Orcas T49A's, T60D and T60E, an elephant seal and a Minke whale

September 1, 2022 – It was an exciting sail with Biggs/Transient orcas known as T49A’s (minus T49A1 and T49A2) who were just south of the harbor after we cast off. We stuck with the orcas for a good portion of the day breaking off to sail and check out other wildlife in between. We saw lots of harbor seals, Steller sea lions, cormorants and other diving birds, and a bald eagle, too. After some great views and having the orcas all to ourselves we left the orcas near False Bay as they headed up the west side of San Juan Island. We came back around the bottom tip passing Cattle Point Lighthouse and the fog was rolling in creating a magical scene. As we neared Goose Island we were able to see more orcas – this time it was siblings T60D and T60E and they were hunting in the very shallow water near the kelp beds behind Goose Island. After they finished up they continued on to the south around the lighthouse and we came back through Cattle Pass. Someone spotted a juvenile elephant seal on Harbor Rock earlier in the day and we were extremely excited to find it there later in the day resting amongst the harbor seals. This was our first sighting of an elephant seal on land – in the past we have only seen faces of a male elephant seal poking up out the water like a deadhead but it sinks down once it realizes it’s being watched. As we were sailing back to the harbor we spotted a minke whale foraging in Griffin Bay. A very special end to an already phenomenal day!