Circumnavigating San Juan Island with J pod and T46s and T137s Orca whales

July 20, 2018 – We sailed north weaving outside Low Island and inside of Yellow Island where harbor seals were hauled out warming their bodies. We continued quickly to Spieden Island and Sentinel Rock where we saw black oyster catchers and then more seals resting on kelp by Danger Shoal. Cut down through Battleship Island to Kellett Bluff where we caught up with members from J pod who were foraging while traveling south. We continued down San Juan Island seeing distant individual whales close to shore. Offshore we found J39 running screen perhaps as there were incoming transient orcas. We met the T46’s and T137’s as they approached Salmon Bank. T137A was off on his own playing with crab pots pulling the floats underwater and releasing. When they met they changed course for MacArthur Bank. We left to visit Long Island and followed the Lopez shoreline and Upright Channel into the Orcas Island Ferry dock. After dropping off our passengers we were treated to a sunset as we exited Wasp Passage.