Never Give Up. . .

With no reports of whales our safari started by heading South out of Friday Harbor. We passed Whale Rocks and encountered Steller's Sea Lions and Harbor Seals. I am always impressed with the size of Steller's Sea Lions around 1500 pounds! Pupping season for harbor seals is mid June and I can't wait to see all the baby seals.

We also took a good long look at Goose Island on the southern tip of San Juan Island and saw the Cormorant rookery. Fishermen from China historically had used cormorants for fishing. (We will tell you the whole story on the boat, just ask)

As we came around the southern corner of San Juan Island into the Strait of Juan De Fuca, we ran into some rough waters. So - we decided to turn north and go up the west side of San Juan Island. This ended up to be a fantastic decision... We found J-pod near Lime Kiln State Park heading North. We were able to identify J-1 "Ruffles", the eldest male of all Southern Resident Killer Whales. His dorsal fin is about 5 feet tall.

We ended the tour by taking a quick peek at Spieden Island. The Mouflon Sheep were out grazing and a Bald eagle was sitting in its nest.

Our trip may have started with doubt and rough seas, but we never gave up.
We ended up seeing orca whales and some great wildlife.


Naturalist,
Jeannette Miller


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Fairy Tale Trip

Once upon a time in a land far, far, far, far, far away... there was a group of Transient Orcas. The crew of San Juan Safaris knew they must voyage long to see them, however their guests were willing to take the risk and travel all the way to Albert Head, west of Victoria Harbor. J-Pod had traveled too far north, but the Transients were in reach.

Ater a perilous, and by perilous I mean super calm, journey across the Haro Strait, past Discovery Island, and beyond Victoria Harbor, we made it to our prince charming (a large Transient male) upon our trusty steed the Sea Lion. Our guests got some amazing views of the group of T87, T88, T124, T124D, T124E, T90 and T90B , which included multiple females, a juvenile, a sprouter (juvenile male), and an adult male. The orcas appeared to have caught a Harbor Seal because there was an oil slick in the water just behind them and the sea gulls were going nuts, diving in and out of the water. The orcas gave us some fabulous views as they surfaced just off Albert Point, providing the perfect backdrop for photos.

Although the fairy tale trip with the Transients had to come to an end, that didn't mean the beautiful trip was over. We trekked back to Lime Kiln Lighthouse and gave our guests a real estate tour of the west side of San Juan Island. We also were able to take them back into Roche Harbor through Mosquito Pass, which gave us lovely views of homes, still water, and some Harbor Seals.

The lighting was perfect, the water calm, and the clouds low; which completely set the stage for a trip so amazing it sounds make believe!

Above: The group of Transients photographed by Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research. The Center Reports that the juvenile male seen was T73B, who hasn't been seen in years. What a treat!!!

... and they all lived happily ever after.

Megan, Naturalist