Georgia Strait, British Columbia
“Good Morning...”
Sunrise found the Sea Bird at the south end of San Juan Island heading north, and early risers occasionally saw the tumbling splashes of Dall’s porpoise around the ship. At 7:15 our first full day onboard begins with a gentle wake-up call from our Expedition Leader, Ralph Hopkins. We are cruising just off Stuart Island, the northwestern most island of the San Juan Island archipelago, looking for marine mammals through a cloak of morning mist. We turned south again close to the lighthouse on Stuart. We paused at Spiden Island to watch 3 bald eagles flying above us and to view an introduced group of exotic Asian sheep grazing on the island’s grassy hillside.
As we sailed towards Sydney, British Columbia, we all refreshed our photographic basics and got a few new pointers from Ralph’s presentation, Creativity and Your Camera.
After a reasonably brief check-in to clear Canadian Customs, we had our ship safety drills en route to Saturna Island in the B.C. Gulf Islands. There, we landed at Winter Cove for walks ashore where we found blooming Nootka roses, ripening salmon berries, and the white bell flowers of the salal plant.
The Zodiacs slipped from Winter Cove, out through the strong currents of Boat Passage, into Georgia Strait. On a string on rocky islets, we enjoyed tremendous views of Steller sea lions, and saw scores of harbor seals, eagles (both juvenile and mature), plus a variety of purple and orange sea stars.
As we continued sailing northward, we admired a beautiful sliver of sunset as our day came to a close. All in all, it was a lovely beginning to our expedition up the Inside Passage to Southeast Alaska. We look forward to what lies ahead.
“Good Morning...”
Sunrise found the Sea Bird at the south end of San Juan Island heading north, and early risers occasionally saw the tumbling splashes of Dall’s porpoise around the ship. At 7:15 our first full day onboard begins with a gentle wake-up call from our Expedition Leader, Ralph Hopkins. We are cruising just off Stuart Island, the northwestern most island of the San Juan Island archipelago, looking for marine mammals through a cloak of morning mist. We turned south again close to the lighthouse on Stuart. We paused at Spiden Island to watch 3 bald eagles flying above us and to view an introduced group of exotic Asian sheep grazing on the island’s grassy hillside.
As we sailed towards Sydney, British Columbia, we all refreshed our photographic basics and got a few new pointers from Ralph’s presentation, Creativity and Your Camera.
After a reasonably brief check-in to clear Canadian Customs, we had our ship safety drills en route to Saturna Island in the B.C. Gulf Islands. There, we landed at Winter Cove for walks ashore where we found blooming Nootka roses, ripening salmon berries, and the white bell flowers of the salal plant.
The Zodiacs slipped from Winter Cove, out through the strong currents of Boat Passage, into Georgia Strait. On a string on rocky islets, we enjoyed tremendous views of Steller sea lions, and saw scores of harbor seals, eagles (both juvenile and mature), plus a variety of purple and orange sea stars.
As we continued sailing northward, we admired a beautiful sliver of sunset as our day came to a close. All in all, it was a lovely beginning to our expedition up the Inside Passage to Southeast Alaska. We look forward to what lies ahead.
