Tuesday, June 30th

We set sail promptly at 9 o’clock this morning and decided to head east to Hein Bank with the hopes of seeing some Minke Whales. We sat by a congregation of birds and waited for the whales. While we waited, a California Sea Lion circled our boat, curiously. After several passes, the Sea Lion swam off. We then headed towards San Juan Island where members of J-Pod were fishing along the coast headed towards Salmon Bank. A successful trip to say the least!

For our afternoon tour we knew the Orcas we had encountered earlier this morning would be somewhere along the San Juan coastline. Possibly by Eagle Point, we headed in that direction and caught up with the whales at Salmon Bank. The whales were spread far apart and leisurely fishing; we managed to get great sightings of a group fishing close to the shoreline. They porpoised and tail lobbed, travelling in a nice tight group. People from the San Juan shore watched from the rocks as we passed. After a successful afternoon we headed home to the harbour.

Monday, June 29th

This afternoon was an exceptional trip as we travelled east near Hein Bank to view L-pod our largest pod of resident orcas. Immediately upon arriving on scene we were greeted with a spyhop, a remarkable way to start or whale encounter! We watched several whales travel slowly toward the bank, an important foraging area for both resident and transient killer whales. Near the end of our encounter, the action really started to heat up as we witnessed a large group of whales high-speed swimming. As we neared the north Hein Bank marker we watched another group put on an amazing social display with a couple of fantastc breaches. We also saw a minke whale in the same area. It was another superb experience on the Salish Sea.

Sunday, June 28th

This morning, we travelled to San Juan Island, as our Captain Brad had received a report of orcas off the northwest coast of the island. We arrived on scene for what I (naturalist Corey) assumed to be J-pod, but it turned out to be so much more. Within minutes we had members of all 3 pods pass us by. We identified Blackberry (J27) almost immediately. We had an incredible pass from two male orcas, one that would be etched in the memories of our guests. We were able to spend some time with Gaia (L78), Mega (L41), and so many more of our treasured southern resident orcas. As is always the case when the 3 southern resident orcas interact, we saw a lot of activity, including breaches, tail slaps, pectoral slaps and spyhops. It was an incredible trip, one which I will not soon forget.

By the afternoon, most of the southern community had travelled far north towards Vancouver through Active Pass and were out of our range. Fortunately, some our L-pod whales did not make the journey and we met up with L2 matriline. The L2 matriline consists of three living whales, mother Grace (L2) and sons Gaia (L78) and Wave Walker (L88). Grace is also the grandmother of Luna (L98), the wayward whale that lived alone in Nootka Sound for almost 5 years, before meeting a tragic end. We spent some time with this whales as they made their way back south along the west coast of Henry Island. On our return to Victoria, we stopped at Trial Island for a spectacular wildlife experience. Hauled out along the shores were several harbour seals. Perched nearby were two mature bald eagles! Yet another awe-inspiring day on the Salish Sea.

Saturday, June 27th

It was another magnificent day at Orca Spirt Adventures. Our morning started with a trip aboard the Pacific Explorer, as we headed to Haro Strait in search of our resident orca pods. We travelled towards False Bay on San Juan Island, then to Salmon Bank and ultimately arrived at Hein Bank. Although, we did not find our resident pods, we were ecstatic to find three minke whales engaged in lunge feeding! Minke whales have been a common sight at Hein Bank this season and we have had some exhilarating viewing experiences. This morning was no different. Also at Hein Bank, we found several harbour seals out foraging. It was definitely a successful excursion enjoyed by both passengers and crew.

On our afternoon trip aboard the Orca Spirit we received word that J-pod was travelling towards Salmon Bank, so we travelled there hoping to catch up with them, which we did. This trip was a wonderful trip, one in which our guests were able to see an incredible assortment of whale behaviour including porpoising (high-speed swimming), foraging, spyhops and even a breach or two thrown in. During the trip, we had the picturesque Mount Baker as a very scenic and wonderful backdrop.

