July 20, 2026 – While leaving Friday Harbor we received a report of two humpback whales Northbound at Open Bay. The ebb current was against us and it seemed a long way to catch up, but with the ebb against them and the possibility of their traveling slowly we decided to sail North. A bald eagle was roosting on the aid to navigation at Reid Rock. The ebb turned to our favour as we sailed from Jones Island to New Channel keeping our speed up riding the benefit of ebb all the way along the Stuart Island shoreline to Lovers Leap and Turn Point Lighthouse. After passing a couple harbor porpoise we met the humpback whales BCY1022 “Scratchy” and BCZ0414 “Zephyr” a mile West of Turn Point and the winds were right for a close hauled sail alongside enthralled by their size and powerful breaths at the surface. Captured photo of tail flukes and dorsal fins helped ID the whales. We left them after we crossed the Canada border and returned to Turn Point to take the North side of Stuart Island seeing a bald eagles nest atop a Douglas Fir. Coming through the pass at Ripple Island we saw many harbor seals with newborn pups hauled out warming and eagles scavenging a Sika deer carcass on the North side of Spieden Island.
