Saturday, July 27, 2013

Minke madness...

The resident Orcas are apparently on summer vacation.  No transients to be found anywhere in the Salish Sea.  Yesterday on my late trip, we ran out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca... in lumpy, choppy water... to get a glimpse of a Minke whale.

Today, we were fortunate that we found Minkes just outside Cattle Pass.  And the really good news: there were multiple Minkes.  And the really, really good news: the water in the pass and out onto Salmon Bank was near calm.

After getting a report of a Minke reasonably close in, I put the coals to it.  We were the second boat on the scene, and came across a Minke before we got to the other boat.  And then another.  And another.  We had a ring-side seat to some pretty nice Minke activity.  And three active Stellar Sea Lions, a couple bald eagles, seals and other birds.  And, did I mention that the water was beautiful?  And a lovely air temp in the low 70s.  Hardly any wind.  Visibility that went on for miles and miles.  It was just an absolutely beautiful day out on the water.

I was able to shut down the boat and visit with guests while we viewed the Minkes.  So, no photos.  I had my hands full, being near the rocks when we were viewing the Stellars and bald eagles.  The only photos I had time for was the beautiful water off the bow and stern...



Of course, seeing some Orcas would have made the day even better... but this is about as good as it gets sans Orcas.


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