We’ve had three SUPERB days on the water! The killer whales definitely have been making their rounds in the Salish Sea. Orcas can easily travel 100 miles in 24 hours! Last week, Captain Nancy recorded the killer whales' travel speed at 11mph and they easily can have bursts of speed of up to 30mph!
On Tuesday (June 12th) Captain Brian, Naturalist Kevin, and guests on the Sea Hawk encountered members of J & K pod as they traveled south in Bellingham Channel, which is east of the San Juan Islands. If you are looking at a map, Bellingham Channel is the waterway between Cypress and Guemes Islands. They spent great amount of time observing several members of the pod, including J26, Mike, and had a close up encounter with J2, Granny. Did you know J2 is 101 years old this year!?
Fast forward 24 hours to Wednesday June 13th! Captain Brian and Naturalist Andrew encountered the Southern Resident Orcas in Canadian waters! The Sea Hawk left Roche Harbor and the San Juan Islands and headed towards the Strait of Georgia and encountered J & K pod near South Pender Island. Guests on the Sea Hawk had an incredible encounter. To the delight of our guests, the killer whales displayed fast moving surface behavior and even a J pod calf got it on the fun with multiple breaches!
Captain Brent (Welcome back, Brent!) and Naturalist Andrew had another fantastic day on the water today (June 14th). This morning, we received reports of killer whales at Andrew’s Bay on the west side of San Juan Island. They were traveling fast! By 10am, they were already passing the Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island. By 11am, they were already cruising into Canadian waters again! Andrew and Brent quickly boarded our eager guests and traveled to meet the Orcas. The Sea Hawk encountered the Southern Residents at South Pender Island (again!) and were rewarded with close up encountered of J2 (Granny) and L87 (Onyx).
We have a very busy weekend ahead of us with big wedding group charters, family reunion kayaking, and multi-day kayak tours!