EncDate: 10/05/22 

EncSeq: 1

Enc#: 21

ObservBegin: 12:15 PM

ObservEnd: 12:45 PM

Vessel:Orcinus

Staff: Dave Ellifrit, Michael Weiss

Other Observers: Darren Croft, Mia Lybkaer Kronborg Nielsen

Pods: Transients

LocationDescr: Haro Strait

Start Latitude: 48 38.87

Start Longitude: 123 15.67

End Latitude: 48 41.20

End Longitude:1 23 16.55

​

EncSummary:

The team was working in the office when we heard about a group of transients, including the popular T63 “Chainsaw”, that had been found just north of Kelp Reef. We then headed down to Snug Harbor and left in “Orcinus” at 1152. It was a lumpy, breezy day in Haro Strait and we slogged our way northwest toward where the whales ought to have been. We saw a large blow about a quarter mile off north Kellett Bluff that turned out to be a humpback whale. It fluked after its next blow but it was too rough to get the cameras out and wait for it to come up again so we kept heading toward the transients. We got on scene at 1215 about a mile southeast of Tom Point at the east tip of Gooch Island.

T63 was milling by himself for a couple of minutes until two other whales finally surfaced after a long dive. These two were T100B and T100B1 and they headed north with T63 following close behind all loosely spread. A few minutes later, T65 appeared less than a quarter mile to the southwest. She soon joined the others and they all traveled north in sloppy seas in a loose group. We ended the encounter at 1245 about a half mile north of Tom Point to make the trip home more comfortable. Since the seas in Haro Strait were building from the south, we made our way across the strait to the north side of Stuart Island. We then took the longer but much calmer way home around Stuart, Johns, and Spieden Islands hoping to bump into more whales along on the way. It didn’t happen but it was a nice boat ride.