On the evening trip, we were back aboard the Pacific Explorer and travelling back to San Juan where we encountered J-pod north of Lime Kiln State Park. There we had a wonderful experience with several members of J-pod, including Ruffles (J1), Mike (J26), and Keet (J33). Once again, our guests were able to experience the best of orca behaviour with breaches, spyhops and tail and pectoral slapping.

Friday, June 26th

This morning we headed out in search of our resident orca off the southern coast of San Juan Island. When all hopes were looking dim, we headed out to the ever exciting Hein Bank where we saw 3 or more Minke whales lunge feeding through schools of fish. Along the way we saw many harbour porpoises and harbour seals. Near the end of our Minke encounter our captain took off with a purpose because he had heard some reports of orca north! We had fantastic sightings of some of our residents with a thrilling pass from Comet and Spock (K38 & K20). This was a wonderfully well-rounded trip with many different sightings and beautiful calm seas.

Our afternoon tour aboard the Orca Spirit travelled near Salmon Bank where we found members of K-pod foraging in the nutrient rich waters. We had a great pass with Seqium (K12) and some other K-pod whales, before travelling to Hein Bank for an awesome minke encounter. After the minke show, we travelled back towards Victoria abd were able to spend some time with Gaia (L78), a large bull killer whale.

Thursday, June 25th

This morning, our vessel the Orca Spirit headed west with reports of orcas west of Sooke and westbound. Eventually, after a long search the orcas were picked up well offshore of Otter Point, where we had a great encounter with some K and L pod whales. After some early activity, including a wondrous spyhop, the whales settled into a resting pattern. This remarkable behaviour is one of my (naturalist Corey) favourite sites, as the whole pod will line up and surface and dive in unison. It was another fantastic morning on the Salish Sea!

Our evening trip on the Pacific Explorer was an adventurous trip to the waters of Haro Strait, where J-pod and K-pod were meeting offshore of False Bay. A few members of L-pod were also present. We had excellent passes from a number of J-pod whales, including Granny (J2) and Ruffles (J1). The whales were very active, with lots of tailslaps, spyhops and even a few breaches! After our magnificent orca experience, we travelled to the Chain Islets where we saw several harbour seals. We stopped at Great Chain Island, where a bald eagle was perched on the cormorant colony. We arrived back in the harbour after an exciting ride across the waterfront, satisfied after another fantastic experience on the Salish Sea.

Wednesday, June 24th

We had a wonderful trip aboard the Orca Spirit this morning. We travelled to Hein Bank, a hot spot for minke whales and an area where we commonly encounter orcas as well. We saw a harbour seal and several sea birds but were not able to find whales there this morning. We continued our tour by travelling up the coast of San Juan Island. We crossed the strait back towards Victoria. We had a great wildlife encounter in the Chain Islets where we saw several harbour seals, a fascinating little marine mammal and important food source for transient orcas. At Great Chain Island, we witnessed one of those national geographic moments as we watched a majestic bald eagle being pursued by gulls while carrying one gull in its talons! One last foray towards Constance Bank, with several porpoise sightings along the way, concluded this fine tour.

Our afternoon trip took us deep south into the Strait of Juan de Fuca in search of a humpback whale that had been sighted southwest of Race Rocks. The waters were calm with just enough swell to make it interesting as we travelled across the strait. Despite an intense search by two whale watching vessels, we were unable to locate the whale that disappeared in the mass expanse of the Salish Sea. We did see several porpoise feeding in the calm waters. We continued our search as we headed back towards Victoria stopping at Race Rocks. As the tide was flooding, most of the harbour seals that are usually present were most likely out foraging. We still saw several though, and a young elephant seal hauled out on the rocks. The highlight of this afternoon's tour was our visit to the Parry Bay eagle's nest where we have watched two young eaglets over the last few weeks. Today, we saw the two eaglets in the nest being watched by a parent perched above the huge nest.

