Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 5, 2020 | 13:30
It was such a gorgeous day out on the water; by far one of my favorites this season. We left the dock with whale rumors in the area which is always a great way to start our trips. We kicked off our adventure by heading north through the San Juan Channel towards Spieden Island. As soon as we arrived at the Cactus Islands, we had great black and white views of the T65A’s- one of our favorite family groups of transient orcas. We had such great views of the large, teenage male (T65A2) as well as the rest of their smaller dorsal fins. They ended up rounding Spieden Island and curving back towards the San Juan Channel and headed towards Friday Harbor. Therefore, we watched and listened in amazement back the way we came.
Trying to be respectful of the number of boats on the water, we decided to peel off and turn north towards Spieden Channel in search of more wildlife. We dipped into the channel heading west over the top of San Juan Island. We saw heaps of Harbor Seals, Eagles and Mouflon Sheep milling around the formerly known “Safari Island”. After taking a lap in between the Cactus Islands, it was time to start heading south (once again) in the direction of Friday Harbor.
Captain Pete dipped slightly past the harbor so we could catch one more glimpse of our beloved Bigg’s Killer Whales who were now splashing around Turn Island. Just as we were departing, we had a nice tail fluke wave goodbye signifying the tail end of our trip.