A pod of about a dozen black and white orcas frolicked around and under Ryan Lawler’s 23-foot boat. The creatures were as large as the inflatable vessel Lawler and his two passengers were on.

“The thing that struck me was how friendly they were – they were acting like any other dolphin we see,” Lawler, owner of Newport Coastal Adventure, said about the sighting. “I could have touched one if I wasn’t scared of it being a ferocious predator.”

Whale watching charters got a treat Wednesday when killer whales, thought to be the Eastern Tropical Pacific orcas that normally live in Mexican waters, showed up off San Onofre State Beach just south of San Clemente. This type of orca has not been seen in the area since Jan. 16.

Operators with Dana Point-based Harbor Boat Rentals first spotted the pod, and contacted Capt. Frank Brennan with Dana Wharf Whale Watching.

Marcus Estrada, the deckhand on the OCean Adventure catamaran, said they had just started their 2 p.m. charter for Dana Wharf and were on their way to see a blue whale when they got the call. Brennan typed in the coordinates: 11 miles south of their location and 8 miles from the beach.

In the 10 years he’s worked for Dana Wharf, Estrada has seen orcas only about five times.

“It’s very rare. As quick as they come, they just disappear,” he said. “Seeing all of the whales and dolphins is why I love being on the water. It makes you feel kind of small, in a good way, knowing there is life right off our coast that is thriving.”

Donna Kalez, manager at Dana Wharf, said the orcas were after tuna in the area. She said the breed rarely travels this far north and is rarely seen in U.S. waters. This group is different than the orcas called CA51 that live off Monterey.

“My life is made if I see an orca every year. It’s the Holy Grail of whale watching,” she said. “It’s super awesome to see them in the wild, they aren’t confined.”

Kalez said there were three calves among the pod, which were in three separate groups. She noticed something odd while editing a video of the encounter – a calf was nursing, and in the background it sounded like it burped.

Lawler was off the Laguna Beach coast when he saw an Instagram post by Harbor Boat Rentals about the orcas. He asked his passengers, a couple from Portugal, if they were up for an adventure for a rare sighting. They agreed, and he zoomed full speed 25 miles down the coast.

“It’s a needle in a haystack,” he said.

Then he saw the OCean Adventure boat, and splashing nearby. They headed over, and “sure enough, there were orcas everywhere.”

Lawler, who has been fishing and on boats since he was 5, said it was a day he’ll remember. People travel to Mexico or Monterey to try to see orcas, but to have them in your backyard is a treat, he said.

They were three hours late getting back to the docks, but it was worth it.

“To be immersed in a pod yesterday, it’s one of the best days I’ve ever had on the water in my life,” Lawler said.

Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com