Encounter Summary: 

After getting reports of the T137's heading north up San Juan Island and then seeing them from the porch in Andrews Bay, we headed down to Snug Harbor and left aboard Orca at 1508.

The T137's were off Smugglers Cove at 1515 and were split into two pairs paralleling each other with T137 and T137D about three quarters of a mile offshore of T137A and T137B who were near the SJI shoreline. T137A and T137B crossed the mouth of Open Bay and then traveled close to the rocks of south Kellett Bluff where they were soon joined by T137 and T137D.

For the next twenty minutes or so, the four whales traveled slowly north along the rocks of the bluff before T137A split off from the other three. While T137, T137B, and T137D stuck close to shore, T137A moved about three quarters of a mile offshore and paralleled their course. At about 1610, T137, T137B, and T137D rounded the north end of Battleship Rock and pointed east into Spieden Channel. T137A took a hard right and caught up to the other three a few minutes later.

At about 1624, the T137's made a kill on something just north west of Barren Island in western Spieden Channel. The whales began milling suddenly and we saw blood and gulls soon began diving on the scene. We were unable to determine whether the whales got a seal or a porpoise. We left the whales still milling in the same area at 1640 to avoid a large rain squall coming our way.