Jordan | M/V Sea Hawk| 05/26/19 | 12:00
What a great day out on the water! Captain Erick and I took the Sea Hawk out of Roche Harbor and headed north through the channel towards Spieden Island.
We went past the western tip of the island and up towards Johns Island. It was such a gorgeous view as we went through John's pass and enjoyed the shimmering water against the shoreline. Peering through the trees we were able to spot a Native American longhouse hidden in the shadows!
We then boated further north into Canadian waters. Driving along Boundary Pass, we spotted boats out near Patos Island. As we finally arrived, we saw our first whale sightings of the day! And for the nine kids on board, it was their first whale sightings ever! They were incredibly excited to see the orca whales powerfully swimming through the water, their dorsal fins shining in the bright sunlight. We identified them as the T101's! This family group was made up of Mom: T101, and her two adult sons.
We were watching them swim throughout the water when suddenly they disappeared! A few minutes passed till they reappeared a few yards from our boat and headed straight towards us! Everyone got very excited as they came closer and closer with their big black bodies emerging from the water. You could see the six-foot-tall dorsal fins shaking in the wind as the two big males passed by, led by mom. The whales headed further up the Strait of Georgia as we followed respectfully alongside them. But then, suddenly, we saw two more orca whales appear out of nowhere! Occasionally, we’ll see this interaction between different pods of orcas as they either socialize, communicate or mate with each other. It was amazing to see that in action.
Eventually, we decided to say goodbye to our orca whales and say hello to a humpback whale! We literally just turned the boat around and there was a humpback whale right behind us! It took everyone by surprise that this massive animal was so close to us this entire time! We watched as the humpback’s 20 foot blows exploded out of the water a few yards away. We were lucky to be close enough to see it’s beautiful black back gracefully swimming through the water.
After some great looks at the humpback, we headed back home towards San Juan Island. On the way back, we spotted some really cute harbor seals cuddled up on a shallow rock in the water. Some of them looked speckled and light grey as they dried out in the sunlight.
We thought the day was over until we spotted a beautiful bald eagle soaring past our boat with its bright white head as we entered Roche Harbor.
What a wonderful day in the Salish Sea!