Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 18th, 2020 | 13:00
We left the dock today with no whale reports in the area- a completely normal way to start any whale watching trip, especially when you are one of the first boats off the dock. Therefore, Captain Sarah and I agreed to head north towards some wildlife hot spots where we tend to see higher numbers of Pinnipeds and Cetaceans.
Aiming towards Waldron Island, we caught word of a whale rumor near Patos Island, but in Canadian waters. Due to Covid-19, that Canadian-U.S. border is currently closed both on shore and on water, however, part of whale watching is positioning yourself in situations where guests will most likely be able to respectfully see whales. Thus, we traveled through Presidents Channel in the direction of Patos Island.
Staying in U.S. water, we traveled north of Patos Island, deep into the Strait of Georgia and found a Humpback Whale! This baleen whale humbly reminded us that they are free-willed animals running on their own agenda and averaged 8 to 10-minute dives feeding its way through the deep waters. Despite that, we were able to receive great views, talk heaps about the conservation and research in the Salish Sea, as well as seeing that tail fluke rise above the cold, sunny waters.
Oodles of Harbor Porpoise swam on our route both there and back, and just as we were leaving the Humpback Whale, Mount Baker started to appear behind the clouds, silhouetting Patos Lighthouse. This picturesque trip was filled with lots of talks about Salmon Restoration, Southern Resident Killer Whale history and conservation, Transient Orca feeding on Sharks in South Africa, education opportunities for marine conservation, as well as Humpback Whale research. No matter what we are viewing, we are up for chatting about whatever our passengers’ curious minds wander to.