Saturday, July 12

Today was another fabulous day on the water. On our morning trip, we travelled southwest into the waters of Juan De Fuca Strait. Near Sooke, we encountered a small group of Dall's porpoises. These remarkable cetaceans are always a pleasure to encounter. They were foraging and did not seem the least bit disturbed by our boat. In fact, Dall's porpoises often play with our vessel and ride the wake and our bow. It was not to be, however, and we continued on our way. Our next stop was Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. It was another stellar visit with some Steller sea lions that were swimming in the current. We saw several harbour seals and even a few northern elephant seals. A massive northern elephant seal was observed blowing bubbles near the boat ramp! A sighting of 5 bald eagles on the northernmost rocks was an excellent way to cap the wildlife experience!

On the afternoon trip, we travelled east towards Trial Island where we stopped briefly to view a mature bald eagle and several harbour seals. Our next stop took us to Hein Bank, a favourite feeding locale for minke whales and both resident and transient orcas. While at the bank, passengers and crew were astounded by the amount of marine life there today. We saw several porpoise and had some brief glimpses of a minke whale. There were at least two harbour seals foraging in the rich waters of the bank, not to mention all the bird life. On the return trip to Victoria, we stopped at the Chain Islets, where we saw more harbour seals and a majestic great blue heron perched on a raft of bull kelp. It was another great adventure in sunny skies and calm seas.

On our evening trip, we had our resident orcas return to the area. Prior to visiting them, however, we stopped at Race Rocks to view some Steller sea lions, harbour seals, northern elephant seals and a couple more bald eagles to add to today's tally - 8 eagles in total! We travelled west from Race Rocks to Beechey Head where we found several resident orcas inbound! We had several spectacular passes with these amazing cetaceans. Being able to show our guests the beauty of one my favourite places on the BC coast in Race Rocks, and educate them about one of the word's most incredible natural treasures, the orca is something that this naturalist (Corey) always enjoys. It was another fantastic experience.

Friday, July 11

Here are some great Orca photos (T30's) taken from our afternoon tours.

Evening at Race Rocks