M/V Osprey | Friday, July 23rd | Naturalist Alexandria
We had a beautiful day I don’t know water this evening! As we left Friday Harbor we had a report of orcas down south in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Any trip where we start out with a report doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything but it is always a good start! I like to consider it being cautiously optimistic. I say that because we work with a network of captains on the water if one spot something we all hear about it, so leaving the harbor today with a report had us all in great spirits!
We started our trek down south taking a right hand turn to Friday Harbor and heading south down San Juan channel. As we opened up into the Strait of Juan de Fuca through Cattle Pass we were greeted by the Olympics in the distance. What a beautiful evening the day turned out to be! We continued south heading toward Whidbey Island and past Smith Island.
As we are passing Smith Island in the distance we saw dorsal fins and knew that we had found those orcas from the earlier report! Within a few moments with this beautiful family it was clear we were with the T037As!
This is a very fun family to get to watch because there’s a wide age span of different individuals and some gorgeous dorsal fins! We spent a nice chunk of time with these orcas before heading back to Friday Harbor. Before we got back though, we stopped and said hi to some Steller Sea Lions that were hanging on Whale Rocks sunning themselves.
Until Next Time,
Naturalist Alexandria