Don't give up hope on salmon OR crab! Pink salmon next week on the west side of San Juan Island, where the whales usually are, should not be that hard. I agree with prior advice - just use a spinning rod setup to throw a small pink buzz bomb at jumping salmon while you're watching the whales. And I have sailing friends that have caught plenty of salmon as they motor from one spot to the next up there. A pink spoon four feet behind a 3 oz. banana weight will do the trick. It can all be done without a detour from whale watching.

You can drop a crab pot under your boat while you're in the harbor. You don't even need a dingy. I've seen plenty of crab caught by sailboaters under the dock at Islands Marine Center in Fisherman's Bay on Lopez Island. Lopez is awesome, and IMC can hook you up with all the fishing/crabbing licenses and gear you need. There will be tons of pots just on the inside and outside of the mouth to the harbor - lots o' crab in both places.