One of my favorite things about being at sea is catching sight of some of the incredible life that inhabits our oceans. This passage saw us cross paths with two species of dolphins, a shark, humpback whales, albatrosses, flying fish and a lot of jellyfish, as well as the ever-present gulls.
This shark, unfortunately, was the only thing we caught on John’s fishing line. Obviously we had to let him off the hook and say goodbye pretty quickly.
Various birds joined us, including one type that seemed to love our tricolor mast light at night. It took days to be sure that it wasn’t a bit of hardware squeaking – and finally a flash of light from a headlamp confirmed it! Some albatrosses hung out with us for a while, two bobbing about on the water. Quite a few more enjoyed looking for food while flying around us. It was amazing to watch this huge bird taking flight on a glassy sea:
We were surprised by these shiny lights on the water (small jellyfish!) – we passed through thousands over several days. You can just make some out in this photo:
Finally we decided to investigate, and caught one to see more detail. Turns out they had a stunning blue underside which we photographed from all angles and then set free again:
A definite highlight of the passage was the day we were joined by two species of dolphins – we think they were Northern Right Whale Dolphins and Pacific White-Sided Dolphins. Both first sightings for me! We hung over the bow, taking photos and enjoying watching them at play. We already put a little video on Youtube, but here are some pictures of them too:
And finally, our arrival to the Strait of Juan de Fuca – first sighting of land for almost three weeks – was marked by two humpback whales in the distance, lazily diving for food. Another special moment! It’s always amazing to meet some of the creatures you are sharing the water with, and although this wasn’t a lot for twenty days at sea, seemingly confirming reports of reduced sea life in recent years, we loved these little glimpses.
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