Cruising through Cattle Pass we entered a blanket of fog….whale watching, in the fog?  Yep!  We found some of K pod, foraging off the Salmon Bank bouy this morning.  The whales, of course, seemed to have no problem with the fog…and we felt very lucky and excited to find them and have such a great viewing opportunity!  There is something about feeling like you are the only boat out there, just quietly watching and more importantly, listening…for the whales.

The afternoon trip started back in sunny Friday Harbor and although we saw that same fog hanging in Cattle Pass….surprise!  When we cruised by Cattle Point lighthouse…the fog was only a memory from the morning.  We had excellent visibility and found a part of J pod crusing up the west side of San Juan Island.  This time, Blackberry, J-27 was escorting his two younger siblings and headed north.  We were able to watch by just floating silently in the calm water.  As I looked over the bow I saw something I rarely actually see and called out to Captain Pete…”Hey!  Salmon!”  Later in the log I recorded, “Salmon!  Seven salmon swimming silently”….right next to the bow of Western Prince II!  Where there are Chinook salmon…there are whales, and sure enough the foraging began in earnest!  What excitement!

On both trips today we found Harbor seals tagging along with their moms, and attempting the “ride on her back” trick.  We also found an Eagle up high in the next along the Cattle Point side of the island.

~Nan