Whale Watching Report

Today started off like any normal day in the great state of Washington. Overcast skies with scattered showers moving in, none of us (the crew) or passengers of the Island Explorer 3 had any idea what was about to unfold for us. As we headed out of Cap Sante Captain Michael quickly spotted some beautiful purple sea stars hanging out on marina pilings. It was as if they were there, wishing us good luck our trip. We rounded Cap Sante lookout and the trip was underway, as we were full speed ahead. As we headed down Guemes channel we had a wonderful view of the Guemes Island ferry as it headed from Anacortes to Guemes Island. It was excellent timing on our part as we even got to watch the ferry make its landing on the Guemes island dock. As we left Guemes channel Captain Michael spotted us yet another animal. It was a big old California sea lion, hauled out on one of the channel markers. As we passed him we found he was catching some Z’s and drying out for a nice lazy Sunday. We waved goodbye to our sleepy buddy and pointed southwest down Rosario straight. It was there that things began to spring to life. Suddenly we were surrounded by at least a dozen groups of harbor porpoise, and man they were in a porpoise frenzy!!!! We circled them and enjoyed the show as group after group kept popping up out of the water. Many of them were very close to the boat allowing for us to get some excellent looks at these beautiful creatures. With newly found exuberance we continued southwest toward castle rock. Before we had a chance to round the end of Lopez island we were greeted by an eagle perched high in a tree, crying out to what we later found to be what must have been it’s mate as a second eagle came soaring over head answering its calls. After some beautiful looks we pressed on between Lopez and Castle rock. We got a great surprise as Captain Shane came by on the 40-foot yacht, The Halcyon, to give a wave and smile. After we passed him we entered McArdel bay where Captain Michael found us yet another bald eagle!!!! We watched the eagle take flight and it actually led us right to its nest. What a sight it was to see!!! We knew then it was on, karma was running high and excitement was building. Captain Michael then pointed us South again and we moved out back into the open waters of the Salish Sea. Suddenly a voice came over the radio and we received reports of a minke whale ahead of us. Captain Michael and crew sprang into action, engines roared and we were cruising toward what we thought was going to be our first whale sighting of the day. We searched and searched to no avail, and soon decided to check out some steller sea lions hauled out on some rocks just south of cattle pass. After some great looks and a renewed hope we headed again into the open waters south of Lopez and San Juan Island. This time it was whale or bust…. And whale we got!!!! It was the minke from our earlier report, and it seemed he had brought a friend. At first the whales were not giving us much surface time but that soon changed. They began making some nice lunges out of the water as they moved around the boat. We had some great close passes off our bow and even heard the minkes exhale!!! What a spectacular show it was!!!!!! After what seemed like hours passed, our time grew thin and we had no choice but to say goodbye to our whale friends and head east toward homeport. Nobody knew that Captain Michael had one more surprise for the group. We headed east straight toward Deception pass and wouldn’t you know it, Captain Michael took us into the pass and under the bridge for some looks that most people don’t get out here. After that we headed back toward Cap Sante making a nice slow up at Burrows Island to admire the lighthouse and then up into Guemes channel again. This time however there wasn’t an empty channel marker to be seen as even more California sea lions had hauled out to enjoy an end of the day nap. We had an excellent day out in the islands today on glass calm water, with minkes, eagles, sea lions, and a whole plethora of bird life… A day that really proved you never know what is in store on the Island Explorer 3!!!!

We enjoyed fantastic conditions on the water with two minke whales and a wide variety of wildlife! A late report came through of JPod Orca Whales headed this way from the Pacific Ocean, so tomorrow looks like another great day! Stay tuned for more from our naturalist Tyson.

