Today we mixed things up a little bit by going south instead of north. Capt. Mike, Alex, and I motored out into Griffen Bay, then into the big wide blue of the waters south of the islands. This is where the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Haro Strait, and Puget Sound all meet up. So there is a lot of deep water. More water though means more chances for whales! We headed south with amazing views of the Olympic Mountains and Mount Rainier around 100 miles away. After scanning for a while we eventually spotted a Humpback Whale!!! So we went to go find it. It was a fairly young one and watched it magnificently fluke a bunch of times. Then another popped up! Two humpback whales! Yay! Then a Third one did! This was the first time I had seen three humpback whales in a similar area in these waters. All three were swimming and fluking around eating their hearts out in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Soon it was time to head back so we left those big guys and made some more stops! We stopped and looked at some Steller’s Sea Lions lounging on a marker buoy, and saw a Bald Eagle perched on one of our lighthouses! What another super beautiful day!
Naturalist Erick
M/V Sea Lion