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islandadventureswhales · 4 years

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Anacortes Morning

With the sun breaking through the clouds, we left Cap Sante and made our way out into the heart of the Salish Sea. Some exciting swell was rolling north through Rosario Strait, earning us our sea legs early on in the day. As we approached Pointer Island the conditions smoothed out beautifully. Here we found glaucous-winged gulls and their chicks and a plethora of harbor seals hauled out. Due to the low tide, we were also able to see some purple Pisaster sea stars! We continued through the heart of the islands, passing through Thatcher and Pole passes and continuing north towards Stuart. A report of whales near the border had come in, so we gave the area a thorough scan before turning south through Johns Pass to follow up with another report of whales to the south. We met up with J pod at Kellet Bluff, watching as they worked the intense currents for their preferred salmon prey. It wasn’t all business today though; social encounters were interspersed amongst the foraging bouts as many members of the pod grouped up near Henry Island. Spyhops, breaches, and tail slaps interrupted the foraging bouts, but we weren’t complaining! As we made our turn for home, we took some time to cruise along the Spieden Island coastline, finding harbor seals and Canada geese as we went. In Pole Pass we found an osprey hovering above the shallow emerald waters of the pass, making for some beautiful looks. As we entered Rosario Strait, those on the bow were treated to an exciting harbor porpoise encounter as the little cetaceans worked the current lines. What a day!

Anacortes Afternoon

Can you say T-Party!? This evening’s trip was a true delight, with whales galore in addition to incredible eagle and harbor seal encounters! The journey started off with an eagle sighting by Captain Carl near Lawrence Point. The mature bald eagle was perched on a snag overlooking the emerald waters below. Its plumage was brilliantly illuminated in the evening light, making for some stunning photos. Even more so when it took flight and circled the bluff! Beautiful! Next up was a long cruise through the glassy waters that surrounded the outer islands, taking in the breathtaking views of the San Juan Archipelago and Canadian Gulf Islands as we went. We were in the middle of the US side of the Strait of Georgia when we met up with the T65As & T37As, two incredibly successful Bigg’s killer whale pods! The group was spread throughout the Strait, so we spent some time with T65A2 & T37A2 who were busy flirting at the surface. They would eventually turn our family-friendly tour into an X-rated whale watch…Can you say “pink sea snake”? Meanwhile the moms and youngsters were traveling in tight groups, giving the couple some space. All of a sudden, whales started breaching and tail slapping in every direction! It was clear communication, because immediately following, all the scattered groups turned and started high tailing it to a set location. When they converged, the party began with surface activity galore! Breaches, tail slaps, spyhops, pec slaps, porpoising! Pure magic. It’s hard to pick a favorite moment, but Calisto (T65A6) may have earned MVP for the evening with a truly stunning full breach/leap. We gave it a 9.5/10. We were pushing it on time, so we reluctantly left the whales to continue their party and made our way back to Anacortes. Along the way we visited with some black oyster catchers, a mature bald eagle, and a couple of darling mom-pup harbor seal pairs at the Sisters. What an incredible and memorable evening on the water!

Port Angeles

The Island Explorer departed from the dock at two ready and prepared for a day of fun sightings. The blue skies stood out this evening as the clouds hugged the olympics. Fishermen outlined the Ediz Hook ready to capture their days worth of salmon, some seagulls watched enviously from shore. Harbor Seals rested along the beach soaking up the sun. As the tour progressed so did the sightings. The Blue Skies allowed us some glances at Victoria, B.C. And since today's course directed us east we even got some awesome looks at the Dungeness Lighthouse. We saw several bait balls, a combination of birds ranging from Brandt's Cormorants to Pigeon Guillemots to Rhinoceros Auklets but the one sight we missed out on today was our whales. Even with the clouds and lack of whales, you can't complain about a day on the water in the olympic peninsula. It was a beautiful day out on the water nonetheless!

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islandadventureswhales · 5 years

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Everett Everett AM We hosted Queen Anne Elementary on the boat this morning, and had amazing energy on board from both kids and whales alike! The trip started out with an eerie, yet beautiful, fog hanging over Possession Sound. Undaunted by the less than ideal spotting conditions, Captain Tyler found three gray whales in no time, making for a great start to the day. Amongst the grays were Earhart #22 and Patch #49, as evident by Patch’s distinct birthmark and Earhart’s stunningly beautiful fluke. We spent some time with these whales as they lounged at the surface, seeming quite content to hang along side us. This alone would have been a lovely trip, but the day just kept getting better. We’d heard a rumor that there were orca whales to the south, so we cruised in that direction. Sure enough, just outside of Kingston, the T65A family was working on a kill! To be able to see hunting in action, and the following tail slaps and spyhops was a true treat. Given that the class had been studying whales, it was so fun to be able to show them both baleen and toothed whales up close, and to add to their knowledge of these two species. Thanks for joining us Queen Anne Elementary! Everett PM We may have been fogged in this morning, but it was all sunshine and calm seas this afternoon. We could not have asked for a more perfect trip to end the crew’s season here in Everett. As we were leaving the marina, we watched as daddy osprey took on several bald eagles that were hanging out too close to mama and the nest. From there it wasn’t long before an amazingly observant passenger found us the first whale of the day. It was a gray whale, miles away, and unfortunately it was deep into the delta in shallow water where we could not follow. So, we continued the search. It wasn’t long before Captain Tyler found us two more gray whales, and these two were in deeper water. It turned out to be Earhart #22 and Patch #49. They were socializing, swimming side by side throughout the Sound. Earhart showed off her gorgeous fluke, while Patch gave big arches of the back with no follow up tail, as he is prone to do. While we were watching the gray whales, our naturalist spotted something unusual off in the distance. It looked like splashing from where we were at the northern end of the delta, but upon closer inspection she discovered it was none-other than the T65As in hot pursuit of prey! To say the crew was excited would be an understatement. This pod of Bigg’s orca whales were practically at the entrance of Naval Station Everett, and they were making quite the scene. In all of the excitement, we nearly missed Patch showing off his fluke right next to the boat! A fitting send-off for the crew’s last encounter with Patch this season. We made our way over to where the orca were now milling, blood in the water. It was quite the site to behold, Mom (T65A) teaching her one year old (T65A6) how to hunt, while the siblings worked together to coral their prey. The follow-up celebration was all pec-slaps and spyhops, the little calf doing several dramatic head-stands as well. The family continued up the delta, keeping clear of the gray whales that seemed to be sticking to the shallowest areas possible. Were they aware of the predators nearby? It certainly seemed that way, because when we tried to relocate other gray whales we’d seen off on the horizon earlier in the trip, they were nowhere to be found. So, we met back up with the orcas in Port Susan, before cruising back to Everett, spying actively feeding gray whales deep in the delta along the way.

- Sam

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