Jordan | August 15, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 trip
The morning was a beautiful start to the day as the fog, that has been heavy on our sea for the past week, burned away as the sun came out. Captain Gabe and I heard several reports of whales so we were excited to head out into open waters today.
We zipped out of Friday Harbor and headed south through the San Juan Channel. We boated through Cattle Pass and checked out a few Steller sea lions that were lounging on the Whale Rocks. These massive animals were really fun to watch as I reminded my guests that we were super lucky to have them here so soon after their mating season! A lot of their friends are still up in Alaska for their mating season.
We then boated over towards the west side of Sa Juan up towards Lime Kiln where we found Tumbo! Tumbo (T2C2) is a very special transient whale who has scoliosis! Because of his condition, he swims a lot slower than the rest of his pod and the other whales his same age. His family swam a few miles ahead of him, out of sight.
Then we headed northwest into Canadian territory and found another transient pod! It’s great seeing the beautiful whales in their natural habitat swimming and playing and searching for food throughout our nutrient rich waters.
Eventually we headed back towards Friday Harbor after a long day full of whales!