June 27, 2006

Today was a wonderful day on the water with both J-Pod and some members of L-Pod. On our morning tour everyone had an opportunity to see a mother and her calf. By the afternoon tour the whales were very active as freighters were passing through Haro Strait. We watched in excitement as the whales played in the wash and passed just below the surface of the water! For this evening’s tour we went through Active Pass. Two large males, Ruffles (J1) and Faith (L57), gave our passengers excellent photo opportunities! At Discovery Island there was also a beautiful bald eagle enjoying a little lunch down at the rocks.

June 25^th Evening Tour

This evening we went out west and found a Humpback whale and a Minke whale feeding together in the same area! We stopped the boat and watched the Humpback and Minke surface together. The sound of the blows shocked everyone! At the end of the tour the Humpback breached right out of the water. It was close enough for the passengers to get a true feel of the immense size of such a magnificent whale! It was a perfect way to end a beautiful day.

June 25, 2006

Today’s tours were spent with J and L-Pod off Henry Island. With a strong ebb tide the whales were traveling fairly slowly between the morning and afternoon tours, however they were quite active throughout the day. During our time with the whales we saw quite a few spy hops as well as about 7 breaches! In the distance we watched a group of 3 whales alternating between tail slaps and pectoral slaps. Everyone was amazed at how loud the pectoral slaps actually were! After leaving the whales we carried on to find other wildlife including Cormorants on Mandarte Island, 2 mature Bald Eagles on Sidney Island and a group of Harbour seals hauled on the rocks at the Great Chain Islands. Everyone enjoys a little suntan!

June 24, 2006

With beautiful weather and smooth seas on our side we went in search of whales. We were pleased to come across J and a few members of L-Pod off Alden Bank. Although at first glance the whales appeared to be traveling, it became quickly apparent that they were in the mood for socializing. We put the hydrophone in the water and enjoyed the many clicks and whistles these whales use to communicate!

June 23, 2006

Another beautiful day on the water with J-Pod today!

This morning we watched the whales along Iceberg Point, by Kellett Bluff this afternoon and into Active Pass by this evening. By the 5pm tour J-Pod was very social showing our passengers a lot of breaching, spy hoping and tail slapping.

June 21, 2006
Here we have the Humpback whale going for a deep dive.

June 21, 2006

This morning we started summer off with wonderful sightings! J-Pod and some of L-Pod were out this morning with a lot of energy. J-Pod was resting when we arrived, however L’s were porpoising, breaching and slapping their tails! We also saw one adult male role over and give us a peak at his white underbelly. We then carried on to Mandarte Island to see two juvenile Bald Eagles, Cormorants and Pigeon Guillemots. As we left the area we took a look along Sidney Island for some Bald Eagles and found three of them! It was a beautiful morning trip.

By this afternoon we had our entire fleet out on the water – and it was a perfect day for it! Not only did we see K-Pod but we also found a Humpback whale!

June 20, 2006

Today we were watching K-Pod! Very exciting as today was the first time we saw the new calf. For the majority of the trip the whales were resting, however before they began resting the passengers were able to observe quite a bit of tail slapping as well as a spy hop. Everyone was extremely pleased as the whales were so close together… perfect for photo opportunities.

This evening we traveled a little further than expected however when we arrived the whales were fairly active. We saw lots of porpoising, breaching in the distance and some foraging! It was a beautiful evening, very scenic ride.

June 19, 2006

On our morning tour today we traveled west in search of whales. We had no luck finding our residents however we did see Stellar and California sea lions.

By our afternoon and evening tours we were delighted to find J-Pod had returned to our area. We also saw Harbour seals and Bald Eagles!

June 18, 2006

We spent the morning enjoying the wide variety of wild life that the brilliant waters southern Vancouver Island has to offer. We began our trip by heading west in hopes to met up with some of our resident orcas, K-Pod and L-Pod, on their way back into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. With much effort but little success locating any southern residents, we started our search for the magnificent bald eagles. We enjoyed gazing at these large sea birds and one of their huge seaside nests. We then made our way back east to Race Rocks. While there, we enjoyed the relaxation and casual play the large population of Stellar and California sea lions and Harbour and Elephant seals displayed for us.

The afternoon’s trip lead us to Lime Kiln Lighthouse off the west side of San Juan Island. During our visit we were overwhelmed with a very active J-Pod. Although the orcas were travelling fast in large family groups, we were pleased to see multiple breaches, young orcas chasing one another and a spy hop or two.

June 17, 2006

For all of our tours today we were able to see J-Pod. Generally the whales spent most of the day travelling however we did see some spy hopping, feeding and a lot of breaching by the evening tour.

June 14, 2006

Today we were watching all three pods!

In the morning we were able to get a really nice view of Ruffles (J1) as he circled the area feeding. Then just as Ruffles continued on, we were lucky enough to have a whale breach three times just off the side of the boat! As well, in the distance there were another couple of breaches. We were also passed by a mother and calf within a group of five whales! At one time there was a spyhop observed. We also came back and passed by Chain Islands and saw an immature bald eagle as well as a mature eagle creating frenzy on Great Chain! As well, during the afternoon we saw quite a few Harbour seals hauled out on the rocks.

