This weekend we wrapped up our very first whale book club

This weekend we wrapped up our very first whale book club, and what a journey it has been! Over the last three months, we’ve engaged in fulfilling discussions, heard from guest speakers, watched films, and even shed a few tears as we explored the important but often challenging stories of the orca captivity era in Puget Sound during the 1960s-1970s.

Some of our participants joined us for an in-person finale weekend. On Saturday morning we sailed in Penn Cove aboard the Schooner Suva and visited the site of the most infamous Southern Resident killer whale capture in Washington State. On Sunday, we departed from Anacortes with Outer Island Excursions and headed north through the San Juan Islands, where we encountered the T65Bs, appreciating orcas in the wild in a way that would have been hard to fathom just 50 years ago. It was extra special because it was the first time seeing killer whales in the wild for a couple of our participants!

Registration for our second book club will open this fall and we will be focusing on the Northern Resident orcas and salmon farms. We anticipate this one will sell out quickly, so we will only announce registration through our email list. If you are interested in participating in this or any other Whale University class in the future, make sure you are signed up for our email list through THIS LINK so you don't miss any registration announcements!