[Lauren Fritz, M/V Seahawk, 08/01/17, 2:00 pm Tour]
We had some interesting weather in the Salish Sea today - a nice haze coated our islands, creating an etheral aura and providing a beautiful backdrop for our whale watches today. After our guests had boarded the M/V Seahawk in Roche Harbor, Captain Joe shared his plan for the day. We would be heading north and going into "search mode" because no whales had yet been reported in our area - we wanted to be the first to find them!
However, fate had different plans. Once we rounded Pearl Island, reports came in of Transients outside of Fulford Harbor on Saltspring. We consulted our charts, checked our GPS and decided - yes! - the whales were in our range! We throttled forward on a beautiful journey past Turn Point, Morseby Island, and Portland Island. After just an hour, we were greeted with our favorite site - Transients breaching and splashing in the middle of the channel!
The T37's were out and about with the T34's, frolicking in each other's company and getting in some midday meals as well. We saw a variety of interesting behaviors, including four breaches and lots of surfacings from these powerful predators. It was a dream day, especially because we hadn't had any idea these whales were around earlier!
I've posted my favorite photos from the tour below. Thanks to those of you who joined us. We hope to sea you again soon!
Naturalist Lauren, San Juan Outfitters
