Sailing with orcas T37A's and finding tufted puffins and an elephant seal

September 4, 2020 – One of those beautiful summer sunny days. Headed south and current was in our favor. A light breeze gave us an idyllic sail through Turn island Pass and a good tack to Big Rock Point on Lopez Island. Harbor seals were zonked out resting and we came through Deadman Island without raising an eyelid. Riding the current out to Whale Rocks and Steller sea lions were uppity sparring at each other with jaws wide open. Keeping with current we came inside Long Island and the home of a bald eagle.

The T37A’s, who we’d seen a few days earlier, were now Northbound out of Admiralty Inlet and we plotted a course to Iceberg Point and South to meet them. We followed the line of McArthur Bank but saw no minke whales today. As we neared Smith Bank we met a number of tufted puffins. We met the T37A’s who had been hunting their way from bait ball to bait ball where harbor seals forage and had now begun traveling toward Hein Bank. We travelled parallel to them and met the surprise appearance of an elephant seal.

We crossed over Hein Bank without seeing any further hunting so we left them to travel on to Salmon Bank. Though they were spotted earlier we saw no minke whales here either. The sky was biblical in its star burst pattern through tiny high clouds and the current turning to flood gave us a fast sleigh ride North through Cattle Pass. Circling in the current gave us a few of harbor porpoise fishing where the current meets the back eddys. Wind increased as we approached Friday Harbor for a fun sail into the setting sun.