Bull Steller Sea Lions can weigh up to 2,500 pounds, amass harems of 30 females, and yet may defend territories no larger than 20 feet in diameter.  We encountered this rookery as we cruised by Mitlenatch Island—a small island in the middle of the Strait of Georgia—on our way to Rebecca Spit Marine Park on Quadra Island. Look at the two bulls on this rock—they are massive! You can see how small their territories are—this is not a huge rock—and the size of their harems. Steller Sea Lions don’t bark like their smaller cousins, California Sea Lions, they roar like lions. What a sound! This rock had two more bulls with similar-size harems and territories that we could see on the other side.  And the smell! I kid you not, we could smell them for a mile.

Earlier in the day we’d had a close encounter of a whale kind. A huge humpback breached three times no more than 100 yards from our boat. He was so close I was honestly a little worried he might come up and down right on us. It all happened too fast to photograph. We were just in awe. After the third breach he rolled over and waved to us with his long pectoral fin—then he moseyed off.

We’d seen our first whales a couple days before—a group of three humpbacks. They were much further away, but seeing large sea mammals is always a treat. We look forward to spotting Orca whales, and we may be lucky enough to catch part of the Gray Whale southern migration on the westside of Vancouver Island at the end of July.

So far on this journey we’ve seen some harbor porpoise—mostly close to our home waters in the Hood Canal and by Port Townsend. Harbor seals are plentiful close to land and in bays and anchorages. And we saw the largest river otter I have ever seen in the Sucia Islands. More than anything we see birds—gulls of all varieties, pigeon guillemots, oyster catchers, cormorants, terns, murres, and auklets. And of course, plenty of Canada geese along shore.  

But most of the time we are just looking at vast expanses of water and watching the light play upon it, sometimes reflecting millions of little gold sparkles. Up here the water is backdropped by islands, trees, and mountains. We are in the elements—the sun, rain, wind, and salt air. We are rolling, slamming, bucking, and gliding. We are laughing. And by the end of the day my soul is full and my body is bone tired.