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https://youtube.com/@deborahstarr-ww7ct?si=qDLQrOYHEIlbWU7j?sub_confrmation=1
In 2019 I divorced after a 40 + year relationship and bought a boat. The love of my boat and "marina life" as I call it draws me to spend most of my free time there. I adore marina life! It truly is my happy place. I learned early that we share the waters with many wonderful and amazing marine mammals and harbor seals are just one of the many species. I have shared many of these stories with the amazing students that I have had the honor of teaching and learning with over the years. Recently, I have been given the honor of being the "seal lady" protector of the seals in my little corner of the world.
Seattle University Masters in Education Degree
Western Washington University Bachelor Degree
Original Artwork Joseph H Dushkas Alaska Haida Guaii Native purchased by Deborah Starr in 2020 The above message was handwritten by the artist and included with this piece. I have made attempts to reach the artist and ask for permission to display it. My attempts have been unsuccessful.
If one has ever been around a marina in the Salish Sea area of the Pacific Northwest in the area fondly referred to as the Puget Sound, one has likely encountered many grey harbor seals and these experiences can vary from intimidating to endearing. This is a story of one of those endearing moments that leaves one questioning.
In the early morning hours of Friday June 25, 2021, I was about to leave my boat for my usual before dawn nature call. As I got ready to bound off my boat, I came to a screeching halt as I suddenly came nose-to-tail with a very pregnant mother seal. It was obvious from the look on her face (a face that only another mother can truly appreciate) that she was not about to budge and there was no way for me to get around her unless I could pole vault. I decided to turn abruptly around and as I climbed back aboard my boat I silently hoped that she wouldn’t go into labor as I feared that might result in me being stuck on my boat for hours. I was very relieved to not see her anywhere when I ventured out a couple hours later.
Well, Monday July 28, 2021 brought record breaking temperatures of 105+ degree Fahrenheit to the PNW so the first day of summer school was cancelled which enabled me to stay overnight on a Sunday when I usually would not have been there. Before daylight, as I bounded off my boat looking to the port side, I can see that the mother-to-be that I ran into on Friday morning had indeed just given birth as she was still lying next to the placenta. I looked around but I didn’t see the baby seal. I continued on with my business and when I returned a short time later the mother seal was not around but the newborn baby seal was swimming around the bow of my boat. It was so adorable that I couldn’t take my eyes off of the darling little thing. The baby seal was also gazing back at me and I began to worry about imprinting. At this point both the baby and I looked around for the mother and the next thing I know the new baby seal disappeared in search of her. At that point, I wondered if my encounter with the baby seal might have planted a seed of recognition and I get my answer soon enough.
The Beginning
During the next several weeks, I had many times to see Tang and Little Tang as they were affectionately called by the slip holders on Central Fun dock as it is known. A very memorable moment occurred during the first week of weaning when mother seal would practice leaving Little Tang alone for brief periods of time; although, she was always close by. On this particular morning, Little Tang saw me from a distance and began swimming enthusiastically towards me barking and greeting me and carrying on with such intensity that other boaters who were watching were looking at me curiously. Additionally, however, all the ruckus summoned Tang and what I witnessed next was delightful. When Tang saw that it was me, she rushed over to Little Tang laughing and frolicking and the two of them were rolling over and over in the water laughing together and it was as if Tang said to Little Tang, “Of course you recognize her!” Our animal friends are very aware of us and they notice how we treat them. #livingwithmarinelifewhileboating
Splash! Crash! Splash! Crash!
The waves were echoing all around our boat in response to them. My heart is pounding. I am jumping up and down with such velocity that I am subconsciously worried that I might lose my grasp on Leiana‘s chubby, little, budding toddler body. The whoosh of the spray from the orcas’ blowhole erupts out and splutters in a mist of tiny particles that descend upon our excited faces. I look over at him. Our eyes fixed upon one and other and for one fleeting moment that felt like an eternity—we knew that we understood each other. The realization of this gave me goosebumps of excitement.
I admired his length. Our boat was only 15 foot long and I estimated his size to be almost twice the length of our boat. His majestic dorsal fin towered above my five-foot-two-inch frame. When our gaze ended, he swam quickly forward and in what appeared to be a spectacular display of emotion, he performed the most amazing spy-hop into the air and came splashing back down into the water with a resounding splash. Then he turned back around and again swam along side our boat, looking me in the eye as he had before.
