Sailing from Spieden to Skipjack

June 4, 2021 – We made fast tracks north today upon hearing about an orca sighting near Battleship Island. The orca was identified as T65A5. As we were in Spieden Channel getting closer we changed plans because the orca changed course to the west and crossed the border into Canada. Unfortunately, Canada still has their border closed to US boaters, but not to Canadian boaters crossing back and forth into the US which makes no sense. There was another sighting of more orca seen on the west side of San Juan 45 minutes earlier but nobody was able to locate them. We decided to check out Spieden Island and explore New Channel keeping in the area in the event the orcas popped up nearby. The pigeon guillemots at Flattop Island were incredible. We spent quite a bit of time enjoying the north side of the island watching their activities. One couple was walking around in circles and then started mating… must be breeding season. There were so many harbor seals resting at White Rock today. One place we hadn’t visited this year yet was Skipjack Island – another favorite of ours – so we decided to pay it a visit. It was beautiful drifting down the coastline. We scanned Boundary Pass for blows but no luck. Passed by Bare Island before making our way across Presidents Channel to the gorgeous forested Orcas Island northern coast. A bald eagle was sitting in its nest hopefully caring for new eaglets. Enjoyed the view of distant islands with layer upon layer as we made our way to Spring Pass bound for Friday Harbor.