Tuesday, June 23rd

Today Captain John and Naturalists Cassie and Jenna traveled with our passengers out into the Salish Sea in search of Killer Whales. For the first time in a few days, this did not involve much travel or searching at all as the whales were to be found on the Victoria waterfront just 15 minutes away at Trial Island. Here we met up with many members of the J and L-pods. The whales put on quite the display on this summer afternoon. They made sure to go through their whole repertoire of tail lobs, spy hops, pectoral slaps, and even some porpoising by some of the huge mature males. What really took the cake though was the breaching fiesta that took place. Whales big and small took part in hurling their bodies out of the water multiple times! It was quite an amazing sight. We finished off our tour with a look around some of the small islands in the area including Discovery Island, Chatham Island, and the Chain Islets looking at some of the bird life in the area. Another day with lots of smiling passengers and naturalists!

Monday, June 22nd

Today Captain Brad and Naturalist Jenna trekked way out west in search of our friends the Orca. On our way out we made a stop at Church Island to look at a majestic bald eagle. We then continued out past Sooke, nearly to Jordan River, where we met up finally with some of our Resident(fish eating) Orcas. We found several members of the L-pod. Among them, few mature females, and most notably a mature male and young calf.
The females and calf gave us quite a few good passes, as well as some tail slaps. However, the calf stole the show with approximately 10 successive breaches!!! One of the reason we love the calves is that when they are trying to learn something new the do it over and over again, and today's lesson must have been breaching. It was the perfect end to our encounter on another beautiful summer day!

Sunday, June 21
SUPERPOD!

This morning we set out on the Orca Spirit for another fantastic experience on the Salish Sea. We were travelling south of Victoira when Captain Brad received a report of orcas near Salmon Bank and turned east to catch up with what we assumed to be resident orcas. As we approached Haro Strait, we received word that the L12's had been found near False Bay and travelled there to watch Alexis (L12) and a young sprouter travelling slowly up the island. Shortly thereafter, they changed direction and moved south, most likely hearing the vocalizations of J-pod who were now travelling towards us. We had to reposition near Eagle Point, and were fortunate to see the two pods of whales group up. Our hydrophones picked up lots of vocalizations and we witnessed some amazing social behaviour including breaches, spyhops and even cartwheels! It was a fantastic viewing experience. We capped off with our tour with a visit to the Chain Islets to view some harbour seals.

Our magnificent morning trip was foreshadowing for an absolutely stellar experience this afternoon. It would prove to be be an unforgettable experience for both passengers and crew. We travelled to Stuart Island to find J-pod and the L12's travelling northward against the beautiful background of some sandstone bluffs and the Turn Point Lighthouse. We watched Ruffles (J1) pass us by, as well as Mike (J26) and all his podmates. In fact we had the distinct thrill and pleasure of watching 35+ killer whales making their way northward as they passed astern of our fine vessel. After the end of the whale parade we repositioned to the north in Swanson Channel, and I (naturalist Corey) was thrilled to see some blows to the north. It was K pod and the rest of the L's! We had our first superpod of the season coming together. We witnessed K-pod and L-pod porpoising towards J-pod and the L12's. Porpoising or high speed swimming is an incredible behaviour to witness as killer whales are incredibly fast predators reaching speeds of 25 to 30 miles per hour. We saw a spectacular breach just of f the stern of our boat. This afternoon, we saw well over 80 killer whales! What an absolutely awe-inspiring day.

Here are a some of Captain John's photos from our tours in June

Thursday, June 18th

This morning we headed out into Juan De Fuca Strait in search of orcas, humpback whales, minke whales and other wildlife that call the Salish Sea home. We headed out west well past Sooke but unfortunately despite our efforts we couldn't find them this morning. We decided to refocus our search and travelled to Race Rocks to view some harbour seals as well as educate our guests about some of the history of the spectacular landmark, the Race Rocks Lighthouse. On the way back to the harbour we stopped near Albert Head to view an active eagle's nest. Sure enough, there was a young eaglet perched on the nest. Soon, he (or she) will be flying the skies in search of fish, birds and mammals of all different kinds. We also saw a mature bald eagle keeping a watchful eagle eye on the nest. It was a nice way to start the day.