We had a National Geographic type minke moment today as two minkes decimated a bait ball where hundreds of birds were feeding! We also had tons of harbor porpoise and both species of sea lions! Our day began with tons of sunshine and flat calm waters! We found a California sea lion lounging lazily on the Guemes Channel marker. He lifted his head up just enough to check us out, then it was back to his nap. There were harbor porpoise everywhere throughout Guemes Channel and Rosario Strait. We snuck through the south end of Lopez Island and Castle Rock. We found a couple of turkey vultures flying overhead and a lone harbor seal hauled out on the rocks. There were numerous harbor seals hauled out on Swirl Rocks. We made our way out to Salmon Bank and found our first minke of the day. Two Steller sea lions popped up right off the bow while we we ere watching the minke. It was awesome to see them just swimming around, playing off the bow. We had some great looks at our minke friend, but as more boats came on scene, we left in search of other animals. We went to Hein Bank, then over Eastern Bank. In between Eastern Bank and Partridge Bank, we found at least four, maybe even five minkes! They were all spread out. The birds started getting really active at the surface, all feeding on a bait ball. Then all the birds took flight and two of the minkes eliminated the bait ball! It took the disappointed birds a little bit to calm back down. Watching the minkes take out the bait ball was fascinating! One of the minkes decided to come right over to the boat to say hi! Ww watched them for a while longer before we had to start heading for home. We stopped by Minor Island and found a mature bald eagle perched majestically on a piece o f driftwood. There we a lot more porpoise that were popping up on our trip home up Rosario Strait. We passed by, what could have been, the same California sea lion on the Guemes Channel marker.

What a day! We had four minke whales and an amazing bald eagle on our trip today! The day started off with some purple sea stars clinging to the pilings of the marina breakwater. There were numerous harbor porpoise swimming in the waters of Guemes Channel and Rosario Strait. At the south end of Lopez Island we did a slow down through Castle Rock. We found about five turkey vultures and one bald eagle soaring high in the sky. Thee were also two harbor seals hauled out on the rocks. We headed toward Hein Bank in search of whales. We didn't see any at Hein, so we turned east toward Eastern Bank. One of our passengers found a minke. We slowed down and three more popped up in the area! We had four minkes swimming around the boat! They gave us a great show, at one point, one swam right over to the boat. We spent some time with our minke friends for a while until we made our way to Smith and Minor Islands. On Minor Island, a bald eagle was being harassed by two Caspian terns. The eagle dove down on the island and came up with a gull! A passenger got a great photo so we were able to identify the bird as a gull, not one of the terns. Then we watched as he feasted on the island. There were also a lot of harbor seals hauled out on Minor Island. We had a nice look at the Burrow's Island Lighthouse as we headed north, back toward the dock. It was a beautiful day as the water calmed down and the sun came out!

Today we had a beautiful day on the water! We found a minke whale who was pretty shy. We found a plethora of other wildlife though: Steller sea lions, California sea lions, harbor porpoise and harbor seals. Our trip began with a California sea lion hauled out on the Guemes Channel marker. He poked his head up to check us out, then continued with his nap. We went south down Rosario Strait and found a lot of harbor porpoise swimming in the current lines. On Boulder Island, a mature bald eagle was perched on a tree. There were also a few harbor seals swimming off the island. At the south end of Lopez Island we did a slow down where we found some turkey vultures flying high above the boat. A lone harbor seal was hauled out on the rocks. We pushed further offshore in the Strsit of Juan de Fuca. On Salmon Bank, Captain Carl found us a minke whale! Our minke only showed himself two more times before he completely disappeared! We searched and searched trying to find him. He didn't want to play. We went to Whale Rocks where several Steller sea lions were hauled out. There were two that were having a standoff, growling at each other. We headed back out to see if we could find our minke or another whale. We searched as we took a big turn off McArthur Bank. In Rosario Strait, there were a lot of harbor porpoise and some bird action, but no whales. We found a minke today, but he wasn't as cooperative as we would have liked him to be. All of our passengers get to come back with us, for free trip to experience more wildlife. It truly was an amazing day full of wildlife and sunshine!

