South to Whale Rocks and a Minke whale on Salmon Bank

July 1, 2025 – We headed south on the ebb tide with good sailing down San Juan Channel. After passing the cormorant colony on Goose Island and Cattle Pt Lighthouse we made our way out to Salmon Bank. Seas were a bit chunky making spotting conditions challenging but got lucky finding a minke whale lunging through a bait ball under a bunch of gulls. We got lucky with one good sighting as it crossed nearby in front of us and another as it surfaced twice parallel to us. The minke whale is one nicknamed “Dent” and a familiar minke whale who we’ve seen regularly over the years on Salmon Bank. A humpback whale had been found earlier on Salmon Bank, but it was pushing southwest towards Hein Bank at a good clip on the ebb current making it too tricky to catch given the sea conditions. Upon returning we stopped by the Steller sea lion colony on Whale Rocks before cutting over to Deadman Island to see a pair of bald eagles.