We left our Friday Harbor location Sunday with strong winds, a little bit of rain, and choppy water. Still, our spirits were high in hopes of finding killer whales in the Salish Sea even though we didn't have a confirmed killer whale sighting that day. We headed north in search of Transient killer whales, or mammal-hunting killer whales. We came across many harbor seals, harbor porpoise and even some steller sea lions. These are all great food sources for transients. However, when it came time to head for home we still had not managed to find any Orcas.
All of a sudden, Captain Mike turned the boat away from some Dalls Porpoise that were about to play in our wake. When I went to see why, he had a huge grin on his face which could only mean one thing- someone had finally come across some Orcas and they were in reach of our boat! When we were supposed to be heading back to Friday Harbor, the M/V Sea Lion and crew headed south to Rosario Strait outside of Anacortes, Washington to catch up with the T137A and T036A group of Transient Killer Whales.
As we saw the first dorsal fins surface in the distance the energy on board couldn't have been more positive! We watched as the whales foraged in awe. Towards the end of our time with them, the whales went on a long dive and were down for almost ten minutes (killer whales can hold their breath for longer than twenty minutes). It was an amazing experience, especially on a day where we didnât think we were going to get to see them! All in all it was a fantastic day on the water as always.
Heather, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
M/V Sea Lion