EncDate: 23/01/22 

EncSeq: 1

Enc#: 7

ObservBegin: 01:31 PM

ObservEnd: 02:47 PM

Vessel: Mike 1

Staff: Mark Malleson

Other Observers: Gary Sutton, Tasli Shaw, George Hamilton

Pods: Transients

LocationDescr: South of Sheringham Point

Start Latitude :48 21.6

Start Longitude: 123 54.0

End Latitude: 48 24.3

End Longitude :124 00.6

 

EncSummary:

With moderate fog in the forecast, Mark, Gary, Tasli, and George left the dock on Mike 1 at 0935, betting the conditions would clear up and allow a good survey of Juan de Fuca Strait. After a thorough search out to Mystic Beach, the fog had lifted but the wind was picking up, so the team changed course and started heading east to patrol closer to the Vancouver Island shoreline. At ~ 1330 Mark located multiple blows on the horizon offshore of Sheringham Lighthouse, which turned out to be the T069 matriline. The 4 whales were traveling east in a spread out but parallel line formation, with T069F (the youngest whale of the group at age 12) quite far out from the rest. The whales came together as a tighter unit and moved in close to the rocky shoreline. As the whales passed by Point no Point, they did not show any obvious signs of predation and were still traveling west at a steady pace when the Mike 1 crew ended the encounter at 1447 and made their way home along the V.I. shoreline.