Sailing with humpback whales BCX1251 ‘Orion' and BCY0267 ‘Wilkinson’

July 16, 2021 – Relaxing sail up the channel to the Wasp Islands while following reports of two humpback whales headed up Haro Strait on the west side of San Juan Island. We took the west side of Jones Island and made fast progress on the ebb down Spieden Channel to meet the humpbacks. The pair was identified as BCX1251 ‘Orion’ and BCY0267 ‘Wilkinson’ and we got some amazing views as we sailed parallel to them listening to their exhales and occasional trumpeting. We were able to get tail fluke photos of both animals to match to the humpback catalogue. It was tough to leave them but we only had a five hour sail and needed to make tracks in the right direction towards home. We took the north side of Spieden Island and found a Peregrine falcon flying above its home on the cliff as we drifted in the beautiful New Channel. Two Mouflon sheep, a mother and offspring, walked through the gap of our favorite rock formation which we refer to as ‘elephant rock’. Cut in between the beautiful Cactus Islands finding lots of pigeon guillemots on the rocks plus harbor seals hauled out including one we’ve seen here for years which we refer to as ‘Big Red’ due to it’s unusual coloration. Next we sailed across to Flattop Island and hugged the north side to admire the geology and spot for wildlife. A large number of harbor seals were resting near the glacial erratic boulder on the northeast tip. Came back via the east side of Jones Island and back through the Wasp Islands bound for Friday Harbor.