July 2, 2006

Another day of glorious weather made for an excellent day of whale watching for our Orca Spirit and zodiac customers. In the morning, there were reports of whales off the south end of San Juan Island traveling northward. We met up with the whales (K-Pod) near Lime Kiln State Park. It was an amazing morning and our customers were treated to many excellent viewing and photographic opportunities as we observed the whales actively foraging. Near the end of the trip, we traveled through the Chain Islets to view Harbour seals and sea birds and were fortunate to see two mature Bald Eagles on Great Chain Island.

In the afternoon, K-Pod continued their journey northward towards Vancouver and our second trip found us in Boundary Pass where the whales were resting. This scenic tour provided many excellent photographic opportunities of not just whales, but of the very beautiful Mount Baker as well as the Gulf and San Juan Islands. On the return trip to Victoria we saw Harbour seals hauled out near Stuart Island. It was a nice afternoon.

In the evening, we headed northward in search of whales in the hope that J, K, and L would unite in Boundary Pass forming a ‘superpod’. During our trip however, we realized that the orcas were out of reach for the evening so we traveled to Henry Island to view other wildlife. We saw two mature Bald Eagles perched on a tree near Kellet Bluff and then traveled to Speiden Island to view Bighorn Sheep. Speiden Island is home to some unique animals such as the Barbary sheep that were imported from Greece. We also saw many Harbour seals hauled out on the ledges below the island. Our vessel continued northwards to Turn Point in search of Dall's porpoise. We were successful in finding them, and we even had a few interact with the boat. Passengers aboard our zodiac were treated to an amazing experience when they saw a Bald Eagle attack and kill a sea gull. It was a great day on the water with a lot of wildlife to see!