[6/14/17- M/V Kittiwake- 1:00PM]
What. A. Day. When the day started off with a humpback whale IN Friday Harbor AT the ferry terminal, it should have been a sign that things were going to be good today! We departed San Juan Island on M/V Kittiwake and skimmed past the humpback (who was perhaps lost and a tad bit stressed to be where it was) to give it some peace, and we continued out the harbor in search of killer whales. And, along the way, we spotted 5 bald eagles soaring in circles over Shaw Island!
As we approached the scene north of Orcas Island, we could see the black dorsal fins looming in the distance. Sure enough, orcas! We cruised closer and got a better look. Five orca whales were tightly grouped, surfacing and breathing together as one unit. Three females and 2 larger males were part of the quintet, beautifully traveling together. As they travelled north, they decided to change things up a bit and turn to begin heading west- right towards our boat! We directed out of the way and turned off our engine and watched them gracefully swim past us. At this distance, we even could hear their exhales, so we were quiet and simply listened to them breathing, a sound that cannot quite be explained or replicated but is beautiful just by itself. They continued on beyond our boat, and with hearts filled with awe and amazement, we decided to end on a high note and continue on back to Friday Harbor. We even spotted some more bald eagles and some basking harbor seals who were warming up and taking a much needed nap.
It was a simple, perfect, and beautiful day out on the water. But then again, any day out on the water is a perfect one!