At 10:00 sharp they boarded the Island Explorer 5 for a four hour cruise out of Anacortes. It was a large modern, double hulled boat that had three decks for viewing. The boat was only running at half capacity due to the pandemic so there was lots of room to roam around and lots of open space. It was a very clear and sunny day, but cool enough that everyone had to wear heavy jackets, hats and gloves. And of course, masks!
The crew was very helpful at pointing out the wildlife as we sailed in the calm waters near the San Juan Islands. They spotted several bald eagles and some seals before the real excitement began. After about an hour of sailing they spotted the first pod of Orcas. The naturalist guide even knew the names of some of the whales. Cookie and Oreo were out this morning and Kathy and Warren got some great pictures.
As the day progressed and the ship went farther out to sea they were able to spot a pod of Minke whales on all sides of the boat. Later they sailed to another location and found two Humpback whales swimming very close together, that's when the two other whale watching boats started watching us and it was time to go back to Anacortes. It was a wonderful day.
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