June 13, 2006

After leaving J-Pod last night, while they were on their way north to Vancouver, we began our morning trip with high hopes to find a well traveled group ready for some activity. We headed west, where we came across the widely spread out group just off the south end of Lopez Island. During our visit with these delightful individuals we were dazzled with a great display of tail slapping, breaching and spy hopping! On our travels home we stopped by The Great Chain Islands where we were able to get a great look at Harbour seals, three Bald Eagles, Cormorants and many other sea birds. Just before leaving we were surprised to spot a lone Stellar sea lion…just what we needed to make a great trip better!

Our afternoon trip led us to the south-west side of San Juan Island. As expected, Granny (J2) and her son, Ruffles (J1) were leading the pod on their active search for schooling fish. For a short while the pod split into several small groups. J1 and J2 passed first on the starboard side while moments later Slick (J16) and her lively family, Mike (J26), Keet (J33) and Alki (J36), passed on the port side. These wonderful passes were then amplified with yet another breach and several tail slaps!

The evening trip turned into a beautiful night on the water! We met up with a fast traveling J-Pod just south of Pender Bluffs. During this visit the individuals were quiet content on foraging. Although they were spread out, it seemed that they all grouped closer together just as they passed the suns stunning glow on the waters surface, making for magnificent photos (see below).

June 13, 2006

More photos from our 1pm Orca Spirit tour.

June 13, 2006

Have a look at our photos taken on our 1pm Orca Spirit tour.

June 12, 2006

Our morning tour unfortunately did not have whale sightings. However it was still a beautiful day on the water with a lot of marine wildlife to see. At one point we were surrounded by harbour porpoise feeding! We were also able to see four eagles (two mature and two immature) at Grand Chain Islands.

On our afternoon tour we traveled to Otter Point and Christian, our zodiac captain, found L-Pod! The whales were very active and in the distance we saw two breaches and a spy hop. On our way home we stopped at Race Rocks and had a good view of the Stellar and California sea lions. A couple of them were fighting and vocalizing at the top of the rocks.

June 11, 2 006

The fog rolled in this morning making our search for whales very difficult.

Our afternoon tour traveled to Great Chain Islands where we saw seals, a bald eagle and cormorants. We also stopped by Sidney Island where we saw a giant eagle’s nest.

June 10, 2006

On this morning’s tour we traveled to Race Rocks where we found California and Stellar sea lions, Elephant and Harbour seals, eagles and oyster catchers.

By this afternoon J-Pod returned to our area and dazzled us with many breaches and playful gestures.

This evening we saw Transient orcas. Transients are known as the true “killer whales” because of their aggressive hunting behaviour. Race Rocks is a common feeding area as it inhabitants a large population of small marine mammals.

June 9, 2006

J-Pod was in our area today!

Our morning tour saw J-Pod traveling in tight family groups. Of our three resident pods we have found J-Pod to be the most cohesive, due to their close family ties. This is a result of the entire group being direct descendents of Granny (J2).

By this evening’s tour the whales had become very active showing our passengers their social behaviour. Examples of this include breaching, spy hopping and cart wheeling. It was a beautiful evening, sun shining and calm waters.

June 8, 2006

We were with a small group of transient orcas today. We first met up with them off Lime Kilne Lighthouse where they were moving fast, only briefly slowing down for a slight change in direction and for a spyhop.

In the afternoon they had moved off the southwest shore of San Juan Island into the Strait. The whales spent their time traveling, with a few changes in direction. There were a large number of harbour seals out on the rocks today and many active seabirds both on land and in the air (eagles, cormorants, pigeon guillemot, seagulls).

Tonight we were at Turn Point with J-Pod. We had a great sighting of a group of 3 whales which included a mother and calf. As well, in the distance 3 breaches were seen! We had a great group of passengers brave enough to face the rain.

June 7, 2006

Today J-Pod was sighted off San Juan Island.

We observed some of the whales resting tight together while other whales were more active. Our morning tour saw a younger whale breach 5 times in a row!

It was a beautiful day on the water!

June 6, 2006

We were with a very active J-Pod today! Our afternoon tour saw a record number of breaches – 13 in about 10 minutes. Not only were they breaching but also spy hopping, lob tailing and rolling in bull kelp. Ruffles (J1) and Granny (J2) started the afternoon trailing the pod but by sun set they were leading the pod to the next resting sport, all the while feeding on the salmon.

We spent some time with Harbour and Elephant seals and California and Stellar sea lions. We also saw 5 bald eagles on Discovery Island!

June 4, 2006

After not hearing any news about possible whale sightings we travelled to the Chain Islets to view the harbour seals and bird life before heading to Iceberg Point to search for orcas. We received a report shortly thereafter that J Pod was southbound in Rosario Strait, and we arrived to meet the whales a short time later near Cattle Point on the south end of San Juan Island. Apparently the whales travelled fast! We were fortunate to see the whales moving together in two large groups, and had great passes from Mike and Ruffles (as well as many others).

This afternoon we travelled to False Bay to meet J-Pod who had been travelling north up the west coast of San Juan. Upon arrival we found that they were heading back south, and they were in a playful mood! We stopped to visit briefly with Ruffles who was foraging alone offshore, and had an amazing pass with the old guy! We than travelled closer to shore to visit with the rest of the pod, where we found the whales exhibiting many spectacular behaviours, including breaching, pectoral slaps and tail slaps. It was a great trip!

June 1, 2006

We were with J-Pod today. They were fairly spread out while traveling. Ruffles (J1) and Granny (J2) were leading the pod as they went up the south side of San Juan Island. Slick (J16) and calf were seen traveling together. Great trip considering rain and fog.