Olivia | August 14th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30pm
For our evening sunset, we received reports of Humpback Whales heading north through Swanson Channel in Canadian waters. Because of the far distance pushing our 3 to 4 hour time frame, Captain Pete and I agreed to head straight for that area in hopes to see whales before the sun set. We traveled north through San Juan Channel, dipped into Spieden Channel watching the exotic sheep and deer peak out into the southern side of Spieden Island, and continued northwest past Turn Point Lighthouse.
Boating through Canada, we started to see heaps of Harbor Porpoise gleaming amongst the golden hour all the way to the northwest tip of North Pender Island. Just outside of Active Pass, we finally saw the 20-foot exhales of two Humpback Whales. This duo was averaging anywhere from 2 to 3 minute dives as they were continually heading north. Just a few hours earlier they had been all the way down south by Lime Kiln Lighthouse and must be aiming for the Strait of Georgia which has been lush with Humpback’s as of late.
One of these whales was positively ID’d as “Vivaldi” flaunting a primarily black tail fluke. After watching these two swim in the golden water for a while, we had to eventually turn back south to make the long trek back towards Friday Harbor before it got too dark. We decided to circumnavigate around North and South Pender Islands boating through Navy Channel and Plumper Sound, down into Boundary Pass, and back into San Juan Channel. Not only did we find even more Harbor Porpoises swimming, but also a few Harbor Seals!
Best part aside from the epic marine mammals? Mount Baker came out full force behind the clouds, providing breathtaking scenery for the boat back. Wildlife aside, there is always a reason why we love the sunset trip the most! Come join us for the most gorgeous sun of the day and see how calming our Salish Sea can be.