Tuesday, July 8th

Wow, what a trip! This morning we received a report of orcas near Trial Island almost as soon as we left the dock. We headed east in full search mode, and were fortunate to encounter the orcas near Discovery Island in some light fog. Thinking it was J-pod, we were pleased to encounter some L-pod whales as well. As often happens when two pods mix, the whales were very social and we witnessed some astounding behaviours. It was a spyhop extravaganza as several whales swam eastward amongst the dense kelp forest on the southern coast of the island. It was fantastic to view the orcas as they swam east with Discovery Island Lighthouse as a backdrop. We witnessed breaches, cartwheels, and even some porpoising. We concluded our tour with a wildlife tour along the beautiful coastline of Discovery and Chatham Island's eastern shores, where we saw several harbour seals basking in the now bright morning sun.

On the afternoon tour, we travelled to Salmon Bank, an aptly named prime foraging location for our salmon hunting residents. There we found the whales hunting salmon in the nutrient rich waters of the bank. Although the whales seemed to be interested mainly in eating, we were ecstatic when the whales began to breach. We had another delightful afternoon in the company of whales.

For the evening trip, we headed to an area of San Juan Island known as Hannah Heights, just north of Pile Point. The whale sightings this evening were superb, as we watched several whales in the choppy seas. Our guests were delighted with the sighting of an unidentified orca calf travelling with her mother. We were able to hear some wonderful vocalizations through our hydrophone. After this magnificent experience we headed back to Victoria. First we stopped at the Chain Islets, where we found some harbour seals both in the water and basking on the rocks. We noticed a great blue heron perched on a forest of bull kelp and watched as this magnificent bird took off in full flight. We also stopped at a navigational marker, where we saw two mature bald eagles, a magnificent finale to another great day. See photos below.