August 20, 2024 – We left Friday Harbor and went through Turn Island Pass passing raccoons, harbor seals and bald eagles. It was quite beautiful as light fog was lifting and we headed down the channel to Cattle Pass. At Deadman Island we found the “black matte naked harbor seal” a seal misisng pelage whom we’ve been spotting for years. It’s been at this location several times this year. Passed by Steller sea lions on Whale Rocks before heading towards Eagle Point to get a distant view of the Southern Resident orcas from J pod and L pod. We watched from a distance over 1/2 mile hearing their vocalizations on our hydrophone. On our return we crossed over Salmon Bank but didn’t find any minke whales today. Rode the flood current back up San Juan Channel.
