T Time

Below: T20 and T21 taken by our guest Christophe Paulbert aboard the Sea Lion. Notice the female's triangular, pointy dorsal fin? That's typical for transients. Also take a look at those big solid saddle patches behind the dorsal, another common trait in "Ts."

August and September are usually spotty months for orca sightings, however, this year we've seen orcas nearly EVERY time on the water. If the residents are out of range, we seem to be finding groups of transients in our area.

Today, we had another encounter with the T30s, four orcas which include the mother T30 and her offspring: T30A (a male born in 1986), T30 B (born in 1993), and T30C (born in 2005). The family was cruising around near Dungeness Spit. For those of you not from the area, that's about a forty mile round trip from Friday Harbor aka it's far! We travelled a long way, but it was well worth it to spend some quality time with the T30s. The trusty Sea Lion did us well on this long voyage, her speed really came into play because we were one of the few boats that made it to them.

They were swimming in a tight group and being typical transients, silently traveling in an erratic pattern making long dives paired with multiple respiration's between. We got a really great look at the group as they popped up ahead of us at one point and allowed all our guests them clearly through the fog. They were all happy to have made it to this group and couldn't stop chatting about how wonderful they are.

On our way back in to Friday Harbor, we stopped at Whale Rocks to look at FIVE male Steller Sea Lions swimming through the kelp. These guys look like bears gliding through the water, especially when seen near the Harbour Seals.

All in all the trip was spectacular and the orcas proved worth the journey... as they always are. We still have spots available for tomorrow. Call now to reserve.

Megan Young, Naturalist