September 10, 2019 – It was a gorgeous day on the water with so much wildlife out and about. We spotted many harbor seals, bald eagles, great blue herons, harbor porpoise, many diving birds, and we even sailed with a humpback whale. Big puffy clouds, glassy conditions, and pretty lighting gave us a magical day as we sailed to some of our favorite places… the Wasp Islands, Flattop Island, to Ripple and through the Cactus Islands and into New Channel.
We circumnavigated Spieden Island to see the humpback whale who was eastbound in the channel. The humpback whale was MMX0007 aka “Bond” who has been hanging out in our area circling south of Flattop Island. It was amazing to sit and watch this whale swimming around with large exhales floating up into the air.
Our adventure continued as we sailed around White Rock and up to Pt Disney to get a closer look. This amazing geology and a work of art was towering above us as we looked up at the many layers of time. We hugged some of the Waldron coastline before crossing Presidents Channel to Orcas Island. Another beautiful coastline with steep Douglas fir forests and many Pacific Madrone trees with their orange color popping out in the sunshine. Down through Spring Pass and back through the Wasp Islands and back to Port.
Route Map 9-10-19
Bald eagle
Harbor seals on Low Island with great blue heron
Harbor seals on Flattop Island
Harbor seals on Flattop Island
Spotting wildlife
River otters on Flattop Island
River otter on Flattop Island
Looking towards Green Pt
Looking into Boundary Pass
Harbor seals resting in New Channel
Harbor seals resting on Ripple Island
Harbor seals resting in New Channel
Cloud reflections and bull kelp
Cormorant drying his wings
Harbor seals hanging out together in New Channel
Great blue heron
River otters swimming near Spieden Island
River otters swimming near Spieden Island
Bull kelp beds
Bald eagle nest, Spieden Island
Humpback whale MMX0007 aka “Bond”
Humpback whale MMX0007 aka “Bond”
Humpback whale MMX0007 aka “Bond” passes Spieden Island
Harbor porpoise
Humpback whale tail and Tip Top Hill
Humpback whale MMX0007
Humpback whale tail
Sailing whale watching with humpback whale “Bond”
Sailing whale watching with humpback whale “Bond”
Humpback whale tail
Humpback whale tail ID Photo from MMX0007
Humpback whale heading towards Waldron Island
Humpback circling south of Flattop Island
Humpback circling south of Flattop Island
Humpback whale deep dive
Humpback whale deep dive
Humpback whale heading towards Flattop Island
Humpback whale heading towards Flattop Island with a beautiful backlit blow
Humpback whale tail and exhale lingering in the air
Large group of common murres
Cloudy reflections
Sailing to Pt Disney, Waldron Island
Sailing underneath Pt Disney, Waldron Island
Foliage changing colors for fall on Waldron
Sailing across Presidents Channel towards Orcas Island
Bald eagle
Bald eagle nest, Orcas Island