Each year the local Lions Club takes the Victoria Star 2 out into the San Juan Islands, bringing cheer to the kids in the San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands in British Columbia. This year they are set to go December 13th and 14th. Last year’s trip was filmed by Lions Club International - to see the video - click here.

This poem was written by one of the passengers aboard the Victoria Star last week:

Victoria Star Ship

Welcome aboard the Victoria Star Ship
We hope you are having a great trip
Although the day is cloudy and grey
We expect the sun to burn the clouds away

The waves are capped with white
There are no whales in sight
This is a really smooth ride
I am glad I have someone by my side

As we were crossing Bellingham Bay
The captain had a lot to say
We saw Guemes Island in the sea
This is where Free Willy 2 was set free

Our journey back will be at eight
We do not want to be late
There are plenty of islands in te sea
Too many today, for us to see

We go through a part of the Inland Passage
We do not stop even for a message
San Juan is a wild life refuge
The ship we are on is huge

As we are watching the sea
We see salmon swimming free
The captain of the ship
He is moving us at a fast clip

He is talking along the way
Showing us things of interest in the bay
There are shipping lanes here
All the ships stay clear

When to Victoria we draw near
Everyone is talking about what they see
Today, this is the life for me!

Sea gulls land in the water
They are not a part of this charter
Sea gulls looking for a meal
Some of them get a raw deal

We did not see any flying fish
I don’t know if they make a tasty dish

There is a place called Deception Pass
From the ship we see no bass
We passed a place where seals did lay
In the water they liked to play

Sailing in the Victoria Star is better than a ferry
Even with the day cloudy and dreary
McKay Harbor is full of ships
The wind outside the ship has quite a nip

The day was great for me
Plenty of things for me to see
This Island is new to me
I would like more to see
Next time I get a chance
I want more than a glance

Copyright 2008: Glenda Rogers

The Orca sightings have been pretty good this month so far, with J & K pods being seen on a regular basis. On the one or two rare occasions we haven’t seen them this month, we have had sightings of minke whales, porpoise, bald eagles and a wide variety of sea birds. After a few days of so-so weather, it looks like summer is back, with plenty of sunshine in the forecast this week.

We have added a 3rd boat to our "fleet" - the 58-foot, 49-passenger Viking Star. It is currently available for daytime and evening charters, dinner cruises, Bellingham and Chuckanut Bay tours, company outings and private tours. We will have more detailed information on our website soon, however, if you’d like information right away please give us a call at 1-800-443-4552 or (360) 738-8099.

It’s been another great week for whale watching . We had another rare "Superpod" sighting on Sunday, June 21st, where all three pods of resident Orca whales were together in one huge group. Other days we’ve spotted J and K pods on their own. We have also had a young Sea Lion (perhaps a Stellar Sea Lion) hang out near our dock in Bellingham - it’s fun to see interesting wildlife just seconds after departure!

The past week has been a great week for whale watching. We’ve seen a variety of resident Orca whales (including a "Superpod", where all three local pods of whales were spotted together - over 60 whales at one time!), transient Orca whales and Minke whales. We’re in the middle of peak whale watching season and the good weather is finally here, so now is the perfect time to take a cruise to the San Juan Islands or Victoria.

We saw J-pod twice yesterday on our cruise between Bellingham and Victoria. We saw them on the way over near Viti Rocks, close to Lummi Island, then saw them again on our return trip, near Salmon Bank of the southern tip of San Juan Island. On our Victoria cruise we look for Orca whales on our way to/from Victoria everyday, and starting Saturday we will start our whale watching tours from Bellingham and Friday Harbor.