Saturday, June 16th

This morning we met up very quickly with a few whales from L-pod. We managed to observe the whales for a good period of time as they continuously came up for air. On our way back to Victoria, we had word that J-pod was not far away and decided to check out the situation. It was very fortunate that we did check out J-pod because they put on a beautiful show. All 25 whales were traveling at high speed, porpoising as they exited the water and doing a number of breaches. A very exciting morning.

We returned to San Juan Island in the afternoon to view J-pod near False Bay. Although the waters were quite rough, our guests persevered and we did managed to get some nice views of J-pod as they stayed in close formation. We then headed North along San Juan Island where the waters were calmer and where we were able to view a Bald Eagle and nest and also see a number of Cormorants at their nest site.

We left on our evening trip at approximately 5:30pm. We had word that J-pod was located quite far North and we decided to see if we could catch up with them. After a long drive out and a very patient group we were rewarded with J-pod near Active Pass. The pod was swimming in a number of small groups and we had some good views of all 25 whales. Our group rode home with smiles on their faces and the brave few who stayed on top deck had a great time as we drove over some bumps and got a little wet from the spray.

Friday, June 15th

Today was a very exciting day with two orca pods spotted and a number of bird species identified. We first observed J-pod moving north along the northern tip of San Juan Island. The pod was moving in close formation which led us to believe they were resting. We then left J-pod and went south where we observed a few members of L-pod. We had some really nice passes and because of the calm weather were able to hear the orcas blows when they came up to breathe. On our way back to Victoria, we stopped between Chatham and Discovery Island where, because the tides were so low, we were able to see large amounts of Bull Kelp. We then observed a Bald Eagle perched on top of a tree. Once through these two islands we stopped at Chain Island. There, we saw some Harbour Seals and thanks to an avid birder on board, we were able to identify Double Crested Cormorants, Pelagic Cormorants, Harlequin Ducks, Black Oystercatchers and Pigeon Guillemots. What a great day!