A foggy day and a sail with the T123's Biggs/Transient orcas

October 6, 2020 – As we cast off from the dock we were greeted by some heavy fog and sea mist moving through the area. We could see the ferry emerging from a white blanket over the water. Plotting a course to the north we hugged the San Juan coastline up to Pt Caution before breaking off to sail through the Wasp Islands. A pair of bald eagles on McConnell Island watched us sail by Coon Island, and the fog mysteriously disappeared momentarily giving us some views of the islands.

We had been following reports of a family of Biggs/Transient orcas known as the T123’s that were first spotted near Sucia Island moving west. One of the boats was able to find them near Skipjack Island in the heavy fog by listening for their blows. The whales skirted the Canadian border in very limited visibility as they zig zagged their way continuing WNW.

Our course took us to Flattop Island where we spotted another bald eagle and lots of harbor seals snoozing on the honeycombed sandstone shoreline. Crossing over to Ripple Island we cut through the Cactus Islands finding more harbor seals fast asleep and more bald eagles. A California sea lion popped up in New Channel but disappeared underwater after a series of breaths. As we neared the western tip of Spieden Island we heard good news that the orcas made a turn to the south at Turn Pt Lighthouse coming in our direction. The fog went from very thick to just about gone just as we made our way up the Stuart shoreline out into Haro Strait.

The winds were perfect for sailing parallel to this amazing family of four orcas. The youngest calf born in 2019 was extremely playful. She was swimming backwards, spy hopping, doing multiple headstands, tail lobs, half breaches and somersaults. The tip of Mt Baker emerged from the clouds providing a stunning backdrop as the family traveled in a tight group to the south. We sailed with them until they crossed over the Canadian border and decided to return via New Channel.

A Steller sea lion popped up and he was hanging out with the California sea lion we found earlier. A few bald eagles were taking turns eating a large fish on the shoreline – and overall we counted at least 15 bald eagles throughout our day. With the fog nearly gone and the sun shining we soaked in the views surrounding us. As the sun lowered in the sky the Olympic Mountains looked purple behind Friday Harbor and Mt Baker had hints of purple in pink in the setting sun.