We found four minke whales today and lots of other wildlife on top of that. We started out with a California sea lion in Guemes Channel. Rosario Strait was full of harbor porpoises,and we must have seen hundreds of them scattered about. Later off Lopez Island we found a bald eagle harassing a big flock of gulls feeding at a bait ball. The eagle made four attempts to steal food from one of the gulls, and he got very close at times, but the gull never surrendered his meal. Afterward we headed to Eastern Bank and found a minke whale feeding near a big flock of gulls. This was a very cooperative minke whale that spent lots of time near the surface. On one occasion he sent all the gulls bursting into the air when he sliced through the bait ball they were feeding on. Captain Carl spotted another minke whale and so we cruised over to look at this one too. After departing the whales we visited Minor Island where we found about 100 harbor seals, a couple of bald eagles, and big flocks of caspian terns,and double-crested cormorants. Soon after that we spotted two more minke whales and visited with them for a while before it was time to head back to the dock. The calm water and a multitude of wildlife helped make this trip special for all our passengers celebrating Mother's Day with us. Naturalist Bart Rulon.

Today's trip took us south in search of whales. Our wildlife viewing started in Guemes Channel when we spotted two bald eagles flying overhead. Later we stopped at Williamson Rocks to look at harbor seals,cormorants and pigeon guillemots. Next we headed south past Lopez Islands searching for whales. Today one of our passengers spotted our first whale. It was a big minke whale and he was swimming in a circular pattern. Eventually we spotted a second minke whale nearby. Next we headed out toward the Olympic Peninsula in search for more whales, but a nuclear submarine was coming out with several escorts so we had to avoid the area we wanted to be searching in. On our way back we found a bunch of actively feeding harbor porpoises and harbor seals in Rosario Strait. The harbor porpoises were very entertaining today and we had them surrounding the boat at times. Then just before we reached the dock we saw a California sea lion on one of the Guemes channel markers. Naturalist Bart Rulon.

What a beautiful day! We spent our time in the Strait of Juan de Fuca with at least 4 minke whales! Our trip began with a California sea lion hauled out on the shady of the channel marker. We made our way out in to Rosario Strait where we found harbor porpoise swimming in the current lines. We did a slow down through the south end of Lopez Island and Castle Rock. There was a Canada goose perched on a rock, possibly sitting on some eggs. There were also a few turkey vultures flying overhead too. We stopped by Swirl Rock where there were multiple seals hauled out and a mature bald eagle. It was quite a picturesque sight. We pushed south in search of animals. We had a sighting of a minke whale at Salmon Bank, but he didn't want to play. We continued south and made our way toward hein Bank. We found our first minke whale of the day! He was booking it to the west! We had a couple of good looks at him, until he disappeared. We moved on in search of more whales. We saw a Steller sea lion at the northern marker of Hein Bank. He was posing pretty for us! We found at least three other minkes at Hein Bank. They were swimming in circles and being pretty elusive. But they came right over to the boat a few times! We actually heard the exhalation of the biggest minke, as he surfaced right off of the bow! They kept us guessing at their direction, hopefully they were finding some good food in the area!we spent some nice quality time floating amongst the minkes before we headed off. With one more look at the Steller hauled out on the navigation marker, we headed north toward homeport. At Burrows Island, we had two mature bald eagles perched high in the trees and harbor seals hauled out on the rocks! The harbor porpoise were loving the currents off the island! It was a sun-filled day on the water!

