J16 Slick surfacing
This afternoon, Captain Gabe and I set off from Roche Harbor with arguably the best dressed guests we've ever had on board. They had just had a wedding! Normally, I would have advised the ladies to change clothes before getting on the boat--just because the wind can be chilly. But this group came fully prepared, with carefully picked out and coordinated sweaters to go with the dresses, and blankets for all. Luckily though, we were having perfect weather with lots of sunshine and very little wind. Not only that, but we had whales very close to Roche Harbor--it was proving to be a great trip before it even started. In fact, I even started the day by watching whales from Lime Kiln Point State Park, one of just 4 times in my two years here that I've seen them from shore. We met up with the J16s, one of my favorite matrilines in the southern resident community, just northwest of Battleship Island. We stuck with these guys all the way to Turn Point. From here, we (and the whales) continued in to Boundary Pass. There, we spotted J27 Blackberry, and quite a few others from J pod. On the way in, we got a beautiful look at a Bald Eagle on Speiden Island, as well as some harbor seals, and some fallow deer bucks with HUGE antlers! Another successful day on the 'Ol Hawk. Naturalist Alex M/V Sea Hawk San Juan Outfitters