Friday, October 5th
This morning we travelled south west to begin our search for whales. It was a lovely morning and everyone was studying horizon for the sign of a whale breathing at the surface. We interrupted our search to have a look at the sea lions at Race Rocks. Not long after leaving the sea lions we came across 2 humpback whales. Just as we stopped to watch the humpbacks, the call came in that resident Orcas, specifically L pod had been spotted off San Juan Island. After a discussion with everyone on board we agreed to leave the humpback and travel the 45 minutes to reach the orcas. It was worth it - as we caught up with members of L pod feeding to the south of San Juan island.
In the afternoon we headed east to try to catch up with the resident orcas that had been spotted in the morning, as they were travelling north around the west coast of San Juan Island. On the way to find the Orcas, we were joined by a group of Dall's Porpoise - a few of whom played in the wake of the boat and swam next to the boat. We caught up with the orcas at Kellet Bluff, just at the north-west corner of San Juan Island. They still appeared to be feeding and were spread out over a large area. Several small groups started heading in the direction of the boat and we were soon treated to great views of Gaia (L78), an adult male from L pod and Moonlight (L83) with her calf L110. After we had seen the majority of the whales pass the boat and continue north, we travelled back to the the Juan de Fuca Strait to search for humpbacks. Soon, an eagle eyed passenger, spotted a blow in the distance - it was a humpback surfacing. We watched it surface several times and then spotted another two humpback whales in the distance. We watched them throw they're tail flukes in the air as they went for a deeper dive.
This morning we travelled south west to begin our search for whales. It was a lovely morning and everyone was studying horizon for the sign of a whale breathing at the surface. We interrupted our search to have a look at the sea lions at Race Rocks. Not long after leaving the sea lions we came across 2 humpback whales. Just as we stopped to watch the humpbacks, the call came in that resident Orcas, specifically L pod had been spotted off San Juan Island. After a discussion with everyone on board we agreed to leave the humpback and travel the 45 minutes to reach the orcas. It was worth it - as we caught up with members of L pod feeding to the south of San Juan island.
In the afternoon we headed east to try to catch up with the resident orcas that had been spotted in the morning, as they were travelling north around the west coast of San Juan Island. On the way to find the Orcas, we were joined by a group of Dall's Porpoise - a few of whom played in the wake of the boat and swam next to the boat. We caught up with the orcas at Kellet Bluff, just at the north-west corner of San Juan Island. They still appeared to be feeding and were spread out over a large area. Several small groups started heading in the direction of the boat and we were soon treated to great views of Gaia (L78), an adult male from L pod and Moonlight (L83) with her calf L110. After we had seen the majority of the whales pass the boat and continue north, we travelled back to the the Juan de Fuca Strait to search for humpbacks. Soon, an eagle eyed passenger, spotted a blow in the distance - it was a humpback surfacing. We watched it surface several times and then spotted another two humpback whales in the distance. We watched them throw they're tail flukes in the air as they went for a deeper dive.
