CHARLESTON - It was a perfect day for crabbing on the bay. Good company and sun. Barking sea lions. Orcas. Silent sea lions.

Orcas?!

As Phil and Gail Koenen crabbed in the bay with their neighbor Ronald Huff, they were a little more than surprised to see a pod of the toothy Dalmatians-of-the-sea frolicking in Coos Bay's frothy blue waters.

"I almost cried. It was such an awesome sight - I am crying," Gail Koenen said Wednesday afternoon.

Huff spotted the big mammals around midday near Charleston in the shipping channel. The trio had just laid out six crab traps. He wondered if they were whales, but Phil Koenen wasn't so sure.

"There's only one animal with fins like that," he said.

They maneuvered that direction and soon realized the creatures were orcas. A noisy crowd of gulls circled above as two adults, an adolescent and a baby stirred up the water.

"There were tumbling over and jumping out of the water," Gail Koenen said.

Phil Koenen pulled up his camera and clicked photos. The pod moved closer. Gulls spun overhead and soon the bay's big visitors were tossing and turning around the boat.

"The baby jumped out of the water just like a bullet," Gail Koenen said.

An orca breached. Water splashed. Phil got wet.

Gail watched as her husband stood there hanging on. His face was stricken.

"He turned around and said, ÔI think we need a bigger boat,'" Gail recalled, marveling at his quick wit under duress.

It must have been a little spine-tingling on a 21-foot Duckworth jet boat - a bit like actor Roy Scheider staring Jaws in the mouth.

Jan Hodder, an associate professor at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston, has said in the past that it's not unusual for orcas to swim into the bay. If they come, it's usually in May or June. Male killer whales can grow to 30 feet and weigh about 12,000 pounds. Adult females are about 30 feet long and weigh about 8,400 pounds.

OIMB professor Nora Terwilliger does remind people that should they see orcas in the bay they need to keep their distance. She also was in the bay in a boat watching the orcas Wednesday. She said they may have munched a sea lion and the gulls might have been cleaning up the pieces.

The Koenens and Huff watched as the orcas headed between the jetties and out to the open sea, soon hearing the chattering start up again on the rocks below Coos Head. They guessed the orcas were eating fish that were close to the surface, but none of them saw what was on the menu for sure.

Huff has lived here eight years and said he's never seen anything that close. The Koenens have always dreamed of going to Alaska to board a charter in search of orcas. On Wednesday, they found the best cruise right here at home.