April 25, 2026 – Today we set a course for south. We drifted through the narrow channel by Turn Island passing harbor seals resting on the rocks. Near Deadman Island we saw an adult bald eagle chase a juvenile bald eagle and gave some great vocals after returning to its roost in a nearby tree. Winds were very light in San Juan Channel but picked up outside of Cattle Pass. We sailed quickly towards Whale Rocks where there were many small Steller sea lions. Presumably these are young females just returning here during their breeding season accompanied by several large males. This is a fairly new trend over the last 5 years or so. Typically all the sea lions which appear to be large males leave the area end of May and return after September. This new colony sticks around Whale Rocks for a few months.
We sailed around Long Island where another eagle perched near its nest before continuing our course to MacArthur Bank in search of whales. In the distance Capt David spotted a humpback whale. It was quite tricky getting dialed in, but eventually we realised it was doing circles on the bank. The humpback whale was identified as BCX1800 “Gretzky”. We were treated to the humpback doing a beautiful cartwheel and several peduncle throws of its huge tail. Super cool! After some really nice views we left the whale to head back to Cattle Pass.
Drifted quickly by Whale Rocks where a bald eagle joined the Steller sea lions. A black oystercatcher and a pair of Canada Geese were hanging out near some great camas flowers at Deadman Island. We crossed Cattle Pass to Goose Island to see out a rare sight of an elephant seal who happened to be sleeping on the beach. We’ve had an elephant seal returning here and to Harbor Rock over the last few years. Wonder if it’s the same one… anyway this was very exciting to see. It was a great day exploring and a special birthday sail for Capt David!
