Sure, things can get wild on the beach at Alki. But here’s the true meaning of the word – what you find underwater. Diver/environmental advocate Laura James shares this video, from what she and friends found off 64th/Alki this past weekend. (P.S. Voted for Laura in the Cox Conserves Heroes competition yet? No? Then, go here!)

Just heard from Donna Sandstrom of The Whale Trail that orcas are visible off Me-Kwa-Mooks, looking toward the Vashon ferry terminal. More as we get it!

(Springer, photographed in 2002 by West Seattle-based researcher Mark Sears)
She’s one of the most famous orcas to pass through West Seattle waters – and as we first told you a month ago, the 10th anniversary of Springer‘s family reunion will be celebrated on Alki 11 am-3 pm this Saturday, at an event hosted by West Seattle-based The Whale Trail. The latest update on the festivities:

Ten years ago, a ferry quartermaster noticed a lone juvenile orca (A73, Springer) near the north end of Vashon Island and contacted local researcher Mark Sears, who confirmed the sighting. These actions led to the only successful orca reunion in history, being celebrated this Saturday at the Alki Beach Bathhouse with first-hand accounts of the rescue, updates about Springer and why her story matters to the recovery of the Southern Resident orcas today, a killer whale mask dance, and dedication of four new West Seattle Whale Trail signs. Hosted by The Whale Trail.

*Duwamish Tribe Singing Feet Dancers

*Introductory remarks by Martha Kongsgaard-Goldman, Chair of the Leadership Council of the Puget Sound Partnership

*Stories of the rescue and reunion by members of the rescue team

*Le-La-La Dancers, First Nations dance company from Victoria who were present when Springer went home

*Information about orcas and kids’ activities

Participating organizations include NOAA Fisheries, the Seattle Aquarium, Seal Sitters, the Whale Museum, and Friends of Lime Kiln.

Celebrate Springer! events conclude with a festival July 12-15 in Telegraph Cove, British Columbia where Springer was reunited with her family in July 2002.

For more information, check out the Celebrate Springer Facebook page and The Whale Trail,

Stopped by Seacrest this morning just for a quick bit of sunshine and view … The West Seattle Water Taxi was getting ready to take off, and kids out on the open deck were shouting about jellyfish. Took a closer look, and what you see above is what we saw … the water, on closer look, thick with jellies.

Like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike … not in shape nor in size … but they’re beautiful to watch. As is the Water Taxi, in its own way … Sunday schedule today:

Melissa Ann – usually serving Vashon (which has no WT service today) – is on the WS route for the holiday.

4:29 PM: First we got a tweet about orcas off Alki Point – now we’re told they’re off Lowman Beach and there’s a TV chopper over them. Let us know if you see them! (The rain’s moving back in, which presents a visibility challenge …)

5:49 PM: We spent some time south of Brace Point hoping they’d come by. No luck. Bill e-mailed from the Lincoln Park shoreline an hour or so ago that they appeared to be heading further offshore.

A week and a half ago, we published that photo taken by Tom Foley while out on the Duwamish River. We thought it was a Steller sea lion; turns out it’s a California sea lion – and known to researchers. LG saw Tom’s photo here and sent the information to NOAA, which she says “got excited about it, and e-mails were quickly sent around between people at NOAA and the Alaska Fish and Game Department’s Steller Sea Lion program trying to identify the animal. Apparently Alaska Fish and Game has an extensive photo database specifically for identifying branded sea lions.” She then received e-mail from NOAA’s Sharon Melin, who told her it was OK for us to publish the e-mail, which follows:

Thank you for reporting the sighting of the California sea lion #8727. He was branded as a 4 month old pup in September 2006 at San Miguel Island, California. At the time, he weighed 23.0 kg and was large for his age. He has been seen regularly in Washington during the winters and at San Miguel Island during the summer breeding season but still is too young and small to be breeding.

San Miguel Island is the northern limit of the California sea lion breeding range and is the westernmost island in the Channel Islands chain off the coast of California. Each year, a population of about 100,000 California sea lions returns to the island to breed and pup. Pups are born in late May and June and are usually weaned in March or April of the following year. Each year we tag and brand 500 pups out of about 23,000 born and conduct long-term observation studies throughout the lives of tagged individuals.

The tagging program for seals and sea lions on San Miguel Island was initiated in 1975. We have had tag recoveries from as far south as Pta Colnette (Punta Colonet), Mexico and as far north as Southeast Alaska. The tagging program provides information for long-term studies on migration, movements, survival, reproductive success, and annual cycles of individual animals. Studies such as these help us to effectively monitor marine mammal populations.

