Jordan | July 18, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 trip
Today was a lovely day with our beloved whales! The sun came out and we left the docks with high hopes of seeing some great wildlife! Captain Gabe and I heard reports of whales lounging about within the northern islands and along the Canadian border so we headed towards them!
We voyaged north up the San Juan Channel and passed beneath Spieden channel. We stopped here to see mouflon sheep grazing along the hillside! There even was a little baby sheep bounding along with his mother. It’s always so much fun to see these exotic animals from Italy here in Washington! But perched on a dead tree right in front of the sheep was also a bald eagle! He was posed so perfectly on the crumbling branch with the grassy yellow hillside silhouetting him.
Then we headed further north along Stuart Island and spotted our first whales at Turn Point! This lighthouse marked the most northwestern point in the continental U.S.! It was a bit wavy and windy out there in Boundary Pass but it didn't seem to bother the whales! So, it didn't bother us. We watched the giant group of Southern Residents spread out all across the channel!
One of the females seemed to really like our boat as she swam fairly close to us and played in the water as we headed toward Saturna Island and into Canada! Here we watched as J pod grouped together again and swam really close to shore. In fact, they gathered right next to a sandy beachy area. Perhaps they were taking a break from having to fight against the strong currents in the water.
Eventually we had to go home back to Friday Harbor, but it really was a great day!