J35, Tahlequah, carries her deceased calf around the San Juan Islands

July 26, 2018 –     Drifted inside of Turn Island and then a beam reach to Big Rock, a glacial erratic on the Lopez shoreline. We stayed close to the shoreline as the current was ebbing, passing through Dead Mans Island to Mummy Rocks, Long Island and Hall Island. Cormorants dried their wings on Shark Reef. Whirlpools were created where fast current and back eddies met on the borders of Cattle Pass. Bald eagles adult and Juvenile,  Black Oyster catchers, Harbor seals with pups warming in the sunshine. We came offshore to meet a mix of Southern Resident Orcas. Initially the K16s – son K35 playing with another young whale and male K21 was further offshore, Continuing to drift sail at Iceberg point we met J31 and J22s. Continuing East we met the J17s off Swirl Island. J44 knocked a salmon into the air. We drifted quietly while we saw J35 carrying her deceased calf balanced on her rostrum. We sailed on to rugged coastline of Colville Island with it’s many seals and then cut in behind Castle Rock with its Pigeon Guillemots to visit McArdle Bay with its Bald eagles. We circumnavigated Lopez passing the cormorant colonies of Bird Rocks, the forest of the West side of Blakely Island and Upright Channel forest in sunset light. We tacked Canoe Island and Flat Point for a sunset sail home to Friday Harbor.