Tag returns are an extremely important part of our studies and they provide valuable information required to understand the biology and status of marine mammal populations. Thank you for taking time to participate in our research effort.

Here’s a map showing San Miguel Island, which is off Santa Barbara, California – more than 1,000 miles away!

Shared by Alki photographer David Hutchinson, who says, “My wife and I came across this Common Loon in Elliott Bay while walking near Salty’s this evening.” (The bird may be deemed “common” by name, but its beauty is anything but!)

(Click image to see it in a larger size)
Sharing that photo (and others) taken during a Puget Soundkeeper trip along the Duwamish River, West Seattle volunteer Tom Foley wondered, “Does anyone out there know who might have numbered the animal and if they would like to know it has shown up here in Elliott Bay?” A bit of online research reveals Steller sea lions – the species we believe this to be – have been widely branded along the North Pacific so that sightings can be tracked; Stellers are on the endangered-species list. Can’t tell from this number, though, who might have placed it there…

Before we get going all-out with a brand-new day – and Tax Day, at that! – take a moment for two seagoing West Seattle sights shared by WSB’ers. First, John Hinkey‘s view of the Monday night sunset. Next, the latest undersea video from diver/photographer Laura James – who lets her camera linger on market-squid eggs on the seafloor near Seacrest:

The eggs take just past two months to hatch, according to this squid-info page. (Yes, same squid that appears on menus as calamari.)

(August 2010 photo by Guy Smith)
Another chapter to share in the ongoing saga of Alki’s Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft, first launched in 2008, first mentioned here when we heard from Joy’s husband Guy Smith in 2009, and the subject of some memorable stories since then. Today, Guy shared another one:

Joy’s raft is in dry dock again after an underwater line broke. That’s nothing new, but the way the raft was rescued is quite a story.

We discovered it had broken loose in the late afternoon on Thursday the 12th and located it drifting along about halfway to Duwamish Head. There wasn’t enough daylight left to get a boat and pull it home, so we crossed our fingers and went to dinner with friends. They volunteered to look for it the next day in their boat, but when we got back home at dusk we couldn’t believe our eyes. The raft was tied to a buoy about halfway between the point and the Alki Promenade. How could this have happened?

As near as we can tell, from listening to all the neighbors’ stories and a little guesswork, the raft and buoy were drifting toward Alki Point at about 7:30 pm, on the strong incoming tide when a neighbor, Zack Singer, jumped into his kayak and set out to rescue it. Zack said he was spurred to action when he, Judy, and Linda were sipping cool ones on the patio and Judy said something like “we can’t let that raft get away; we like watching it too much.”

Zack hooked up to the raft and buoy, but the current was too strong and he found himself being pulled south around the point. Luckily, Jack Miller was heading north in his big boat, the “Baltic Sea,” and responded to Zack’s hail.

(Photo by Kyle Udo, added Tuesday morning, courtesy Kyle’s dad Pat Hogan)
Jack hooked up to what he laughingly described as “a pretty unusual sight” and pulled the whole thing around the Point to the first buoy they came to; one of only 3 left on this stretch of beach where a dozen used to be. Zack said it wasn’t exactly a smooth ride; because when Jack took off, the kayak was being pulled backward. Afraid it would flip, he whipped out his knife and cut the kayak loose (instincts from working on tug boats), nicking his finger in the process.

At the new buoy, rope was needed; so Zack paddled to the beach and borrowed a length from Duff Kennedy’s seemingly endless supply. Jack donated a throw-ring float from the Baltic Sea to keep the lines from sinking and tangling. All this action was watched by neighbors on the beach as they shouted encouragement and advice (happy hour was running late that day).

On Saturday, Jerett Kaplan donated his rowboat for retrieving the raft; and it now sits in dry dock, awaiting new parts and a call to the diver. It’s been a nice marine refuge and people along the beach like to watch the birds and seals. Penny Earnest is a Seal Sitter volunteer and sends in daily seal counts. Thanks go to other neighbors who keep watch on the raft and who helped fill in details – Bette Callan, the Hogans, the Warrens, and others; even the unknown owner of the buoy where the raft was temporarily tied. The biggest thanks go to Zack and Jack for their timely action.

Sharon Kennedy related that on Friday, she had watched a mother seal and her pup circle the spot where the raft normally floats; circling for quite a while before they gave up and left. She laughed when she told that she had almost started yelling and pointing to the new location.