Jordan | July 1, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 trip
The morning was a not-so-sunny morning as the drizzling rain sprinkled across the calm waters of Friday Harbor. Captain Mike and I were excited for the day, nevertheless, and embraced the wetness with open spirits of adventure!
As we headed out, we spotted bald eagles right away! Perched high in a tree, they didn’t seem to mind the rain as they overlooked the harbor. Then Mike caught wind of some whales up in Canada! So, we decided to become international travelers today! We zipped up the San Juan Channel, past Boundary Pass, around Saturna and up to Mayne Island.
It was gorgeous up here in Canada! And luckily the rain lightened up and disappeared as we found a pod of orca whales! They turned out to be the T49As! It was great to see this transient whale family with two youngsters swimming so snuggly alongside their mother. They seemed to just be wandering through the Canadian islands, probably trying to figure out where to travel next.
After a while we decided to head back down south. And, along the way, we found a humpback whale next to Pender Island! He swam close to the shoreline, taking shallow dives along the reefs while hunting for food. Then he turned on his side and started waving to us! His huge pectoral fin came up out of the water and waved back and forth!
We then zipped back to Friday Harbor with our jackets a bit wet, but our hearts drenched with excitement.