Today was a beautiful day full of sunshine on the boat! We encountered a lot of wildlife! Our trip began with a California sea lion hauled out on the Guemes Channel marker. He was lounging in the sun. We turned north to search for whales. We tried to cover as much ground as we could on the search. There were a lot of harbor porpoise swimming in Rosario Strait. We made our way up to Peapod Rock and found a mature bald eagle perched on the rocks above a bunch of harbor seals. On the north Peapod, we saw a few more bald eagles and a couple of turkey vultures soaring over the rocks. Captain Michael got the call that another boat had found the whales, so we made our way in that direction. We went inner islands toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As we made our way south, the waves kept getting bigger and bigger. We made our way to Cattle Pass where Captain Michael made the best decision for all of our customers, we turned around and headed back north to try to find some other whales in the area. The water conditions were deteriorating the further south we went. The waves kept building and the boats that had the whales eventually lost them in the rough waters. We went through Obstruction Pass and continued over toward Lummi Island. On the Buckeye Shoal marker, we found another California sea lion hauled out. We turned south along the backside of Guemes Island on our way home. We found another mature bald eagle perched in it's nest on Jack Island. Throughout the day, we also saw pigeon guillemots, rhinoceros auklets, cormorants and Brandt geese. Even though the whales were in extremely rough water today, we had a wonderful trip in the sunshine. It was one of those rare days that we didn't see the whales, so all of our customers get to come back out with us, for free, until they see a whale!

The forecast for Wednesday looks good and this morning we got a report of Killer Whales on the west side of San Juan Island, heading north. This is great news and we are looking forward to tomorrow's trip!!!

Today was the first day of the season that we found a humpback and a minke whale! Two new species to check off for the season! Our day started under blue skies and calm waters! We found a great blue heron standing on the shoreline. We headed down Guemes Channel and we found a lot of harbor porpoise swimming in the current lines. We made our way south down Rosario Strait where we found a humpback whale! It was the first humpback of the season. He was swimming down the north western side of Whidbey Island. He maintained a rhythmic breathing sequence, showing us his fluke on many occasions! He popped up close giving us great looks and also a pretty good stinky smell... Humpback breath! It was an amazing encounter with this juvenile humpback! After a while, we headed off toward Eastern Bank to see what else we could find. We ended up finding not one, but four minke whales feeding in the shallow waters of Eastern Bank! They came right up giving us some great looks at their sleek bodies! The guests concurred that the minke whales' breath was definitely worse than the humpback's breath! We spent some time with our minke friends before heading toward homeport. On our way, another minke popped up right next to the boat! We stopped and watched him for a few breaths before we continued north. We saw Brandt geese, red-necked phalaropes, pigeon guillemots, rhinoceros auklets and cormorants. We did a beautiful slow down through the south end of Lopez Island and Castle Rock. We found a mature bald eagle perched on Lopez Island. On our way home, we saw more harbor porpoise. It was such a wonderfully gorgeous day out on the water!

Today we spent time with a group of about eight transients including T002C, T002C1, T002C2, T002C3 (less than a year old), T019, T019B and T019C. It was a great day on the water! Our trip began with a harbor seal swimming in Guemes Channel. We pushed west and made our way toward Rosario Strait where we saw some harbor porpoise swimming in the current lines. Our trip took us through the inner islands. We went down Upright Channel and took a right into San Juan Channel where we met up with a group of transient orcas! As we got on scene, they started becoming more active! It looked like they woke up from their naps and long downtimes! A mature bald eagle also soared off the side of our boat! The orcas were very playful! We watched them roll over each other, tail lob, spyhop, lunge and cartwheel! We saw more than one orca belly today! They were enjoying the sunshine just as much as we were! After some amazing looks, we headed toward Spieden Island. Swimming off the southern tip of Spieden, Captain Carl found us two Steller sea lions! There were three Canada Geese waddling on the island as well. We made our way to the north side where we were treated to some looks at the mouflon sheep that call Spieden Island their home! By the timewe turned to the south, the orcas were still headed I our direction. We continued watching them as they continued north toward Canada. Eventually, we had to turn to head home, but we weren't done watching wildlife! We saw some harbor seals hauled out on some rocks off of Bell Island. Mt. Baker even decided to make an appearance! We found another bald eagle perched on Decatur Island. In the current lines off of James Island there were a lot of harbor porpoise! As we made our way to Guemes Channel, we found a California sea lion hauled out on a channel marker. Our last wildlife popped up as we turned the corner to the harbor, a river otter poked his head up to say hi a couple of times! It was a beautiful day on the water, full of sunshine and wildlife!