Our afternoon trip was absolutely spectacular. We headed east to Hein Bank, a hot spot for minke whale sightings as well as occasionally orcas and other cetaceans. The afternoon trip would prove to be one of the most spectacular trips of the season. We saw at least four minke whales during the trip. We were alerted to their presence by a huge amount of bird action. Huge numbers of gulls and auklets indicated that a large number of baitfish such as sandlance were present. Keeping on the flocks of gulls, our captain noticed a minke whale lunging at the surface. We travelled over to check out the commotion and sure enough we found some lunge feeding minke whales. Guests and crew alike were thrilled to see these sleek predators porpoising (high-speed swimming). They were even circling the boat - just incredible! To finish off this incredible trip, we stopped at the Chain Islets to view some harbour seals. It was a magnificent afternoon.

Our last trip of the day took us west to Secretary Island, just southeast of the village of Sooke. There we found J-pod inbound with members of the L12 and L22 matrilines, along with at least two K-pod whales travelling inbound! With so many whales present, it appeared that we might have superpod, but at the time of this blog that hadn't been confirmed. Anyways, we had a wonderful encounter with several different whales, including some staff favourites: Granny (J2), Ruffles (J1), Skana (L79) and Mega (L41). We saw an assortment of spectacular whale behaviour including cartwheels, tail slaps, spyhops and even a few breaches. It was great to see J-pod back after an almost 3 week absence. We even got to see one of the new J-pod calves! To finish another excellent tour, we stopped at Race Rocks. Here once again, the harbour seals were numerous. After Race Rocks, we were able to do one last stop near Albert Head to visit the eagles nest. This evening, a young eaglet was flapping and strengthening his wings for all of us to see - a great way to end a wonderful evening.

Wednesday, June 17th

We left the dock this morning in hopes the sun would break through the clouds. There were reports of Orcas at Salmon Bank and thus we headed east. On the way there, we briefly encountered Porpoise which gave us hope that food for marine life was plentiful in the area. We arrived at Salmon Bank where the L12’s were swimming three miles offshore. After a great visit with the Orcas we headed back to the harbour with smiles on our faces.

This afternoon we left our dock in search of our Orca friends, especially the L12s. By the afternoon, they had made their way to Eagle Point at San Juan. At Eagle Point, all of the Orcas were spread out in good fashion as they foraged. We sat silently enjoying their company and observed them all the way to Hannah Heights before we headed home for the day.

Tuesday, June 16th

Today, Captain John, with the help of Naturalists Cassie and Jenna, headed out on our morning trip. We started out west and got our first marine mammal sighting at Race Rocks where many pregnant Harbour Seals were hauled out. We continued south straight across Crescent Bay in Washington State in hopes of spotting a Gray Whale. None were to be found but our guests got a good look at the rugged coastline and two mature Bald Eagles. On the way back to the Harbour, we heard reports of Humpbacks and we were lucky to catch up with two beautiful creatures. The two whales gave us some great passes and a few glimpses of their flukes: a perfect end to our trip!

Sunday, June 14th

On our 9 am trip, we headed south into Juan de Fuca Strait, We had an excellent trip this morning as we travelled west of Victoria in search of orcas and other marine mammals. We had several great wildlife encounters this morning, including a mature bald eagle in the Bedford Islets and a plethora of pinnipeds at Race Rocks. Race Rocks was great this morning with sightings of harbour seals, northern elephant seals and even a California sea lion. Of particular interest was a massive male elephant seal that had hauled itself up the boat ramp and was resting beside the boat house. These animals are absolutely huge, 14 feet and 5,000 pounds for a mature male! We concluded our adventure with a stop at Albert Head to view an active eagle's nest. All in all, it was another excellent adventure on the Salish Sea.

