What a beautiful day! Our trip started out sunny and even a little bit warm. We headed out of the harbor and up past Waldron toward East Point. A passenger spotted a pair of bald eagles as soon as we were out of the slip and harbor seals were hauled out in full force along out trek up north. Once we got to East Point we would see and hear a huge group of Stellar Sea Lions. As we drew in closer we were treated to both Stellars and Harbor seals sharing the rock; although divided on their separate sides.
Finally we turned back into the wind and began a very blustery ride back toward the harbor. Just as we were admiring the wildlife of Speiden Island we heard talk of orca whales just outside of Friday Harbor. We said adios to the deer and headed off in the direction of the rumored whales. Just north of the harbor entrance we saw blows in the distance. We could count three separate dorsal fins at the surface at the same time.
We cruised slowly alongside and slightly behind the pod of transients for about fifteen minutes. They stayed fairly close to shore and kept a distance of several hundred yards, but even from a distance we could see that there was a calf present. The passengers were ecstatic. So was I. Finally, pressed for time, we were forced to make the turn back toward the harbor. It was the perfect end to a gorgeous day.