Sunday, August 17

This morning, we ventured deep into Juan De Fuca Strait in search of humpback whales, gray whales, orcas and other marine wildlife. Our journey took us right across the strait where we travelled along the coastline from Freshwater Bay, west to Crescent Bay in search of gray whales. Unfortunately, the whales were elusive this morning, but that did not stop our guests from enjoying the other marine life. Race Rocks this morning was spectacular, with lots of California sea lions, Steller sea lions, harbour seals and even an elephant seal. Despite the absence of whale sightings this morning, it was another wonderful adventure on the Salish Sea.

On our afternoon trip aboard the Orca Spirit, we travelled into Juan De Fuca Strait a few miles south of Beechey Head where a group of transient orcas had been located. The group of 4 transient orcas were identified as the T30's that included a mature male known as T30A. It is always a pleasure to view transient orcas as you never really know what they will do. Transient orcas in full hunting mode are truly a sight to behold. Last year, T30A thrilled (or mortified some of) our guests with an amazing encounter with a harbour seal. He was carrying the poor animal in his mouth right behind our boat for several minutes. It was an amazing encounter, one that I will not soon forget. Today, we witnessed resting behaviour and we were able to watch as all for of the animals, the mother T30 and her offspring T30A, T30B and young calf T30C surfaced and dove in unison. A stop by Race Rocks on the way in to view harbour seals, elephant seals and both Steller and California sea lions completed a wondrous experience in the Salish Sea.

Saturday, August 16

The morning trip started off great as our sharp-eyed Captain Brad was able to pull off quite the find - he found Pender travelling east near Constance Bank. It is always a thrill to see this remarkable whale, who since the passing of his mother several years ago is almost always travelling by himself. We had some great looks at the big male orca (T14 - as the scientists call him), who still bears the scars of a tagging procedure 32 years ago! Pender came very close to being another of the 45+ whales that ended up (and died) in captivity. What a privilege it is for us to have him still travelling around, although many harbour seals may disagree with me. After bidding Pender adieu, we travelled to Race Rocks, where approximately 9 Steller sea lions, over 15 California sea lions and a couple of elephant seals were admired by our guests.

For the afternoon trip, we travelled to Discovery Island, where we once again found Pender near the Discovery Island Lighthouse. We travelled along with Pender, watching him play and most likely forage in the kelp forest, looking for harbour seals. Some splashing indicated that he may have made a kill before moving on. We left him shortly after to travel to Beaumont Shoals, where we found several of the areas smallest cetacean, the harbour porpoise. Despite their normally shy behaviour, we had some great looks at these wonderful little whales. A stop at Trial Island capped another great tour.

On the evening trip, we travelled near Moresby Island, where Pender was continuing his trek along his usual travel pattern. Pender seems to like circumnavigate Vancouver Island every three weeks, and when he returns to the area, he usually follows a very similar travel pattern. A harbour seal popped up at one point near our bow, but it would live to see another day as Pender chose to ignore and continued his journey northwest. Despite the absence of that National Geographic moment, it was a great trip, We travelled back through the many islands near the Swartz Bay ferry terminal and enjoyed another spectacular sunset on the way back.

Friday, August 15

This morning, the Orca Spirit headed west near Sheringham Point, where we caught up with some members of L-pod heading outbound. On this highly enjoyable tour, we spent some time with the large male Flash (L73) and some of his podmates. I always enjoy venturing west as we get to see some truly rugged and spectacular coastline.

On the afternoon trip, we received word that some more L-pod whales had been located on San Juan Island, so we travelled to False Bay where we caught up with the L12's. Most of our time was spent with Mega (L41), an easily identifiable whale with the large notch on his dorsal fin. It was a wonderful trip, made even more enjoyable with the calm seas.

Our evening trip was a truly memorable and absolutely fantastic whale watching event. Members of all three pods had met up near Hein Bank and were definitely in a social mood. It was another one of those trips where we were privileged to see some most, if not all, of the amazing behaviours the southern resident whales are known for. Breaches, spyhops, porpoising, cute young orca calves (including L111), these were just some of the things we saw on this trip. It was definitely a highlight for our crew and passengers this evening!

Thursday, August 14

Here are some beautiful sunset photos from our evening cruise ship tour.