The days are a little cloudier as we delve deeper and deeper into Autumn, but that doesn’t slow us down nor the whales! They live in water so cloudy or rainy days don’t bother them and the mists that float in from the ocean here help the isles show their true colors. This is what the islands usually look like. The greenest evergreens scrape the low lying cloud train all while the calm waters of the Salish Sea reflect the diffused light of the terrestrial world. But no worries there are still whales here! This Thursday Captain Mike and I boated with a small, curious group of guests up north towards Boundary Pass and the Canadian border. Soon we spotted a small group of Dall’s Porpoises fishing in the rip currents near Spieden Island. These are a tiny species of whale with a dark grey and white patterning that are super fast in the water. After watching them for a moment we moved to Flattop Island to spot a few Harbor Seals. Then we headed further north and around South Pender Island we spotted two Humpback Whales! One was a common one we see n our waters named Heather. They were focused on eating in the swirling waters of the marine trench that is the Canadian-U.S. border. We watched these majestic giants glide and chow down in the misty midday diffused glow of our cloudy Thursday. Them we headed towards Java rocks near Saturna Island that shows some massive sea cliffs as well as around 100 Harbor Seals playing in the waters and hauled out on the rocks. Then we headed towards Turn Point Lighthouse and saw two more Humpbacks for a few moments. Then headed south again and another group of Dall’s Porpoises raced towards our boat and started bow riding! This is a common activity for these animals, and for some reason they sense boats and want to surf the wake that the boats produce for fun. They raced us for a few minutes and we headed further south saw a bunch more Bald Eagles and as we approached Friday Harbor again a small family of orcas appeared. It was the T123s which is a family of Transient Orcas (the mammal-eating ones). This family is a matriarch (mother) and her two children. One is almost a full grown male, T123A, and the other is only around 6 years old. Whale, that was a fun packed day!!!! Hope to see everyone soon!
