Sunset sail to Whale Rocks

August 23, 2020 – This evening we had a beautiful sunset sail down to Whale Rocks. Winds were light so we made our way slowly through Turn Island Pass and around the rocks to see the harbor seals. At first we were undecided on which way to go – north, south, east or west. But, in the end we decided it would be fun to go out off Cattle Pass and over to Whale Rocks where the sea lions haul out. 

The flood current was against us so we stayed closer to San Juan Island in Griffin Bay. Capt David passed the helm over to a young sailor on board, and he skippered us down to Cattle Pass doing a great job. We passed by Goose Island to see the cormorants and gulls as they watched over their chicks. After a close view of Cattle Point Lighthouse we used the current to drift over to Whale Rocks.

The Steller sea lions were full of activity swimming, growling and jostling each other for the best place to lay on the island. The brown pelican is still there but he/she was fast asleep amongst the many cormorants and gulls on the island. There were many black oystercatchers grouped together on the eastern rock. We passed by Deadman Island and saw the harbor seals resting in the sunset before making our way up the channel to head back to the harbor. The sun went down and the colors on Mt Baker glowed with hints of pink and purple.  We were treated to a magnificent sunset with neon pink clouds with the sky turning orange, purple and blue.