Daaang it’s been toasty warm! The high today was forecasted to be nearly 85. Let me tell ya, it feels like it down on the dock! Operations manager Noelle & reservations chica Britt, along with dock dude Joe & Jacob have been down here all day…I’m pretty sure they are melting in this heat :).
We had an exciting day on the water today. Captain Brian and Naturalist Kevin were on the Sea Hawk all day. They met up with the whale near the Lime Kiln Lighthouse late morning. Surprisingly, they were the only boat within miles! They had an entirely private & personal encounter with the whales. The whales ended up being spread from the lighthouse all the way north to Battleship Island, which is along the Westside of Henry Island. Kevin said J28 Polaris and her daughter J46 Star surprised the Sea Hawk, and ended up swimming right near the boat while the engines were shut down. They also got a great look at J35 Tahlequah (female, born 1998) and J45 Se-Yi-Chn (male, born 2009). Kevin also said there were some members of Kpod mixed in, including K26 Lobo (male, born 1993) and K25 Scoter (male, born 1991). They killer whales were also vocalizing at the surface! Let me repeat the folks…the killer whales were VOCALIZING at the SURFACE! As in above water! No hydrophone needed! This rarely happens! ….those lucky ducks!
Jesse just got back to the dock from his full-day kayak trip and they saw whales!! Jesse and his guests were eating lunch at Half Moon Bay on Henry Island when Jpod started to swim by! They waited until the whales passed before heading out on the water again, and then ended up rafting up in kelp to wait for some Ks to pass! Chase saw whales on his morning half-day too. This doesn’t happen too often either so it’s been a great whale day!
Check our Facebook page later for updates from the afternoon whale watch and Emily & Josh’s separate afternoon half-day trips.