Southbound sail to Whale Rocks and Long Island

May 14, 2025 – As we cast off from Friday Harbor rain was drizzling upon us. We made the choice to go south with the current and towards brighter skies. Took the narrow pass around Turn Island before continuing down the channel to Cattle Pass. Winds picked up giving us a good sail near Deadman Island and over to the Steller sea lions at Whale Rocks. Today we were surprised to see all of the sea lions were on the smaller rock as they’re always on the other larger rock. There was quite a mix including a few large males with many smaller individuals – juvenile males or females or both? After circling the island we found a couple bald eagles on Long Island and enjoyed being in the calm waters beside the island. On our return we rode the fast flood current back through Cattle Pass spotting a group of harbor porpoise foraging. Our passenger enjoyed taking the helm and did a fantastic job navigating the harbor with stronger winds giving us a great close hauled sail.