July 19, 2007

An Alaskan Dream

It early in the morning in a beautiful boat harbor north of Juneau. Summer Solstice is approaching and the sun has been up for an hour already. The Cruise West vessel Spirit of Alaska is making a special stop at the Auke Bay harbor to drop guest off in time to catch their early morning flight from Juneau. All is serenely quiet as the vessel makes fast her lines on the outer float of the harbor. Guest are leaning on the rails watching Captain Paul Hawes at the bottom of the ramp making a final check of the lines before disembarking. Suddenly a blow is heard coming from the inner harbor and all eyes focus on the sight of a baby humpback whale rising out of the water for a breath. A whale INSIDE the harbor is unheard of- its only 10 yards from the nearest vessel. Astonishment gives way to awe. The next thing we see is full grown mama humpback rising amongst the moored vessels releasing a tremendous blow. Its as if she is trying to scold her runaway child for swimming "out of bounds". I turn my head to to say something to Captain Paul but he's gone! He's running down the dock looking over the side as the Humpbacks swim underneath. Just as quickly as it happens its over. Its early- pre coffee- it must have been a dream we say. An Alaskan dream!

Posted by Larry on July 19, 2007 1:00 AM

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