August 3, 2026 – After casting off we had our first wildlife sighting of a sea otter eating scallops at Turn Rock. Continued south on the ebb current to Whale Rocks to see the Steller sea lions. With reports of orcas to the south we decided to go for it. We hugged MacArthur Bank to the bottom before turning west where we arrived on scene with Biggs/Transient orcas T100’s (minus T100B’s and T100E), and the T101’s. Exciting views as they traveled westerly toward Hein Bank where we broke away. As we crossed the bank we spotted a couple minke whales. On our return we passed Whale Rocks again before checking out the harbor seals, bald eagles, belted kingfishers, and black oystercatchers at Deadman Island. Before rounding Turn Island we spotted more harbor seals, harlequin ducks and a bald eagle taking flight with food in its talons.
