Encounter Summary: 

By mid-afternoon, the J16's, J17's, and J22's were reported to be spread out from Salmon Bank up to Lime Kiln. The J14's and J19's along with J2 and L87 were reported to be in Boundary Pass heading southwest toward Turn Point. Dave and several guests headed down to Snug harbor and left aboard "Shachi" at 1430 to head for the whales on the west side of SJI.

Around 1457, "Shachi 'saw its first couple of whales off Edwards Point. Since these whales were heading south close to shore, "Shachi" went around them and went to another loosely spread out small group of whales off Pile Point. This was J17, J44, and J53 and they were foraging in the same general area. This threesome moved slowly to the south and we moved a little north up toward Hannah Heights. Here we found J36 and J52 and these two were also loosely spread out and foraging. We watched J36 and J52 forage for less than ten minutes before they also moved off to the southeast.

A few minutes later J22 and J34 traveled south past us off Hannah Heights spread out but paralleling one another with J22 closer to shore. J34 breached once before continuing south. There was a small milling group behind the J22's that moved a bit inshore toward Hannah Heights and this was the J28's and J35's. J46 and J47 were playing and socializing with one another while J28 and J54 milled nearby. J35 was also slowly milling about a hundred to the south of the others.

Ken had left Pt. Townsend earlier in "Chimo" and encountered J16, J42, and J50 off American Camp on his way up. J26 had been reported to be foraging by himself near Salmon Bank. Ken also photographed the other spread out groups on his way north. "Shachi" ended its encounter with the J28's and J35's off Hannah Heights at 1635 and headed toward home. By this time the J14's, J19's, along with J2 and L87 were heading south in Andrews Bay. "Shachi" was at Bellevue Pt. when these south bound whales filed by spread out and moving fast by 1653. Most of J pod and L87 would later turn around again and traveled north past CWR at 2030 in the evening.