Whale Watching Report

Through the fog, we were still able to see part of J-pod today! Stay tuned for a full report from our naturalist.

Our day started off in sunny skies, but we soon found ourselves in a thick fog bank as we transited Rosario Strait. We broke through into the sunshine right at Thatcher Pass where were were able to spot some bald eagles and turkey vultures soaring above the trees on Blakely Island. We turned down Upright Channel and made our way down to the south end of San Juan Island, where we met up with another fog bank. We turned west in search of whales; after a while, we heard there were whales in the area. In the thick fog, it posed a little bit of a challenge, but we found J-pod! We visited with Polaris and her new calf, J46, and Princess Angeline and her new calf, J44. We had some really nice passes from this group. We moved off and found another pair of whales, a male and a female traveling in proximity to each other. Then we got word of another small group of whales just north of where we were, so we headed that direction. We met up with a mother and calf and two other whales who were further inshore. The fog started to lift as we left the scene, but not before we got to hang out with the male and female orcas we left earlier. As we made our way to Salmon Bank, the fog completely cleared and we could see for miles! We did a nice little slow down through the south end of Lopez Island and Castle Rock. A bald eagle took off from Castle Rock and had a crow harassing it. The eagle circled a few times then flew directly over the boat! He even looked right down at the boat. It was amazing. On our way toward the dock, we found a few bait balls and searched for more big animals. Mt. Baker even made an appearance as we made our back back into Guemes Channel. It was such a great day on the water; the fog made it even more special!