On Board - Part 1

As cruise ships go, the Island Spirit is VERY small! Maximum capacity is 32 passengers but there were only 24 on our cruise. The advantage of a small ship became apparent VERY quickly when we encountered a bubble-net feeding of humpback whales not too long after we had left the dock.

We were able to stay close by and watch this special event. I would like to say that I was able to capture this event with my camera but unfortunately my picture taking skills were lacking and most of what I recorded was where the whales had been. Most of my pictures of the humpback whales were just that - the hump back. I think you have to be very good and VERY lucky to get a good picture of one of the whales breaching. (I did get a pretty fair picture later in the cruise.)

One of the first things seen is the "blow" by the whale. That can usually be seen from quite a distance. Also the flock of birds that follows the whales in hopes of getting something to eat. Having seen both the "blow" and the birds we know we have a bubble net feeding in progress.

Our "small" ship could go where large cruise ships were not able to go. But even we had some restrictions. In some cases we had to wait for the right tide to enter or leave an inlet. And there were also times when exploration was done by another conveyance.

The Island Spirit has a full complement of kayaks. Both one and two person kayaks that can be used to explore some of the coves where we anchored. Unfortunately, neither Granny nor I felt we could manage a kayak. A crane would be needed to get us into the kayak and a larger crane to get us out.

The kayaks are carried in a special rack which can be lowered as needed. There is also a special loading platform to facilitate getting in and out of the kayaks. It's a very colorful sight.

In addition to the kayaks, the Island Spirit also has a "DIB". We were going to go on a "DIB" ride. But, WHAT IS A DIB? It turns out to be Demaree Inflatable Boat. The DIB is a pontoon boat powered by an outboard motor and capable of taking quite a number of passengers in addition to the "crew". We don our "PFD"s - personal flotation device - and away we go. Our DIB has a ramp to facilitate getting on and off when we go to a beach for a hike. (Granny and I didn't hike but we did get off and stroll on the beach a couple of times.) The "DIB" is also used to take us into harder to reach areas for exploration.

On the left is a group returning to the Island Spirit in the DIB after a visit ashore. On the right the DIB is used to transport us to an island beach for a hike to see some elusive animals. None were seen.