Full day sail to Colville Island and back

June 30, 2019 – We had a really nice sail close to San Juan Island’s coast into Griffin Bay to check out the driftwood beaches and the forested shoreline. There were many pregnant harbor seals on Harbor Rock and one mother had a newborn pup. Goose Island was busy as usual with cormorants and gulls calling and flying all around.

Crossing over Salmon Bank as we scanned for minke whales, we found hundreds or thousands of diving birds. It was more than we’ve ever seen concentrated in one place. To our surprise we did not find any minke whale amongst the birds despite great scanning efforts.

Onward we sailed peacefully to Colville Island where an eagle stood and harbor seals slept. Inside of Castle Island a group of pigeon guillemots rested together on a rock while a bald eagle flew overhead with a small fish in tow. The mother black oystercatcher watched us sail by while her chicks hid in the rocks. Perhaps we’ll see them again next time.

A group of steller sea lions played in the water as we made our way into Cattle Pass and in the direction towards home.