We had a fantastic first day out of Anacortes today! We found members of J-pod south of Eastern Bank! Our day began with a bad eagle flying over Cap Sante! Then another one flew in front of the boat as we turned the corner into Guemes Channel. We found our first marine mammal hauled out on the channel marker! It was a California sea lion lounging in the sun. We made the turn and headed south down Rosario Strait. We made our way down past Smith Island toward Eastern Bank. The first orcas we saw were Talhequah and her son Notch. Notch was quite the show off! First, he cartwheeled for us! Then he repeatedly tail lobbed! He was rolling around having a great time! Then Tsuchi showed up swimming right next to Talhequah and Notch! Doublestuf also popped up, but just for a brief visit. We had a couple of groups come together and we shut down the boat and just watched and listened! Then, Captain Michael treated us to a little extra time and we pushed further toward Dungeness Spit where we found Mike, Slick, Echo and Alki. They gave us some great looks as they swam around the boat! We had to leave eventually, as we headed north we found many different birds: pigeon guillemots, rhinoceros auklets, surf scoters and common murres. We did a slow down at the south end of Smith and Minor Islands. We found a lot of cormorants, harbor seals and two bald eagles. One eagle was perched on the structure on the island and the other was feasting on something on the shoreline. There were many harbor seals in the water, keeping an eye on the eagle. He was probably taking up their real estate on the beach! We continued home under blue skies and flat water! What a wonderful way to start our season out of Anacortes!

The Island Explorer 3 is now back in Anacortes and our whale watching tours focusing on killer whales start this Saturday. We will be running weekends and a limited mid week schedule. Daily tours begin May 18th. In Everett we saw gray whales on 49 out of 50 tours in 2012. It was a great spring season, but the numbers of gray whales dropped dramatically this week so we decided to bring our boat back to Anacortes and start our orca tours early this year! There are orcas in the area today and the entire staff is very excited for the first orca tour tomorrow! Check back for photos and reports from tomorrow's tour.

What a wonderful adventure we had today on the Island Explorer 3. We started it off with a bald eagle that Captain Carl found on the way out of the marina. As we passed the eagle we were greeted by a California sea lion hauled out, and napping on a buoy. As we got close though, the sea lion lifted up his head and gave us a great pose!!! After we waved goodbye to our buoy buddy, Captain Carl took us North along the river delta. As we went we realized we were not alone but were actually surrounded by at least two dozen harbor porpoise. They began popping up all around and were showing no shyness toward the boat. We knew then that good things were afoot as we headed further north toward the delta marker. As we reached the marker we were met by another bald eagle, perched on a rail, looking for fish. Seconds later Naturalist Micheal heard the cry of another eagle and sure enough one came flying in!!! They looked like what may have been a mated pair as there was no confrontation between the two beautiful birds. After enjoying such a wonderful sight Captain Carl swung a one-eighty and we headed back toward Gedney Island. Little did we know the show was just about to begin. Scanning the horizon Captain Carl spotted a gray whale!!! At first the gray whale was not raising his knuckle ridge high enough for us to identify him, but that soon changed as we followed him back north toward the delta. With a few deeper dives, Naturalist Micheal, was able to identify the whale as number 53, Little Patch. We got some great looks at him as he swam in some shallower waters. Captain Carl was able to keep a nice even stride alongside the whale as he searched for food, and food he found!!! Just past the delta marker, 53 made a quick turn and swam toward the river mouth and even shallower waters. Not long after the turn we began to see his peck fins cutting through the water indicating to us that it was his lunch time. We were having such a good time watching him and the rest of the wonderful wildlife that it was hard to head back in, but all good things must end sometime. So as Little Patch began to head north again we aimed south toward the dock. On our way in we were given an excellent look at a naval destroyer class vessel headed back to base from off shore drills. As we neared the port we watched as dozens of hauled out sea lions went for a ride while the navy opened its gates for the destroyer. Between the flat calm waters and the beautifully abundant wildlife we could not have asked for a better day to end our spectacular gray whale season!!! Currently Captain Micheal and first mate Gillian (Tyson) are headed north on the Island Explorer 3 to our home port of Anacortes as we begin preparations for our orca whales season. We are very excited and looking forward to seeing you out there for fun and sun in the San Juans, so bring the family and join us for Orca adventures.

