A Whale of a Day!
"It is not uncommon to be greeted not only by our crew at the dock but most often the local wildlife stops by to say "welcome aboard"!! Today Norman (named by the staff last season), a friendly Harbor Seal, showed up during the crew introductions for an inspection of the passengers! I am happy to say that Norman approved them all to come whale watching aboard the Island Explorer 3! On the days Norman is checking out other boats in the marina one of three pairs of Mallards will hop out of the water onto the dock for a quick photo shoot (re: the above photo)! It wasn't long after departing the marina that we found 2 Gray Whales near Whidbey Island! We weren't with these gentle giants long when Captain Michael was notified over the radio that there were some lost divers in the area and that our services were needed for the search! Not only were our passengers understanding of the emergency, but many grabbed binoculars and took post at the rails scanning the water for signs of people in the water! After a few minutes we were notified that the divers were safe and sound! We then resumed whale watching!! Our good deed was rewarded by not 2 but 3 Gray Whales resting close together!! They just lingered at the surface allowing our guests some great photo opportunities!! We were also showered with luck at the Gray's fluked at least 12 times!! What a day!! We also visited with California Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Western Grebes, Pigeon Guillemots, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Cormorants and a Great Blue Heron!"
posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 8:00 PM
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