June 28th, 2016

Another day, another blue sky.

We headed out of Victoria’s Inner Harbor and out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca against the stunning backdrop of the snowcapped Olympic Mountains.  With a bit of swell following us up the strait, we hugged the shore and snaked through rocky shoals and kelp beds back into Haro Strait.  As we approached the west shore of San Juan Island, Captain Tim put his ear to the water and once again we were on the trail of Orcas.  This time they were waiting for us almost directly in our intended course.  As we approached, we realized that these looked the same whales we had seen the other day, miles south of the last sighting.  Was this a prearranged meeting?  Does NW Explorations have a contract with these creatures?  We may never know the truth, but what we do know is that we enjoyed ourselves tremendously watching the antics of this family of Orcas for the second time in just three days.

Eventually our new friends had to be on their way north, so we let them swim up around Henry Island while we entered into Mosquito Pass, a narrow channel leading to Roche Harbor.  A slight detour brought us into Garrison Bay, where English soldiers occupied the island in the 1860s.

After a quick loop through the bay we were back on our way to Roche Harbor and the slips awaiting us there.  After clearing customs back into the U.S., we tied up and enjoyed the evening in this former lime mining town turned world class marina and resort.