We were waiting in the car line when the harbormaster announced there’d been orcas sighted on the last crossing, “So keep an eye out!” As we drove aboard, I glanced over the water, thinking the last sighting had been a fluke, when I saw…A FLUKE! (Actually, it was mainly the tall, sharp dorsal fin, with a brief glimpse of the tail flukes afterward.)
As soon as we parked, all the ferry passengers left their vehicles to gather on the decks. We didn’t wait long before we saw fins slicing through the water, puffs of mist, and the occasional breach! I missed the biggest jumps, but Super Husband was looking in the right places at the right times.
This is the only photo we managed to get, but it’s proof—I’ve seen orcas in the wild!
This is the only photo we managed to get, but it’s proof—I’ve seen orcas in the wild!
The pod was moving east through the strait. The ferry captain had to cut the engines a few times to let them pass in front of us. It made for an extra-long ferry ride, but worth every minute of delay, in my opinion. Although, I felt bad they had to keep asking passengers to return to their vehicles so we could disembark. No one wanted to leave the decks in case there was more to see!
I overheard locals who had been born and raised on Whidbey (my husband included) say they’d never seen an orca from this ferry crossing. A rare treat—a Thanksgiving gift!
As soon as we reached my in-laws’ house and told them what happened, they pulled out the local paper to show us the front page—a story about the Californian orca pod that had ventured up to Washington this fall! So, we knew where our Thanksgiving visitor’s came from. I, for one, am glad they got a little lost. It made for a dream come true on a pretty standard trip.
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