Tuesday, August 14

As we began our morning heading out of the Victoria Harbour, we received word that a group of our Transient Orcas were spotted west neat Sheringham Light House. We arrived on scene about 55 minutes later to be welcomed by a group of 15 whales, including 2 mature males and a new calf. We got a great look at their amazing and unique features, such as the ‘closed’ saddle patches and the many marks and scares caused from there aggressive hunting technique. After the fantastic viewing of the orcas, we headed to Race Rocks, a local marine and ecological reserve, to see Harbour and Elephant seals, Stellar and California sea lions, and many sea and shore birds.

The afternoon’s tour was spent 4 miles south of Race Rocks where we joined up with our Transient Orcas again. As they foraged for marine mammals to feed on, they broke into 2 smaller groups and spread out over a few miles. We enjoyed one group for quite a while as they porpoised in the direct of seals feeding in the tide line. Then we decided to move on to the others, but while on route, we came across a filter feeding humpback whale. We got a great look as it fed on many small schooling fish and plankton in the water column. On the way home we stopped at Race Rocks again to appreciate the many Harbour and Elephant seals and Stellar and California sea lions hauled out on the rocks.

After two successful tours under our belts, all the crew were pleased to headed out on the calm evening waters surround the Victoria area. We headed East of Victoria to an area off shore called Hein Bank. We viewed a small group of our Transient Orcas as they moved into an area where the tide line had welcomed many seals to feed. Although we did not see any ‘kills’, we did see some aggressive swimming and searching by the larger males. After a great display of their wild tendencies, we moved on to look for other marine mammals and wild life. We stopped at the Chain Islands, where we saw many harbour seals hauled out on the rocks with their new 2 month old pups.