June 29, 2021

Killer whales in the wild is something I’ve always been curious to see. Seeing them trained in the water park and seeing them in the ocean I always felt would be such a different experience. So before the rainforest, I took a chance to take advantage of the experience.

Island Adventures is known for some of the best whale watching in the area; they offer a guarantee that you will see whales or you get to come back again for free.

Before the tour I got to see some sculpture work on the trails by the streets where many people were taking an early walk:

And bought a beanie because guess what: it’s cold out in the water that’s only around 55 degrees.

It wasn’t a little speedboat, either; it’s more like a luxury boat, the Island Explorer 5, with 3 decks, including the enclosed lowest deck with food, drink, and alcohol.

Captain Carl and his crew take off, and the boat is surprisingly fast, doing about 30 mph. He explains that there are spotters to look for whales, their boat included, and they direct him to the coordinates to go see them.

We pass Burrow’s Island and old lighthouses, and then out to open sea in the Puget Sound. There’s old forts from the Spanish-American war and WWI with cannons still on the islands, which were used for training. Now the forts have been converted to Airbnbs, and the jails turned into pubs that host concerts. Neat!

The lowest deck is the warmest, and I’m pretty happy to enjoy nachos on a boat.

The crew narrates everything we see, including the far shadows of Canada that you can see since it’s such a clear day. Out passing the San Juan Islands. Then he crows out that whales are spotted, and he slows down. Everyone comes outside and to the decks and as he points out the directions, Orca whales emerge from the waters, their large top fins cutting through the waves, then they submerge again.

There’s 3 of them now, they’ve been identified as brothers and their mother, I’m guessing they are tagged and chipped.

It’s so amazing to see them just gliding along in our direction, looking for swarms of fish to feast on. The passengers on the boat are silent, even the young children, as we watch the magic of the whales follow us in the water.

We then pass a buoy with several sea lions on it, pushing each other off and on as they try to escape the orca’s path.

To see a wild sea lion this close was exciting!

Another round of watching the whales swim in their pods and it’s back to the piers we go. I actually nod off for a bit on the way back in the rocking of the lower deck. Dramamine will do that to you. The scenery going back to the docks is still lovely in the early afternoon.

After docking, I have time to wander through the town of Anacortes and mail off a postcard, because who doesn’t like getting real mail still?

Now it’s off to Port Angeles, where a nice hearty plate of fish and chips polished off with chocolate pie before bedtime.