Lauren | M/V Osprey | 6/13/2022 |12:30PM
M/V Osprey left the dock with sunny skies this Wednesday afternoon. We took a right out of Friday Harbor and headed south towards Cattle Pass. We slowed to view a bald eagle and some harbor seals before cruising over to Whale Rocks to see some Steller’s Sea Lions. After leaving the sea lions, we decided to follow up on a report of a humpback whale in Haro Strait. And just like that we went from “Hump Day” to “Humpback Day!”
Born in 2006, “Split Fluke” is the daughter of an infamous whale named “Heather.” Heather is a household name for captains and naturalists out here, as she’s the most commonly encountered humpback whale in the Salish Sea! We spent the afternoon watching “Split Fluke” log at the surface. When humpback whales are “logging” or floating at the surface, it’s an indication that they may be sleeping. This whale could have been snoozing, or possibly just fighting a strong current. The area where the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Haro Strait meets is known for having some wicked currents! Although we never got to witness this whale “fluke” or bring its tail out of the water, “Split Fluke” gets her name from her unique looking tail. She was attacked by a killer whale when she was a calf, and it is thought that the split in her fluke is from that event. Getting to spend the afternoon with the daughter of a Salish Sea legend was a true pleasure!