Today our wildlife watching began before we even left the dock, as a harbor seal entertained our guests at the stern of the boat. Soon after, we were visiting with two California sea lions near Jetty Island. We searched today both north and south with excellent water conditions, but could not find a whale for the folks on board. We did see many species of bird throughout the trip, including a bald eagle that passed right by the bow. It was such a beautiful day on the water, and we searched and searched, but it just didn't happen today. Fortunately, everyone on board is welcome to come back for free for life until they see a whale! -Michael Colahan

We found one gray whale today toward the end of our trip to save our perfect record so far this year. We had some bird watchers on board that were very happy with the variety of birds we saw today. We spotted common loons, Pacific loons, Brant, bald eagles, pigeon guillemots, rhinoceros auklets, caspian terns, Bonapartes gulls, western grebes, surf scoters, and all three species of cormorants. At the end of Jetty Island we found three California sea lions, and then later off Possession Point we found two Stellers sea lions. We searched hard and wide at the south end of Whidbey Island without any whale luck. It wasn't until late in the trip that we finally found a whale when I spotted one feeding in the shallows of the Snohomish River delta. This whale was on his side showing his tail flukes and pectoral fins in the air as he fed. He must have found lots of good food in the area because he didn't move very far during our visit. As we headed back to the dock we found our California sea lions again hauled out On the channel marker off Jetty Island. Naturalist Bart Rulon

Unfortunately due to heavy winds forecast for the Everett area, we had to cancel our tour today. This is very uncommon - on average this only happens four times a year! We will be back out on the water tomorrow and still have plenty of space during the week. We are looking forward to calm water and lots of wildlife in the near future!

We found gray whale number 53 on today's trip. He was in between Hat and Camano Islands when we found him. He was swimming in a zig-zag pattern for most of our visit. He did give us some good views especially when he raised his tail flukes on one particular dive. During our whale viewing we also found some harbor porpoises,and harbor seals swimming nearby. Next we motored over toward Camano Island to look at the bald eagle's nest there,and we spotted one of the adult bald eagles nearby. Next we cruised back toward our dock and found our gray whale again for some more views as he swam toward the Snohomish River delta. Other wildlife we spotted today included common loons, surf scoters, red-necked grebes, pigeon guillemots, cormorants, caspian terns, and western grebes. Naturalist Bart Rulon.

Today's trip started with sightings of two ospreys at their nest. The female was incubating eggs and the male was eating a fish. We saw an immature bald eagle right behind them perched on some drift wood on Jetty Island. Next we watched two California sea lions on the channel marker at the end of Jetty Island. We cruise northward along Whidbey Island and eventually I spotted a gray whale just south of Sandy Point. It was #56 and he was swimming pretty quickly southward. While we watched him swim an adult bald eagle flew by along the shoreline. The highlight of our visit with 56 was when he sounded his tail flukes on two different occasions. We said goodbye to him just as we both reached the Clinton ferry lanes. Next we cruised southward looking for more whales at Possession Point. Captain Michael spotted two gray whales and we decided to focus on the one that was closest to us. While waiting for him to resurface we checked out four sea lions sleeping on a marker. Three were Stellers sea lions and one was a California sea lion. Eventually the California sea lion slipped off into the water, then he circled the marker as if he wanted to try to get back on again. Next we motored up to get a few good looks at our second gray whale of the day before we headed back to the dock. Naturalist Bart Rulon.

