Photos from a special whale-watching trip

Debora Kulas of Coupeville got quite a show when she went out for a whale-watching trip with All Season Charters based out of the Edmonds Marina. Kulas, who lives in Coupeville, was kind enough to share her story and photos from the April trip with us.

“It was a spectacular spring day with no wind and calm seas — perfect conditions for whale photography,” Kulas said.

Kulas is a retired marine naturalist from Maui, where the Northern Pacific humpback whales come to breed and give birth. She has chances to photograph those whales over the past years.

For this trip, Kulas and other passengers got a treat.

“Initially the three whales we were watching that day — Patches, Double Knucks, and a female No. 383 — were scooping along the shore,” Kulas said. “Then they moved out into deeper water, just south of Clinton, to an area called Possession Point.”

Then the whales began all working together to feed, something Kulas said she had only seen in humpback whales.

During the feeding, the boat’s engine was off and the whales approached nearer the vessel, allowing Kulas and the others to get a great view and some excellent photos.

“What made this trip special were the whales themselves, choosing to see us as harmless observers, and putting on quite a show in close proximity to our vessel,” Kulas said. “Perfect lighting, cloudless sky, flat calm water and whales. I could not have asked for a more perfect afternoon in nature.”

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