Sarah | 10/29/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm
We had a great trip on M/V Sea Lion, enjoying the sweeping scenery of the Salish Sea as well as great encounters with wildlife. Heading north out of Friday Harbor, we decided to point the boat towards the Outer Islands of the San Juans, and into Canadian waters. After some rain in the morning we were treated to a high clog ceiling and even some blue skies over smooth water.
With no reports of whales or other wildlife as we left the dock we had to go out to find our own critters! Working with the other boats on the water we spread out to cover more ground. Stopping at Sucia Island we had some great looks at Steller’s sea lions and bald eagles as we cruised through the finger-like outcroppings. We scanned northeast towards Alden Bank, before wrapping around towards Patos Island Light and East Point on Saturna Island. On Boiling Reef we got awesome looks at more Steller’s sea lions and harbor seals hauled out on the rocks.
After East Point we decided to steer the M/V Sea Lion into Boundary Pass towards Monarch Head and Java Rocks. All of a sudden, about two miles in the distance we saw the back and flukes of a diving humpback whale! Our patience and persistence was rewarded by a beautiful encounter with a humpback whale feeding and rolling around in the shallows at the base of the huge cliffs!