Posted by Rich Christman on August 9, 2006

Q: I have just returned from a cruise to Alaska with my family. While on the cruise, my father-in-law (also on this cruise) mentioned that he saw something in the ocean that looked something like a sea snake. He mentioned that he had seen the same thing approximately 6 different times over the course of a week. Each time he saw what appeared to be a snake, it was swimming with it's head raised up out of the water about 6 to 10 inches. When my father-in-law mentioned seeing this, I informed him that I had seen the same thing (only one time) a couple of days earlier (but independently from my father-in-law). What did we see in the waters between Seattle and Alaska?

State: Alaska

A: I'm puzzled! To the best of my knowledge, there are no sea snakes in those cold, Canadian/Alaskan waters. Sea snakes are found in warm waters, mostly in Australia and southeast Asia.

I can't come up with another possible animal that might look like a snake, but raise its head above the water (eels wouldn't do this). Sorry, but I haven't any reasonable suggestions as to what you and your father-in-law saw. Only wish we had some photos. Keep asking around and maybe someone will know. If you have an more information on this and want to share, please feel free to do so.

John Wiessinger ( August 10, 2006)