July 29th: A Perfect Morning with the K13s

Early on July 29th, I got out to Lime Kiln just as the K13 matriline was passing by, heading north all on their own. The lighting was exquisite.

K44 Ripple

The most magical moment was when K20 Spock and her son K38 Comet surfaced in the kelp right off the rocks:

Spock had kelp draped over her dorsal fin for several consecutive surfacings:

In the evening, whales were spread over basically the entire length of San Juan Island, foraging singly and in small groups. With some whales right outside of our harbor, it was too tempting not to go out for a little bit. We mostly hung out with J34 Doublestuf and his mom J22 Oreo, and I finally got a look at his serious new rake marks that I had heard about from others. What kinda trouble did he get himself in to?

J34 Doublestuf with rakes from another orca

There was another private boat out enjoying the whales, a family with three small children. One of the boys was terrified of the orcas, and was begging his dad to drive the boat away. We motored over to them, and I told him how we were watching mama's boy Doublestuf and his mom Oreo, and how they were looking for fish, which is all they eat, and didn't really mind if we were there or not. I'm not sure if he took any of it in or not - though he did stop screaming - but I just couldn't stand the thought of that boy growing up with a fear of whales, when they're creatures that I admire so much.