Jordan | Kestrel | 05/29/2021
What a beautiful day out on the water!
Captain Brian and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and and headed north through the San Juan Channel. We heard whispers of whales up north so we boated towards the Canadian boarder. Weaving between islands, we emerged near Waldron Island. He continued further as we boated into open waters near Patos Island!
Here we saw blows! It was a humpback whale!! The beautiful black back arched out of the water as she gracefully swam through the glassy sea. A nearby boat told us that her name was Big Mama! I got so excited. Big Mama is one of my favorite whales! In fact, I saw her when I worked down in Hawaii. As the whales migrate every winter, they swim 3,000 miles across the Pacific ocean to find warm waters.
We watched her for a while as she booked it west, clearly on a mission. Perhaps she could hear friends off in the distance calling to her. Or maybe, she new of a favorite feeding ground she wanted to get to as fast as possible.
Eventually she crossed the boarder into Canada, so we turned around and headed back towards America. We stopped to view adorable seals seemingly floating on the water as they blaanced on rocks that hid just beneath the surface.
As we approached Spieden Island, we saw a gorgeous bald eagle flying through the sky the same speed as our boat! We also spotted an ealge perched up in a tree right next to his massive nest!
Eventually, we headed back towards the harbor. But, right before we reached Friday Harbor, we spotted harbor porpoises! They were so close to the island and came so far out of the water, you could see their whole bodies! It was so amazing to see how truly tiny they are! I don't believe I've ever seen one so close before.
Finally, we returned home. But what a lovely day!