Last night brought one of the nicest evening tours I can remember. I decided to ride along as a passenger and try getting some pictures of Orcas. As we cleared Cattle Pass we headed up the west side of San Juan Island looking for any members of the resident pods. It didn't take long to see a blow, and then another, and another. Stretching from shore to about a mile or so out were groups of fours and fives traveling mostly south.
The water was glassy flat and we were literally the only boat there. Just the M/V Sea Lion, about 20 Orcas, and 40 very happy passengers. We shut down the engines and watched the animals slowly moving down island. We even had a chance to drop the hydrophone and pick up some incredible vocalizations. Its hard to describe the over all feeling on the water. But with no wind, no waves, no other boat noise, the backdrop of the olympics, clear views of Mt. Rainer as well as Mt. Baker, good Orca vocals on the hydrophone, and the sound of whales breathing, the first word that comes to mind is peaceful. We even saw some breaches, some porpoising, and some tail slapping.
Then, on the way home, we saw a single Minke feeding around whale rocks, as well as a dozen harbor seals hauled out and lazing in the water.
But don't just take my word for how beautiful the evening was, come see for yourself.
Mike - Naturalist
San Juan Safaris