Day 1: Smith & Minor Islands, Deception Pass, orcas at Bird Rocks, sea lions at Whale Rocks (82 nm)
We departed on Tuesday from Port Townsend under the cover of fog, but in great spirits. Instead of the high winds forecast for the day, we found flat, calm seas all day long! First stop: Smith & Minor Islands. Even with some limited visibility, we were greeted by several bald eagles, hundreds of harbor seals, and the highlight for most of us…a tufted puffin! While most of the breeding colony seems to have taken off for the open ocean, we were thrilled to find a single puffin remaining in its slightly shaggy non-breeding plumage. Next up, we headed off to Deception Pass for sweeping views of the bridge, many bird species, and gorgeous teal-colored waters. As we debated where exactly to head next, a call came over the radio of possible orcas less than 20 minutes from our location! That made the decision for us, and we pointed toward the San Juan Islands. After a bit of searching, we found our first whales of the trip, the T49As, T50D, and T50B1 (8 orcas total). The drizzle paused, some sun poked through, and we got to watch the pod cruise SE with views of the bridge in the background; such a classic PNW landscape! Leaving them, we motored over to Cattle Pass and Whale Rocks to check in on all the Steller sea lions before heading into Roche Harbor. So many bucket list items checked off just on Day 1!
Day 2: Orcas outside Roche Harbor, Spieden Island, hiking on Sucia, humpback in John’s Pass (41 nm)
Wednesday dawned bright and sunny with the glassy waters continuing. Leaving the marina, we were only just beginning to pour our first rounds of coffee when we were interrupted in the best sort of way…more orcas RIGHT outside Roche Harbor! We stumbled upon the T35As as they meandered the San Juan Island shoreline and gave us the most incredible backlit blows in the morning light. While watching them, we looked in the distance and, to our great surprise, saw MORE blows ahead! The T49As + T50D + T50B1 popped in to say hi! They joined up with the T35As for a few short surfaces and then split up again. We decided to stick with the T35As as they cruised the Spieden shore, stopping a couple of times for some quick hunts. Along the backside of the island, they finally pulled away from shore, and we had just decided to move along ourselves when the unbelievable happened, and we spotted yet ANOTHER orca! T49C, affectionately known as “Uncle Janet,” was travelling on his own as he usually does, making the seals around Gull Island nervous as he swam along. Eventually, tired of watching whales (15 orcas total if my math is right), we continued on…just kidding! But we did have places to be! Hiking on Sucia was next on the docket for the day. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for a picnic and walk along the shore, searching for fossils, and enjoying the stunning views. Leaving Sucia, we traveled back in the direction of Roche, weaving through a few smaller islands. In Johns Pass, just 20 mins. from the dock, and while doing some bird watching, we were shocked to happen upon our first baleen whale of the trip — a young humpback! Eventually, we were able to ID this whale as BCC0050, as it traveled in big feeding circles, with hundreds of Bonaparte’s gulls soaring overhead. A fantastic surprise ending to an already incredible day; just about as close to perfect as a trip could get!
Day 3: Humpbacks off Vancouver Island, wildlife at Race Rocks, Protection Island, minke whale off Point Wilson (80 nm)
Our last morning leaving Roche was another gorgeous sunny and windless day, and we had but one main objective — get out to Race Rocks! This time of year, the marine preserve west of Victoria is a humpback hangout hotspot, and one of the crew’s favorite places to visit. Lucky for us, the whales were out in full force! Right in Race Pass, we found at least 6 individuals, including a mom and calf pair, and even got to witness some epic lunge-feeding at the surface! In addition to the amazing whale activity, we were treated to much more wildlife in the area as well, including hundreds of sea lions, “kettling” turkey vultures circling overhead, and a sea otter hanging in the kelp. Crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca back to the US side of the water was stunningly calm, and we all chowed down on our delicious soup lunch. We passed Dungeness Spit and the beautiful lighthouse before arriving at Protection Island, where we found a lone brown pelican, more harbor seals and eagles, and other diving birds. Finally, it was time to head back to Port Townsend, but the crew was bound and determined to find at least one more whale species. After much scanning and searching, we managed to catch a brief glimpse of a third species, the ever-elusive minke whale! These slinky whales can be tricky, and this one especially so, only surfacing once every few minutes. Unfortunately, it seemed quite intent on heading in the opposite direction we needed to go, so our looks were fleeting, but a great last-minute find nonetheless!
Another incredibly successful, fun, and wildlife-filled adventure in the books!
