Encounter Summary: 

Mark Malleson found members of J pod in the morning off Eagle Point in sloppy seas. The whales were heading north up Haro Strait and, as the seas were unpleasant south of Bellevue Point, we waited until the leaders made it into Andrews Bay before we went out.
Dave and Barbara Bender left Snug Harbor aboard Orca at 1305 and found J19 in the lead just south of Open Bay a few minutes later. J41 and J51 were a couple hundred yards behind J19. The J19's milled in Mitchell Bay briefly before turning around and heading south. Orca headed south too, hoping to find more whales in Andrews Bay before they headed into sloppier seas south of Bellevue Point. We found the J16's, including both J50 and J52 but minus J26, in a tight group inshore near the County Park. We left the J16's at Bellevue Point and headed south and a little offshore to some other whales.
The seas south of Bellevue Point had calmed a little but were still a little lumpy. Off Lime Kiln we found a loose group of J14, J26, J27, J39, and J40 and there were other whales spread out in singles and small loose groups both inshore and offshore. Inshore was a loose group that included J17, J28, J44, and J46. Spread out offshore were J2, J38, and L87.
Around 1500, we moved south and inshore where a large group was forming south of Hannah Heights. This group included the J11's, J14's, J17's, J19's, along with J22 and J34. These whales were in a tight group and milling in a tide rip, not really going anywhere. Ten or so minutes later, J2, J38, and L87 came from offshore and joined the larger group. Soon after, all the J16's arrived slowly from the north and approached the larger group but turned back around and slowly headed north again while the big group began moving slowly south toward Pile Point.
We headed slowly north with the J16's who were in a tight group as they rounded Edwards point. We left the J16's still heading north at 1530 at the south end of LandBank to have one last look at the big group heading south. Twenty minutes later down near Kanaka Bay, we had one more pass with the large group inshore in some tidal action. This group was still moving slowly south in a tight group and we left them soon after.
We found the J16's again off CWR heading slowly north in Andrews Bay at about 1615. The J16's continued slowly north before spreading out at the south end of Mitchell Bay and we ended the encounter there at 1640.

• Encounter #27 - May 1, 2015 •