By Captain Ken Rea
I spent the morning taking care of general maintenance and an afternoon watching the Bigg’s T18s cross into Canada. I learned as we left the harbor, that the T18s were eastbound deeper into USA waters . By the time I got to them, they were aiming back across the border.
We spent maybe 10 minutes viewing them as they disappeared into Canadian waters. I wish we could have continued on but until our governments quit playing politics with our lives on the water and realizes that in all the years we’ve been doing this we have never touched Canadian soil, we have to play by their rules/laws.
A few of the pics have a whale with Patos Island Lighthouse in the background. After leaving the whales at the border, we dropped down to view a young STELLER SEA LION on the Boundary Buoy. There is a gong on this buoy and this young one was clearly annoyed by the loud noise with each ring of the bell.
Then we saw some BALD EAGLES and other sea birds. I took everyone to Whale Rocks to view the big STELLER SEA LION bulls that get upwards of 2500 pounds.
My evening tour was a private birding/photography tour for two and the ladies wanted to see TUFTED PUFFINS. It was a bit lumpy in the strait, but I made it happen. Mainly, I was positioning the boat for the best lighting and working against the wind. I did grab a few pics, but just a few.
Ken Rea, owner and operator of the Spirit of Orca, is also the tour guide, photographer and naturalist on his Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours in the Salish Sea, San Juan Island, Washington.
Photos by Ken Rea
To learn more about Captain Ken, visit https://spiritoforca.com

Captain Ken Rea
Ken Rea, owner and operator of the Spirit of Orca, is also the tour guide, photographer and naturalist on his Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours in the Salish Sea, San Juan Island, Washington.
Photos by Ken Rea
To learn more about Captain Ken, visit https://spiritoforca.com