We spent our day with 723 and we definitely enjoyed the sunshine! Our trip began as Captain Michael took us up the Snohomish River a little bit to check out the osprey nest. It looked like both of the parents were home. One of them may have been sitting on the eggs. We made the turn and found two bald eagles, one perched on Jetty Island and one flying above Jetty Island. As we made our way out toward Possession Sound, we found two California sea lions hauled out on the channel marker. We made our way to the south end of Hat Island. One of customers found our whale! It was 723. He made his way in between the delta and and shallows at the south end of Hat Island. He was maintaining a rhythmic breathing sequence as he swam. We hung out with him before we made our way north toward Camano Island in search of other animals. We found a couple of bald eagles flying over the nest at the south end of Camano Island. We moved south again in search of our buddy 723. We found him in almost the same exact spot where we left him. He continued his behavior swimming from the delta back toward the south of Hat Island. We had some great looks as he surfaced in front of Hat Island. He was headed the wrong direction for us, so we left him as we headed for the dock. We saw our lazy sea lions again. On the trip we also saw many western grebes, some buffleheads, Caspian terns, rhinoceros auklets and pigeon guillemots. In fact, a harbor seal popped up at the dock to say goodbye to some of our customers! It was such a great day full of sunshine and our friend 723!

We had a great trip with 53, 56 and 723 today! Our day started under a little bit of liquid sunshine. We saw two California sea lions hauled out on a navigational marker. We continued to the south end of Hat Island where Captain Carl found us two gray whales! It turned out to be 53 and 723! It's great to see 723 because we haven't seen him in over two weeks! We spent some quality time with them as they circled the south end of Hat Island. As they headed south, we headed north to see if there were any other animals in the area. We made our way up to Port Susan where Captain Carl found us another whale. It was gray whale 56. We watched him continue north past Kayak Point. We turned back south and headed back to the other whales. The whole trip today, we had so many harbor seals and a lot of western grebes. We met back up with our first two whales, 53 and 723. It looked like they were in a resting pattern. The sun also graced us with its presence! It even warmed up a little bit! We followed the Coast Gurad buoy tender, Henry Blake, to the dock! It was a wonderful day out on the waters of Possession Sound and Port Susan!

We had two gray whales today: 21 and 49! Patch was the highlight as he fluked for us many times! We started our trip with two California sea lions hauled out on the channel marker. There were also two more swimming the water. Then, on the yellow marker, there were two more! Just awesome! Six sea lions within less than 10 minutes! We headed toward the south end of Hat Island and did a slow down to see if any animals were in the area. We started to head north, when we got the word that there were whales to the south. We turned around and headed toward Possession Point. At the south end of Whidbey Island, we caught up with 21 and 49! They surfaced simultaneously on many occasions! They passed in front of us and Patch (49) fluked for us on every deep dive! We had some amazing looks as they decided to pass in front of us again as they continued south! We had to leave them behind us and head north toward the dock. We had another treat, on another channel marker, we had three Steller sea lions and a California hauled out! One more stop to see our first two sea lions and a fly by from a mature bald eagle ended our wonderful day on the water!

We found three gray whales today off Camano Island. First we started out with five California sea lions hauled out on two different channel markers. Next we cruised slowly looking for a whale Captain Carl spotted from the dock before we left, but it must have moved on. Carl finally spotted the gray whale off Camano Island swimming northward. It was #21 and he was gradually working toward the shoreline. After watching him for about twenty minutes we peeled off to look for more. Within a few minutes I spotted two more gray whales at the south end of Camano Island. It was #53 and #56 and they were the highlight of our trip. These two whales were swimming side by side often surfacing at the same time for the duration of our visit with them. We also spotted two bald eagles flying high above Camano Island while we watched the whales. Other wildlife we spotted today included harbor seals, harbor porpoises,western grebes,white-winged scoters, and a common loon. It was a good day on the water. Naturalist Bart Rulon