(6/21/17 - Kittiwake 10:00 am & 2:00 pm Departure)
On M/V Kittiwake we had two private charters for the day, both wonderful trips! Our first trip was with Skagit Valley College and our second trip was with a family visiting the San Juan’s for their annual family vacation. Both trips we saw the T75B’s and the T77’s, with a total of about 7 whales between the two families. On our earlier departure the whales were first spotted under the deception pass bridge, which was very exciting because neither I or captain Gabe had been to this area before by boat. We headed south and saw one lone Steller’s sea lion and a few harbor seals hanging out on whale rocks. We also saw a large bald eagle perched at the top of one of the rocks as well. Our guests thoroughly enjoyed the ride on the way to deception pass with true boater’s spirit. We got to the area where the whales were and respectfully watched as the whales traveled North into Rosario Strait. They were just moseying along and didn’t seem to be in much of a rush. We watched as the whales traveled together in their family groups and even threw some cartwheels in the mix! Cartwheels are a social behavior when the throws its tail over over the surface of the water. On our second trip we saw similar behavior from the whales of relaxed and slow movement. We also saw a spyhop as well, my personal favorite behavior! For our second trip we headed back through obstruction pass where captain Gabe spotted a bald eagles nest with an adult bald eagle perched nearby. We spent a few minutes looking at the eagle watching over its nest and then headed home. Both groups seemed to greatly enjoy their visit seeing some of the amazing wildlife that resides here in the Salish Sea.
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