In the 1980s my husband and I were watching the sunset at Lighthouse Marine Park in Point Roberts. My husband saw a whale with a large bent over dorsal fin coming towards us in the distance. He knew that I would go nuts when he told me so he quietly said “whale”. He was right, I went crazy.
There were fishing boats and a kayaker just off shore. The orca went under the surface of the water and emerged in front of us, right in the middle of the boats and next to the kayaker. It sat there motionless for a few seconds and then started swimming very fast along the surface and changed directions a number of times at 90 degrees. The kayaker took their paddle out of the water and just sat there. I can’t remember how long the orca was there for but I know that we had to leave because they were closing the gate. So it must have been for a few minutes at least until the sun had set. I called the aquarium the next day to report the sighting. They thought it might have been fishing.
This sighting is burned into my memory. Other than that I only see them when travelling on the BC Ferries. I have always loved the ocean and have a special place in my heart for ocean mammals.
-Alison
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