The reasons for these behaviors are as mysterious and unknown as the meanings in their sounds and songs. On this warm beautiful sunny morning though, with calm seas and stunning mountains visible in the background, we would be provided a show like nothing any of us had ever seen, including Tom and Tish.

I quickly learned that anytime Captain Tom suddenly decelerated and stopped the boat, it meant there was something wonderful to see. If my camera were not already in my hand, I would quickly grab it. This happened frequently during our trip. As we slowed to a complete stop about 150 to 200 yards from the whales, we all rushed out on deck. We noticed there were a couple more off in the distance as well, but the two that Tom first spotted were slowly moving closer toward our boat.

I fired off shot after shot of breaches, fin slaps and flukes disappearing into the sea. Soon though, our two new friends were moving even closer. After a few breaches, each whale would take a break and catch their breath. We could hear the deep sound of their exhaling and inhaling. As the minutes passed, there seemed to be a increasing level of trust between us and the whales. They were exhibiting more spy hopping, rolling and fin slapping behavior. When they dove, they would breach closer towards the boat. They were breaching so near that I feared the splash would drench me and my camera. We estimated that a few times they came much closer than 30 feet away, appearing from the water so quickly that it was nearly impossible to turn, focus and shoot. A few times, one breached so close, it was only a few feet off the bow. My lens could only capture a very small portion of the whale within the frame.
 
I believe the most astonishing thing was how unafraid of us these whales were. We seemed to have formed a bond and level of trust. They were enjoying being around us for this hour as much as we enjoyed watching them. We were in complete awe of the beauty and magnificence of our new friends, cheering with every breach and fin slap. In a couple images at the bottom of the page, the whale is rolling on its back, next to the boat. Its tail is brushing up against the hull.

Monday morning, day 3 of our exploration, we raised anchor and headed to retrieve our shrimp pots. The first pot yielded a very good haul. The second pot, not as much. A Giant Pacific Octopus had spent time in the early morning devouring the shrimp (we released the GPO back into the water). Fortunately we still ended up with well over 100 shrimp for our fabulous dinner that evening. Next we were on our way to Sunset Island to view a few Stellar Sea Lions. The smell was fabulous, or not so much.

That afternoon we arrived at Five Finger Island Lighthouse. One the first lighthouses ever constructed in SE Alaska. The couple living their for the summer, John and Pat, volunteer their time. They share island with some beautiful inhabitants. Pigeon Guillemots, Oyster Catchers, Eagles and so much more. A Humpback swam past, only feet off the island while we were atop of the lighthouse. 

Soon we were off to drop anchor in Pybus Bay and visit with some very cool sea lions. Tomorrow we head to Red Bluff Bay on Baranoff Island and will experience a rare and spectacular event.