Seattle 3: Orca Watching, 24. August

While in the area, I of course planned to go whale (orca) watching at some stage. Most tours are being offered from San Juan Island, which means you need to take the ferry or floatplane over to Friday Harbour, then the whale watching trip, and then get back to Seattle by ferry or floatplane again. As an aviation nut I wouldn't even mind flying over, but the fares are quite steep at the moment. However, while searching for operators, I found Island Mariner Cruises, who are apparently the oldest whale watch operation in the San Juan Islands. They operate out of Bellingham, a town about 90 minutes north of here. Also, they have a pretty large boat, and the weather didn't look that good. And, another advantage, their tours are scheduled for six hours, i.e. you get good value for money. Thus, I booked them for Sunday, the 24th. Saturday was my day in Mt Rainier NP, and the weather was awesome (see Mt Rainier blog). When I left Seattle early in the morning, it was beautiful as well. But just before getting to Bellingham, it closed in and I saw the first rain drops hitting the wind screen. Well, the company decided they'll go out anyway, and hey - what's a bit of rain?!

This big orca (on wheels) was outside their office. Little did I know at that time that this was the only orca I was to see all day!

The Island Caper is a nice vessel, with lots of room and railing space all around, plus the complete upper deck, which means that even when wildlife is around, almost everybody on board can get a "front row" spot!

On the way we saw quite a few bald eagles (I would guess 5-6). I was very keen on seeing some, so that was certainly a treat. Here are some photos (sadly, in poor quality: The light wasn't good, I used my 300mm zoom, and still had to crop in a lot!).

We also saw a few Harbor Seals. They didn't seem to be bothered by the bad weather at all. Actually, the second photo reminds me of a book I got from Erlet and Carl Cater. The title is: Underwater to get out of the rain (by Trevor Norton). (btw, a fine and humorous read - highly recommended!).

We also saw plenty of Harbor Porpoises but man, they are fast! Very shy, i.e. stay well away from the boat, and as soon as you see them they are gone again. Out of my many attempts to take a photo of them, the following is the only one where you actually see a porpoise, and not just a splash of water!

Even Kenmore Air was operating in that kind of weather! Every now and again you could spot a plane through the fog and clouds...

And by the way, a few brave people (myself included) stayed upstairs on the open deck all trip. It was bitter cold, and the cruise guys had fleece blankets for us. But despite these, and my mega-warm skiing jacket, it was pretty cold. Once back in the car I cranked up the heater, haha!

Conclusion: Despite the poor weather, and the lack of orcas, I actually enjoyed the trip! I enjoyed the San Juan Islands, the boat, the wildlife we saw, and the crew on board! The whole deal was sweetened even more with a "orca sighting guarantee", i.e. you can come back on another trip free of charge, until you see orcas!

Island Mariner Cruises also keep records of their trips on their webpage. here is their log from this day:

Sunday, August 24; This is supposed to be August?
It was without a doubt the worst whale watching day all season, and probably in years. We left Bellingham with the promise of rain in the distance. The rain did not disappoint, and once it started, it never stopped. The ceiling was almost down to our deck, so our spotter plane was of no use to us today. We heard reports as we were underway that some of the orca whales had headed west beyond anyone's reach. We were hoping there would be a group north that no one had found. So we headed north. Some whale watching boats were ahead of us and reported that there wasn't anything up north. Then we heard that the entire southern resident orca community had all headed west! So we did some sightseeing on the way back through the middle of the islands. At least, what we could see through the relentless rain. Unfortunately, we have no control over the weather or the orca whales. When we head out, sometimes these dismal days surprise us with a little sun and a great whale watching day. Not today. The only good news is that anyone who wants to come back with us can - for free - anytime! Next week, next year, the year after, as long as we are out whale watching, the offer stands.