Mike J26 and sibling near Gooch Island
Captain Gabe and I were delighted to hear that there were southern resident killer whales spread from Turn Point to Battleship Island as we were leaving the dock this morning. Knowing that they were headed south at high speeds (8 kts), we decided to exit through Mosquito Pass which spits us out at Open Bay near Kellet Bluff on Henry Island. By the time we arrived, so had the whales.
At first we were passed by the K13s, a group of 7, all fairly spread out. Not a minute later, I got a glimpse of a small calf and nearly screamed. The reason I got so excited was because it appeared that this was a new calf traveling with K pod---WHAT? WHO? WHEN? It wasn't long after that that I realized that the calf was just L123, and that we also had the L55s with us. K pod has not had a calf in 5 years, which is why I freaked out at the thought of a new K pod calf--not that a new calf in any pod wouldn't be exciting.
There seemed to be quite a bit of socializing taking place, as we must have seen 20+ breaches and many more tail slaps on this trip.
We stuck with these groups from K and L pod for quite some time. The water was calm, the boats were few, and it all made for a relaxing cruise down the west side of the island with these whales. We left them right around pile point and went north again to see the trailing whales. These, I was ecstatic to see, were the J16s. If you've followed my blogs before, this is my favorite group. I hadn't seen them in quite some time, so this was the perfect way to end the trip!
Although the weather was a little dreary, guests were in great spirits over this awesome whale encounter with J, K and L pod!
Naturalist Alex
M/V Sea Hawk