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IdoraKeeper · 20-10-2010, 17:07

Yesterday my son and I took Idora for a little jaunt down to Kingston. Flat calm on the the way down. Tested out the nearly unused Newport heater to ward off the fall chill. Plenty of fog with sun peaking through. We anchored in Kingston and all night long the fishing fleet was unloading their Salmon catch. The sound of power winches woke my up at 2AM so I sat and watched for a while before returning to the rack.

In the morning we were pleased to see WIND. Up with the anchor and up with the sails. We had a rollicking sail for several hours heading back north and encountered single and multiple Orcas. The whales seemed to enjoy Idora under sail and a young female came within 40 feet of the boat as she chased jumping Salmon. Later on we encountered what must have been the rest of the Pod who were being escorted by Fisheries boats keeping folks at some distance. The wind died and we were forced to motor home. Oh well ... a beautiful sunny day. Now for a glass of Red and dinner. Just had to put this up it was too cool. Tried to get whale pix but they are too quick to get easily.

Todd

foggysail · 20-10-2010, 17:11

What a nice post!

Foggy

SaltyMonkey · 20-10-2010, 17:17

Im trying to understand the "attack" portion of your post???

They don't attack boats, but they do typically like to ride in the vortex and wake.

NotQuiteLost · 20-10-2010, 17:32

When we were on our 34' Californian, we were up near Neah Bay (I think?) and had a family of friends onboard. We were nestled in some little cove and five or six orca came over while were were stationary and made all kind of games out of our boat. The women and children (I was a child at the time) were absolutely tickled to see these big dolphins swimming under and around the boat, but the men in the group were doing their best to hide the mortal terror that one of them might bump the boat just for 'fun.'

Pretty vivid memory, twenty years on.

Therapy · 20-10-2010, 17:33

They must have just attacked a string in his heart.

NotQuiteLost · 20-10-2010, 18:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Therapy

They must have just attacked a string in his heart.

Like Mairead Nesbitt attacking one of the strings on her violin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64QHbB-11fc

Therapy · 20-10-2010, 18:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotQuiteLost

Like Mairead Nesbitt attacking one of the strings on her violin.

There is no emoticon for "Pant Pant".

PS.

IK - great tidbit of your life, thanks.

avb3 · 20-10-2010, 19:12

Here is twice the fun!

Darn, not sure how to embed a youtube video here... but this is the

link

.

GeoPowers · 20-10-2010, 20:34

Very Cool, Todd! Isn't neat to see them when you aren't expecting them? I mean, it is still awesome to see them around Kiln Light or the "usual" spots, but it is somehow more special if you just happen upon them. We didn't see any Orca this year, but had a great encounter last year including some very cute juveniles and some big daddies! We were bummed last month when we came into Coupeville around Labor Day and found out we missed a bunch of transients by just one day!

sww914 · 20-10-2010, 22:01

Great story. I'll never forget the first time I saw a whale up close. I was fishing and my line began spinning off of my reel like it was attached to a whale. Well it was. I looked into the water and saw a barnacle covered wall sliding by under the water. WOW!
I continued to stare down and the next whale slipped under the boat turned sideways, looking right up at me from maybe 8 feet away. It's eye was bigger than my head.
The ocean is really cool.

IdoraKeeper · 20-10-2010, 22:18

Oh--They were attacking alright. There is a Salmon run going on and they were chowing down aggressivley. I think fisheries was trying to keep folks away from the big guys. A fair number of sport fishers out in 16 and 18 footers who could have annoyed and perhaps been injured. They were breaching and circling and driving fish. Quite a sight...and then there was sailing on a cool fall day. Not bad at all.

Todd

SaltyMonkey · 21-10-2010, 10:15

oh i was a thinkin' they were attackin' you!

Microship · 21-10-2010, 10:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Therapy

There is no emoticon for "Pant Pant".

Nice pair of pants!

Capt Phil · 21-10-2010, 10:57

Back in the early 60's (man, I'm getting old!) aboard a table seiner in Blackfish Sound on the BC coast, we had our boat and net attacked a number of times by killer whales that the indigenous natives called blackfish. This area, close to Alert Bay, was their hunting ground and didn't take them long to figure out when a seine boat was 'buttoning up', that means when you have hauled most of the net aboard but still had the 'bunt' along side filled with salmon, if they charged the net hard enough, they could burst through and have a feast. Even placing a power skiff outside of the net was not a deterrent. We tried to scare them off by using plungers, similar to a bathroom plunger but made from aluminum on a long pole that made a thumping sound to corral salmon into the net. Killer whales are unbelievably strong, intelligent and persistent when they are feeding. We lost a lot of fish and spent hours resewing our nets after these encounters but it never dampened my awe of the creatures. They hold a mythical place in West Coast Indian lore and I feel fortunate that I was able to hear first hand some of the stories handed down in the native villages years ago. Additionally, I've experienced many whales sightings on deliveries up and down the coast from Alaska to Costa Rica and never seen them behave aggressively towards a vessel. Curious, yes... at times they seem to want to check you out if you are in their area and traveling in their direction but they seem to have their minds on their destination most of the time. Nice to give them a wide berth and let them get on with their life... Capt Phil