Yesterday we had a charter scheduled on M/V Kestrel, our first trip of the season! The weather was March-perfect, with almost blue skies, no rain, and crisp air. To top it off we had a boat full of enthusiastic guests!
We suited up in Mustang Exposure Suits and headed down to the boat. Captain Brian Briefed our guests on the safety of the vessel and then we set out on the search for wildlife. Heading North out of Friday Harbor we set a course for the Canadian Gulf Islands and the Strait of Georgia. After a winter away from Kestrel I had forgotten how incredibly powerful and smooth the boat can be even in two-foot choppy water.
We made a giant loop looking for wildlife: North through Boundary Pass to East Point, up past Boiling Reef, into the Belle Chain Islets, west through Active Pass, south down through Swanson Channel. We had some fantastic looks at a peregrine falcon, Steller’s sea lions, and some gorgeous bald eagles, but no sign of whales as Captain Brian and I scanned the water. We made a stop at Lover’s Leap cliff-face, nosing the bow of the boat into the cliff close enough to touch. Looking down into the clear green water we found a large purple ochre seastar attached to the rocks. These beautiful invertebrates have become rare in our area after a bad bout of seastar wasting disease ripped through the population over the last few years. We should have taken its presence as a sign…our luck was shifting!
As Brian steered Kestrel back towards Friday Harbor down through San Juan Channel, something caught the corner of my eye… a blow, a dorsal fin! Wait, lots of blows and dorsal fins! In the final five minutes of our tour we had stumbled upon all of J pod lazily fishing and socializing. We stayed with the whales for an additional hour as they spyhopped and breached all around us. Eventually shifting their direction of travel from south to north. It was so good to see those familiar fins.
After lengthening our trip by an hour, we dropped our guests off in Friday Harbor, and headed back out as a staff to enjoy a sunny evening and amazing whales. Overall the day was a good lesson in never giving up hope on whale sightings! It’s never too late in a trip to find whales!
Enjoy the gallery of images from our day with the Js below!
See all 19 photos
