Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | 4.24.2022 | 12:30 PM
M/V Sea Lion had the most beautiful day out on the water. There’s nothing quite like a boat ride on a 55-degree day in April. We boarded with clear skies and sunshine and knowledge of a group of Bigg’s killer whales near Tumbo Island. As we made our way up San Juan Channel, we passed some harbor porpoise and decided to make a quick stop at Flattop Island. Our “quick stop” swiftly turned into much more after spotting some river otters running along the rocky shoreline. After viewing several harbor seals and a bald eagle perched high on a treetop, we went on our way.
Our trip was looking like it was going to turn into quite the long journey. Reports came in that those Bigg’s killer whales were moving further north towards Point Roberts. Luckily our guests were up for the long haul. With killer whales on the mind, we continued onward.
With a faint Vancouver skyline as the backdrop, we began to see black dorsal fins appear. We were in the presence of two Bigg’s killer whale families, the T018’s and the T023’s. These whales were spread out, intermingling with one another. As we slowly approached, we had T019B “Galiano” on our port side and T019C “Spouter” to our starboard, with their friends and family scattered about. As these whales began to move even further apart, we decided to stick with Spouter and friends, and we are glad we did! We noticed these whales promptly change direction, which is a sign they may be hunting. Suddenly we noticed a very scared harbor seal appear at the surface. We were witnessing an active killer whale hunt, and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Mother Earth, than by watching nature at work!