What a day today’s trip turned out to be! As we left Friday Harbor there was no doubt about it- it was a hot summer day! Today was one of those days that had made history for how hot it was, but little did we know that we would be making history for more than just that today!
Captain Pete had been working with other captains on the water to see if there were any reports of whales in our vicinity. It was sounding like there were some southeast of us, but pretty far away… we decided that it would be worth the trek if it meant there was a chance we would be able to get some amazing looks at these Biggs killer whales for our guests!
As we started out our commute out there we knew it was going to be a long trip, but we also knew that if these whales cooperated it would be an incredible trip as well! So we started heading into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, working our way past Lopez Island and down Whidbey- we even got some nice looks at Smith Island on the way.
When we got in the area of the previous report we were one of only two boats arriving on scene, which meant that these orcas could be anywhere and that it was our job to find them for our guests! Orcas can swim up to 100 miles per day, and travel over 30 miles per hour, so as you can imagine it was anyone’s guess as to where they would pop up. We worked as a team scanning the area, and as soon as we were starting to worry that these orcas swam outside of our range they were spotted! We got closer to them- of course approaching with a safe speed and respectful distance- and were so excited to see two incredibly tall dorsal fins swimming by.
We got some incredible looks, and even got to watch them surf through some of the waves. While it was definitely a longer trip, it was absolutely worth it and our guests all got some amazing pictures and videos of these incredible animals.
As we were leaving I was talking to Captain Pete and we both agreed that this spot- Admiralty Inlet- was the longest trip we’ve ever taken down south aboard M/V Sea Lion- so not only was it the perfect day to be out on the water because of the historic heat, it was also the perfect day to be out on the water because of the historic area we took our vessel to see orcas!
Until Next Time,
Naturalist Alexandria