Orcas

Last month we went to Orcas Island. We went on a whale watching tour in hopes of seeing our local J pod up close. And so we did. For most of the boating time they were pretty far ahead of us, thrilling the other boats and popping up to give amazing shots in front of Mt. Baker.

L-87 Onyx in front of Mt. Baker

Fun story about Onyx - he is an L pod orca but when his mother died he went missing. Typically, orcas stay with their families for life. When Onyx disappeared everyone assumed he was dead. He resurfaced again with the K pod until its matriarch died and now he travels with J pod, who is led by J-2 Granny. Granny was born in 1911 and is the oldest known living orca in the world!! Right in the waters outside my house! So exciting.

Anyway, we had gotten pretty far North when our captain turned off all but one motor. We were watching them surface from afar when suddenly these two popped up about 20 feet from our boat! I haven't been able to go through photos to try and identify them yet.

J-26 Mike

The captain turned off the motor immediately and then Mike popped up at the back of the boat, nearly touching it. We could hear them breathing, the most glorious of sounds. Deep, hollow, strong breaths. We didn't even see them coming and I keep imagining what they must have been thinking. Staying underwater until they got right up to us and then giving us a show. I know they are not here for our entertainment but they seemed to be saying hello as they surfaced and looked at us. Boats stay at least 200 yards away for the safety and respect of the whales, but they approached us and made our day. It was one of the most significant experiences I've had since moving NW.