Biggs T65As and Humpbacks

Moody Weather

The weather today was complicated. The forecast said rain. We had some drizzly stuff in the morning then it was just overcast, then foggy then rain and on arrival back to Friday Harbor it was blue sky and sunshine. Eventually we were with Biggs T65As and Humpbacks both heading north.

My original plan was to head south to see a pod of orca but fog was going to be an issue. In fact it was an issue for the boats who went that direction. The whales were lost track of because of the fog.

T65As

I started north towards flattop island to share some sea birds and harbor seals with my guests. We saw Bald Eagles, Black Oystercatchers and Harbor Seals. Then I heard a pod of orca had made a kill and were milling in Boundary Pass.

We headed towards them and viewed the T65As until a fog rolled in making visibility less than 200 yards. At that point it was time to move on since I could not track them and stay outside the 200 meter clearance of them.

Pair of Humpbacks

I slowly made my way over to where a pair of humpback whales were expected to surface. Fog was also slipping in and out but we were able to see the humpbacks for a couple surface patterns before it was time to leave.

Pulled over by USCG for Boarding Inspection

On the way back while in USA waters I was pulled over by the USCG for a boarding inspection. The officer said my flare kit is one of the rare inspection items where the flares were not expired. I told him I have plenty of expired ones too. You are required to have current flares that are not expired but as long as you mark EXP or Training, you can keep the expired flares onboard. They still may come in handy if something were to happen and you used up all your current flares.

This tour had some oddities to it but still we got to see Biggs T65As and Humpbacks so it was a pretty good day.