We have had a lot of really cool killer whale encounters the last few days. Captain Brian and Naturalist Kevin had most of their encounters recently near the southern end of San Juan Island. The whales really seem to prefer the areas between Pile Point & False Bay lately! They saw most of J & K pod swimming together with a lot of exciting surface activity. At one point, they were completely surrounded by killer whales. Captain Brian shut down the engines and waited for the whales to pass. They even had a small group swim right under the boat!
The most interesting experience, however, was with a big male stellar sea lion. This sea lion popped up near the Sea Hawk (about 30 yards away). The water was so clear & calm that everyone could see the sea lion duck underwater and swim towards the Sea Hawk. Kevin said there was about 30 feet of visibility into the water(!). Everyone watched as the sea lion swam under the boat and circled around a few times. At one point, the sea lion was about 25 feet under the water and was floating on his back (with his pectoral flippers extended out) watching everyone on board. He just floated there in a big blue column of water, looking up at our guests on the Sea Hawk. Both Kevin and Brian said in 13 years of working on San Juan Island, they have never, ever experienced this before.
Kayak guides Jesse, Nick, and Chris also saw a sea lion during their half-day kayak trip a few days ago. It looks like the sea lions are definitely back early this season. These guides saw the sea lion in the kelp bed near McCracken Point on Henry Island.
Check back later for updates from the Sea Hawk and the kayak trips that are out on the water now!