He was not the only orca on the water that day. We had the extraordinary opportunity to be surrounded by twelve orcas that obviously belonged to the same pod. In addition, there was also a rogue or transient orca that was not part of the pod following a great distance behind. His behavior was different in so many ways. Upon later reflection, I realize it was at that moment in time, I began to fully understand just how special our southern resident orcas are.
Among the members were two mothers nursing their young babies. It was remarkable to see how they were able to swim so in sync and rhythm with each other as if they were one. I was later saddened to hear on a news report that the babies that had had been born in the Puget Sound that year had died. It was this information—the babies I had seen were dead—that spared me on to discover all that I could about these new friends of mine.
This became easier than could be expected because the bull who had looked me in the eye had such a distinct dorsal fin—it had crooked waves that wobbled through it, so I called him Crooked Fin. Because his fin he was so recognizable, I had no trouble identifying him and his mother who was also there that day among the others in the pod.
I began searching through pictures of our southern resident orcas on a quest to find out more about Crooked Fin and the rest of the pod I saw that day. This might have been more difficult f it had not been for that majestic, yet distinguished Crooked Fin. It was also not as easy as it is today to find pictures on the internet of these wondrous creatures. This was the late 80’s and honestly the only pictures that I could find at that time of the southern resident orcas was a set of cards through the Pacific Science Center that had pictures of some of the orcas from J, K, and L pods.
I soon found that the orca I had become so enamored with had a name! He was a member of J pod, J1 to be more specific. My Crooked Fin was actually known as Ruffles. And his mother who was also swimming with the pod that day, Granny.
When I look back upon that moment and how it shaped my perception; not only of just orcas, but all marine mammals, I am humbled by all I learned that day. I am humbled by their sense of community and the importance it plays in their lives.
How do I know this? Through the careful protective embraces of the mothers towards their infants. Through the way that Ruffles was bounding ahead of the pod in search of food; but also, as a protector. We witnessed him slapping his tail against the water signaling to the rest of the pod that he had found salmon, which is one of the things that sets our southern resident orcas apart from killer whales or transients who eat sea mammals as well.
Majestic, sleek, noble, I look forward to some day meeting him again.
And I wonder if he will remember me as I remembered him.
For the next few decades, I followed the comings and goings of Ruffles, J1 and Granny, J2. I never did have that opportunity to see if we would remember each other. Ruffles lived to be around 58. Reports of his death impacted me more than I could have imagined. Memories of the experience still bring me tears of joy when I really stop and think about it. Granny lived to be around 102. In the summer of 2019, I took a trip to Langley Washington and had a chance to visit the whale museum there. I was also able to purchase a book, Granny’s Clan which captures more heartily the sentiments echoed from my own experiences with Granny's Clan. I was also able to share my own story with the volunteers there that day, who gave me one of the last pins they had saying, “Granny Forever” with a picture of Granny.
I say, Ruffles and Granny Forever!
#livingwithmarinelifewhileboating
Little Tang and Baby Tang
On the morning of July 6, 2023, I passed an expectant mother seal, probably, Little Tang. Each time I went by, she just went into the water and then splashed back onto the slip after I passed. After my last encounter with her, I was gone for about an hour. Upon my return, I saw blood and fur along most of the slipway. One of my boater friends told me of the miraculous event and it wasn’t long before I saw the proud mother, Little Tang, parading Baby Tang around the marina. Parading like no other seal I have ever encountered.
Authors Note: The last time I saw Tang was in the early morning of June 26, 2022. I had been at a Santana concert with some girlfriends and had decided to retire at my boat around 2 am. As I started to turn down my slip, I ran into Tang. The light next to my boat was broken and she was sleeping in one of the darkest spots that she could find. I did my usual things to coax her out of my way: Jingling and dropping my keys and pleading with her. "Please just jump in the water long enough until I get by and I promise you that you may be here for as long as you want after that." My requests went unanswered and I eventually left her in peace and drove my tired ass to my other home. That was the last time I ever saw Tang.
When the Tides Roll in
Us versus Them
Deborah Starr
Writer/Photophrapher/Videographer
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