DID YOU KNOW? Orcas, commonly known as Killer Whales, are actually part of the
dolphin family and can live up to 90 years? Biggs Orcas, such as those in the Puget Sound, eat other smaller marine animals such as porpoises, sea lions, otters, and more…in fact, the
average-sized orca (4-6 tons) will eat about 500 pounds a day!
On Saturday, the weather dawned bright and beautiful…perfect for a day at sea, which
was good since we had reservations in Port Townsend to go whale watching in the Puget
Sound. One hundred and twenty passengers loaded up on the Saratoga, a catamaran with four 950 horsepower engines. This boat can travel up to 35 knots (40mph) while minimizing
underwater noise in an attempt to avoid scaring away sea life.
Once the boat was underway, passengers were allowed to exit the cabins and wander
the decks. Of course, we preferred the adventure of the upper deck…particularly once Captain
Pete opened the throttle to full speed. Try walking normally against 40mph winds, or with the
wind at your back as you then make your way toward the rear of the boat (man overboard?).
We had to keep a tight hold on hats, glasses, and little people lest they blow away. On the way out of the harbor, several harbor porpoises were spotted swimming together near the marina.
Our first stop was to investigate a large group of birds on the surface of the water.
According to the naturalist onboard, that often means there’s a school of fish directly below
them…which is a prime area to find a minke whale. Although we waited and watched for about ten minutes, no whales decided to show themselves.
We continued on for a ways until the first whale fin was spotted off to our right. It was
the large fin of Galiano, a large male orca in the T18/T19 pod (you can actually Google
them!)…which is made up of three generations. Galiano and his brother Spouter are the
grandsons of Esperanza, who was born sometime before 1955 and was one of the few who
survived the hunting of Washington orcas in the 1960’s. We trailed this big orca for quite a
while and were blessed to get to see his mother Nootka and grandmother Esperanza as well.
Based on their behavior, our naturalist explained that they were in the midst of a hunt…probably of a harbor porpoise. About 15-20 minutes after we first spotted them, their
paths converged together and engaged a common behavior called ‘food sharing.’ This meant
that their hunt had been successful, and they were now sharing the remains of the unfortunate
prey with the other two members of the pod. Several passengers, looking through binoculars,
reported seeing blood and chunks of flesh floating in the water. Shortly before they took their
leave of us, a fourth male orca fin was spotted nearing the other three. Although the naturalist
didn’t tell us the name of this orca, my theory is it was probably Spouter, as orca families tend
to stick together and travel as a pod through their entire lifetime.
Fun side note: Our boat was the first to spot this pod, so Captain Pete reported it. The
Saratoga’s sister ship and two others quickly arrived in the area. As one of them, a little yellow
Canadian boat joined us, Captain Pete received a radio call alerting us that there was a man on the boat who, if they spotted whales, was going to propose to his girlfriend seated next to him. Needless to say, those of us on the other boats began watching for the whales for more than just the sake of seeing them…we wanted a proposal!! The whales surfaced several times, but nothing happened on the little boat beside us. Passengers began wondering if the gentleman had lost his nerve…but, eventually, their boat captain radioed to be on alert the next time the orcas surfaced. Sure enough, they surfaced, and the guy went down on one knee in the front of the boat. Their captain radioed her answer and boat horns blared, passengers cheered and clapped, and the newly engaged couple waved. It was very sweet!
Shortly after this proposal, the orcas made their final appearances before disappearing
beneath the surface. We continued on to a location where humpbacks are occasionally spotted, but apparently none felt the need to show themselves for our benefit. We did get to see a rock outcropping full of stellar sea lions sunbathing and, a short distance further, a sea otter playing in the waves. Our naturalist said that in all her time on the boat, they’d never spotted a sea otter…apparently, they are a pretty rare sight, unlike the harbor otter.
By this time, our tour was ending and Captain Pete was starting to think about heading
back towards the dock…but suddenly, a humpback whale breached near us! All thoughts of
returning to shore were delayed and we began to follow this beauty who breached every five to seven minutes, heading toward a large grouping of birds. Unfortunately, he never breached
long enough for Dominic to get a good picture, but to see this whale was a special treat!
Eventually, it was time to open the throttle and head for home. This time, the D-Team shifted
back and forth between the warm cabin and the brisk wind.
Personally, for a girl used to the city/suburbs, being out on the ocean and getting to see
these large mammals in their natural environment was an experience I won’t forget anytime
soon. The longer we are on this RV trip and the more places we go, the more I wonder at the
unlimited creativity of God!
Next up…the spooky tunnels and batteries of Fort Worden Historical State Park!
Until next time, God Bless!
Whoa, that looks COLD! And great post BTW!