Anacortes - part 3 whale watching

 

Our giant catamaran for the day

Roger here...  This will be pretty much a black-and-white post with the gray skies on this day, but hey, Orca whales are black and white, so it all fits.  We were scheduled for a 4- to 5-hour tour.  Bandido and Poquita were playing with other dogs at Wiggles and Waggles doggie day care.  So, heave ho!

We followed this sailboat out of the marina

We watch the San Juan Islands slide by from our outdoor seats before heading inside to get out of the cool temperatures and wind.  Essentially, the drill was: go outside when the biologist or the captain indicated something interesting, then return to the inside warmth when the excitement passed.

The monitor inside the cabin let us know where we were in relation to the various San Juan Islands.  The man in the picture below was pointing to the location of our vessel.

Steller Sea Lions, that can weigh up to 2400 pounds, were our first sighting.  I wish we could have gotten a better photo.  The two sea lions are sticking up in the water toward the center-left side of the photo.  Several brown harbor seals are lounging on the rocks with the gulls.

The marine biologist who provided a continuous commentary posted a picture of two of the seals on the cabin screen.  Dianne insists that the seal on the left is smiling.  :-)   (Or flirting -- D.)

The hundreds of gulls have done a nice job of "painting" the tops of the rocks on this mini-island.

You could actually smell the guano.

WHALES!  ORCA WHALES!

As soon as the marine biologist announced the first whale sighting at 11:00 o'clock (directionally), the indoor cabins emptied.  The captain slowed the forward movement of the vessel.  Then we saw our first whale in the far distance.

My first thought was, well we saw a far-off whale in its natural habit.  That is cool.  I wished it had been closer, but we did see it!  Would we see more?  There was more to come.

The captain informed everyone that the various boat captains report the locations of sightings to the other captains.  Our captain soon sped off toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where the currents were swift and the wind was very cool.  Soon, the oohs and aahs began.

During our viewing time we were able to see five different pods (families).  The pods typically consist of a mom and her offspring.  The fathers usually return to their moms after mating.  (The biologist explained that whales have a matriarchal society.  Grandmothers have the top spot because of their knowledge and experience; I loved that part! -- D.)  The sons remain with their moms for their life-spans.  (Mommy's boys -- D.)  The females break off to form their own pods when they become pregnant.  The various pods do socialize and mate with other pods.  We were able to witness pods approaching and interacting with other pods.  So interesting!

THE VIDEOS...

The still photos are interesting; however, watching the whales dive and interact was fascinating.

 Dianne was able to get a longer video (the best one) that can be viewed by clicking the link below (It's on You Tube.)

Dianne's Whale Video

As we cruised back to the marina, we slowly passed by the Deception Pass Bridge --- a different perspective from the water.

Time to get back to Anacortes...

The next post will feature more hikes at Deception State Park and fun at Whidbey Island

PET PICTURE OF THE DAY...

Poquita was exhausted after several hours at the doggie day care.