Arriving at the boat today, Captain Pete informed Rachel and myself that there were reports of part of K-pod in the area! If this was true, this is the first time K-pod has been in this summer. M/V Sea Lion and guests left the docks at 1:30 and motored over to Battleship Island to encounter the orcas. In the lead was a small group of K-pod.
The orcas were very spaced out, but guests got to see several small groups of orcas! We continued to motor north with them and slowing down once we got to Turn Point on Stuart Island. The group we were lucky enough to see were the J-16's and the J-22's. The J-16's are composed of Slick (J-16), Mike (J-26), Allki (J-36), and Echo (J-42). The J-22's are the famous "cookie clan", composed of Oreo (J-32), Doublestuff (J-34), Cookie (J-38), and Rhapsody (J-32). These are two family groups that we always see traveling together.
While watching, guests got great views of Doublestuff and Mike. They were really able to see the difference between a female dorsal fin and a males. The male dorsal fin can get to about six feet tall, where as a female dorsal fin will get to about three feet tall! M/V Sea Lion and guests took in their last views while watching the orcas travel north into the Canadian Gulf Islands.
Aimee
Naturalist, M/V Sea Lion, San Juan Safaris Whale Watching