Jordan | July 26, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 trip
As the sun started setting in the sky, it cast shadows everywhere making everything look even more beautiful. Captain Pete, Naturalist Rachel and I set off on our vessel towards reports of whales on the other side of the island! So, we set off.
Out of Friday Harbor, we headed south down the San Juan channel, through Cattle Pass and Cattle Point lighthouse. We rounded the corner and headed straight up the west side of San Juan through the Haro strait.
Here we found our Southern Resident whales! These whales were so spread out! J pod stretched all the way from False Bay to Lime Kiln so we slowly progressed all along the shore of the island as we watched multiple groups of whales hunting for their salmon.
The whales splashed about as they chased their prey along one of their favorite spots in the San Juan Island. We often see these whales traveling close to shore due to the currents within the Haro Strait pushing the salmon from their open waters into the shoreline. Thus, our whales follow where the salmon go! We’ve been really lucky to have been seeing the Residents within the islands for a good stretch of time now. Because the salmon populations are doing so poorly, we’ve been seeing less and less of their presence.
We continued watching their beauty for a while until we had to return home. But what a great day!