Whale Watching

In June when one of our grandsons was staying with us he and I went whale watching for a day.  We went out of Anacortes and spent the day searching for whales and especially for Orcas or Killer Whales in Puget Sound.  We saw quite a number of them and enjoyed watching the other ships, the waterbirds and other marine life as we sailed through the San Juan Islands and to different areas of Puget Sound.

Sean

Burrow's  Island Lighthouse

The San Juan Islands

Other Whale Watching Boats

Seagulls

The Canadian Navy

(the Captain's joke)

Pigeon Guillemots

Orcas

Watching the Whale Watchers

Harbor Seals

Bald Eagles

Whale Watching

My youngest brother has been working in our area for several weeks and that has become a golden opportunity for some hiking and other adventures.  Saturday, June 2nd, we went whale watching, he and I, and were gone for the day, from about 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

We left from Bellingham and the day looked to be cloudy and rainy, but began to clear about the time we left the harbor, and turned out to be a beautiful and relaxing day, though there were storm clouds on the horizon when we returned and the next day brought rain.

We were not far out Bellingham harbor when we saw numerous Harbor Seals on a small rocky island, the name of which (if it had a name) I do not remember.  The captain steered us close enough for some good pictures and a good view of them, the closest I've seen them.

Further out in the sound as we sailed among the islands we saw several eagles and other waterbirds, but all too far away for decent pictures.  We did however see a California Sea Lion on one of the navigational buoys in the sound.  He waved to us as we went by.

Finally, some three hours out we saw a small pod of Orcas being followed by other boats and followed themselves ourselves for about half an hour before turning back home.  There were four of them, a big male, two females and one delightful little baby.

We were informed that the Orcas or Killer Whales that can be seen in Puget Sound are of two kinds, transients who move in small pods and are only seen in the Sound for short periods and several larger pods who make the Sound their summer home and travel in much larger pods.

We were also told that the Orcas who live in the Sound are mainly fish-eating, but that the transients eat other mammals, seals, other whales, etc.  We learned, too, that all the Orcas are identified by numbers and names, are carefully studied and watched.

That was the first time I had seen Orcas in the "wild" and though it was difficult to get good pictures because of the distance one is required to keep from them (200 yards by law), it was a delight to see them and learn about them and we hope to go again some time.

Whale Watching

Towards the end of August, while our grandson was staying with us, we went whale-watching, something we had not done before, but will certainly do again.  We sailed from Anacortes and were on the water from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, a very long day, but very worthwhile.  We sailed with Mystic Sea Charters and were very pleased with the relaxed and friendly atmosphere of the trip.

The reports were that the Orcas, the most popular whales in Puget Sound had headed out to sea but that there were several humpbacks in the area, though far out in the sound.  The trip to see them was quite long, but there was plenty to see as we made our way through the San Juan Islands and out to a more open area between Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula.

When we arrived at the area where the humpbacks had been reported we found not only a pair of them but a number of other boats following them and we stayed with them for about an hour, watching them dive and surface about every 10-15 minutes.  The boat's captain said that this was quite unusual - that usually it was 30 minutes or more between dives.

On the way back we saw some Minke whales but there was really nothing to photograph, nor was there much point in trying to photograph the porpoises that followed the boats through the islands.  The captain did, however, stop at Mermaid Rock to give us opportunity to see and photograph the sea lions there.  They and the cormorants made quite and impressive display.

The captain also allowed our grandson, the only child on the boat to sit in the captain's seat and drive the boat.  This was, for him, a bigger thing than seeing the whales.  One of the crew also took him down into the engine room for an engine check, after giving him a pair of ear muffs to wear down in the hold.  I am sure it was a day that he will not quickly forget - certainly it was for us.