That’s what one of our guests said about our trip on Sunday. Little Macie just turned 7 years old and her mother, aunt, and cousin surprised her with a fun day out on the water!
Although we didn’t see killer whales, we still had amazing luck on both trips this weekend. Please keep in mind, San Juan Outfitters is pretty much the only company still operating this late into fall! On both days, there were only three other whale watch & wildlife companies on the water, for both United States & Canada! That’s a fraction of the eyes that are usually on the water watching for Orcas.
On Saturday, Naturalist Kevin & Captain Nancy had a trip that was jammed-packed with exciting wildlife. Nancy received reports of our humpback friend still hanging out in Haro Strait. They met up with the humpback near Gooch Island, which is on the Canadian side. This is the same humpback Kevin and Nancy saw last week. Kevin estimated this juvenile is about 7 months old, and just recently separated from its momma. The humpback displayed a bunch of fluke up dives. He surfaced about 25 feet off the Sea Hawk, and then swam directly under the boat! Guests on the Sea Hawk also saw jumping salmon, seals, and Stellar’s sea lions.
Kevin & Nancy were out on the Sea Hawk again on Sunday. The water was like a pane of glass! No ripples, no wind, and practically no current. Incredible. It was the type of day were you just do not want to leave the water. The Sea Hawk went in search of the humpback again, but the first thing they came upon was playful dall’s porpoise. Nancy circled the Sea Hawk around the get a better look at these curious porpoise, but they decided to check out the human’s on board! Nancy shut down the engines and for 30 minutes, nearly a dozen porpoise swam around the Sea Hawk. They surfaced slowly within about 5 feet of the Sea Hawk, and then with a few swift movement of their tail flukes, quickly picked up speed and shot around the boat. Everyone was leaning over the rails, fascinated by these beautiful animals. There were at least two pairs of mothers & calves.
Most of the time, when the porpoise swam under the Sea Hawk, the animals would roll to their sides to look at all of us aboard the boat. Who’s watch whom? :).