July 14, 2006
Our 9 am trip found us heading east in search of the Southern Resident Orcas. As we were crossing Haro Strait, we unexpectedly found 2 orcas foraging near Beaumont Shoals. Our customers were amazed at the grace and beauty of these large mammals. We spent several minutes with these whales, and then continued our journey east to San Juan Island when we received news that there were whales at Pile Point. We arrived at Pile Point and were able to identify the whales as belonging to L-Pod. We were thrilled to see one of our favorite whales, Mega (L-41)! The whales were spread out and foraging against the shore of the island. On the return trip to Victoria, we encountered whales once again. One of the L-subpods had separated from the rest of the pod and was traveling west off the Victoria waterfront. A small group that included a large male Saanich (L-74), as well as Ino (L-54) with her new calf L-108, allowed our customers an intimate viewing experience. It was another great morning aboard the Orca Spirit!
As we left the dock for our 1 pm trip, we received news that the whales we had finished our morning trip with were right at the mouth of the Victoria Harbour! There were literally killer whales 7 minutes from our dock. We arrived on scene to find a whale foraging in a small bay near the mouth of the harbor and saw a whale pass within 10 feet of the end of the breakwater! Our passengers also had some great viewing of some elusive but rather fascinating Harbour porpoises that were themselves feeding only a few hundred yards from the whales. We traveled with the whales for several minutes and took the opportunity to drop the hydrophone down to eavesdrop on the whales. The whales were very vocal and there was a lot of echolocation. A highlight of the trip was a visit to Race Rocks where we watched several Harbour seals and a California sea lion spending a lazy afternoon hauled out on the rocks, and some male elephant seals sparring in the shallows near the boat ramp. These large pinnipeds were no doubt practicing for the battles that occur at their breeding colonies.
For the evening trip, we headed west in search of the whales that had captivated our afternoon guests and found the L-subpod south of Whirl Bay spread out foraging. It was another spectacular evening for whale watching. Our passengers had some excellent photographic opportunities of L-54 and her new calf L-108, and we got to observe the intimate relationship between mother and calf. We also spent some time with L-100, Ino's 5 year old calf that was never too far away from his mom. There were some tail slaps, but the echolocation through the hydrophone and the surface behaviour of these Southern Residents indicated that their main concern this evening was food! Once again, we were able to delight our passengers with a visit to Race Rocks. This Ecological Reserve is always a favorite of our passengers, and it is always a great way to end a trip.
