Our last day and we were all a little subdued as we ate our last meals together.  Adam and Ben went ashore at Cape Fanshaw to explore while we took the Alaska Adventurer to Whitney Island to look for bubble feeding.  It was a misty, rainy morning so sort of fit our mood. 

Nearby the island we came upon a pod of orcas that had a calf and soon saw a second pod of orcas. It wasn't clear if they were transients or residents although lowering the hydrophone gave us a clue as there was no vocalization.  Resident orcas, who eat fish (mostly salmon) actively vocalize.  Transients, because they feed on other marine mammals, need to remain fairly silent as they don't want to announce their presence to potential prey.

The pods came together briefly and then split apart.  A short time later we observed one pod making a kill of either a seal or a porpoise.  Another boat reported seeing blood and tissue in the water.  The feeding humpbacks nearby did not seem alarmed in any way although we did see a group of seals in a nearby cove doing a happy dance that the orcas had passed them by.

We stopped at Portage Island to see a hundred year old eagle's nest just after a great lunch of halibut chowder.  Nikki used all of the leftovers to make it so it was terrific.  Passed by some small (well, half ton) icebergs on the way into Petersburg harbor.  There is an opening tomorrow so most of the fishing fleet was out.

Packing up was so hard!   Ben brought up the bags and we quickly filled them with piles of dirty clothes so as not to miss anything.  The sea lions that we were so excited to see on our way out remain perched on "their" buoy at the entrance to the harbor.

At the dock we snagged a passing fisherman to take group shots of everyone before hiking back to the motel.  There we checked in and everyone had a LONG hot shower.  Since Pal and Sharon are moving on, they had their dinner in the laundromat.  We were all starting to realize that this wonderful adventure is really and truly over.

Orca video 1  

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Orca mom and calf	Dennis dropped the hydrophone so we could eavesdrop on the orcas.
Orcas?  What orcas?
	Pat and Pal on the lookout for one more great shot.
Sitka black-tailed deer	Sharon, the official "map mistress", documents the last leg of our journey for everyone.
The cast and crew from the left, Captain Dennis, Dr. Adam Pack (www.dolphin-institute.org), Pat (www.excelsmile.com/), Kent, Super Chef Nikki, Sharon, Chris (www.humpbacksoffhawaii.net), Kathleen (www.cleansolutionsco.com/) In the back, Pal, First Mate Ben, and Donna