Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | September 12th, 2024 | 12:30pm
Our Thursday afternoon tour aboard the M/V Sea Lion started how we wish every tour would begin. Not only did we have reports of killer whales, but we had reports of multiple killer whale social gatherings. Not one, but two T-Partys had been found in Rosario Strait. A “T-Party” refers to a large group of Bigg’s AKA Transient (hence the “T”) killer whales. For a gathering to be a true T-Party, there must be members from at least three different families all hanging out together. Needless to say, Captain Gabe and I were eager to get out on the water! But which T-Party would we choose?
Based on the way the whales were traveling, it made the most sense to catch up with the group that had originally been found near Anacortes. So down the ferry route we went! We cruised through Upright Channel, into Lopez Sound and then through Thatcher Pass. Once in Rosario Strait we met up with a group of 10 Bigg’s Killer Whales! This T-Party consisted of the T100’s, T101’s and members of the T037A’s. These whales were split up into three smaller groups, all heading east back towards Thatcher. At one point there were whales surfacing to our port, bow, and starboard. It was hard to decide which way to look… What a terrible problem to have! We hung out with this group as they led us back into Lopez Sound and then again into Upright Channel. Our trip ended up being longer than anticipated because all 10 whales decided to spread out from Shaw to Lopez, absolutely filling Upright Channel with orcas! We couldn’t get around them if we tried. We stay 200 yards away from Bigg’s Killer Whales while observing them, and there was not a section of water in sight with a buffer large enough to get through. Extra whale time, what a pity!