This afternoon, our search for cetaceans took us east with a first stop at Discovery Island. Harbour seals were incredibly numerous on the low tide today. Seeing any marine mammal is always a privilege and harbour seals are an example of how a species can recover if they are allowed to. Once hunted to reduce perceived competition for fish stocks, harbour seals are now protected and have almost recovered to historic levels. We were also fortunate to see two bald eagles, one immature bald eagle and another fully mature eagle complete with the signature white head and tail feathers. We had a long journey today, travelling to Salmon Bank and to Whale Rocks. Although we did not see any whales this afternoon, as always the scenery and wildlife of the Salish Sea was a sight to behold.

Saturday, June 13th

On our 1 pm Orca Spirit trip we headed east into Haro Strait stopping first to view some harbour seals on the east side of Discovery Island. We crossed Haro Strait and travelled towards Salmon Bank. Along the way, we had an interesting encounter with some porpoising porpoises. At least one of them was a hybrid between a Dall's porpoise and a harbour porpoise. Hybrid porpoises are relatively common in these waters, but it is a bit of a novelty in the cetacean world and it was great to be able to see one. Our next stop was Whale Rocks where we found a mature bald eagle on a nearby island and several more harbour porpoises. After scanning the waters of Salmon Bank we headed north towards False Bay, where we were surprised by a minke whale! We had a brief but enjoyable encounter and headed back across the strait. However, we had one last amazing cetacean encounter with a couple of Dall's porpoises who took a few minutes to surf our wake and thrill our guests with their amazing speed.

Friday, June 12th

This afternoon the tour with Captain Brad and Cassie was a pleasant surprise. With the sun in the sky we departed and headed east towards the chain islands where seals were hauled out, enjoy the sunshine. Then off to San Juan, where a Humpback whale was traveling presumably up to Alaska. We watched this whale surfacing in the water. We then travelled past Darcy Island and had a look at Great Chain to view our eagle friend and other aquatic birds. It was then time to head back home to the Victoria Harbour.

Thursday, June 11th

The 9am Orca Spirit Adventure began today, like any other day, with high hopes of seeing our orca friends, especially knowing resident L pods whales were around. So Captain Brad, Helen and our guests made our way through some chop and swell to south San Juan Island. After scanning the water and shoreline and passing several harbour porpoises a tell tale black fin was spied coming round Eagle Point, this maturing male thought to be member of L pod was accompanied by 2 other whales. Further away from the shore we met 2 more whales a mother and her maturing son, giving us a nice display. After a fun filled time with the whales we headed back via Discovery and Trial to check out the Harbour seals.

Wednesday, June 10th

This morning Captain Brad, Jenna and Helen headed out on the Orca Spirit, past Race Rocks and Beachy Head, lured by the news of three transient orcas in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Braving a pretty choppy sea state, several willing guests and crew took the splashes for the view at the front. Despite the high swell we encountered the three transients and had some great viewing before heading back via our finned friends at Race Rocks.

This evening Captain Brad, Jenna and Helen left the harbour together on Pacific Explorer for a nice evening voyage. After leaving members of L-pod just an hour ago previously, we heading back to South of San Juan Island where they had been. L-12’s are a sub-pod of the L family. After sticking with them for some time we headed back when news came through of some transient orcas north of Discovery. We stopped to check them out and saw T20 and T 21. After this nice surprise, we then braved the choppy seas and made it safely back to Victoria. Hooray! Another great whale trip!

Tuesday, June 9th

It was an early start to the day for our Captain John and our naturalist Cassie who led the morning tour. We decided to swing out west, then make our way back east through the Juan de Fuca. Rumor had it that there were two whales at San Juan Island near False Bay/ We made our way along the coast line and after a few porpoise teased us with their surfacing we finally spotted the Orcas. K20 and K38 (Spock and Comet). We went north up the San Juan coast following our whale friends. After some viewing we parted ways and took a quick trip to Trial and the Chain Islands, watched some seals, spotted a Bald Eagle and enjoyed a discussion on Bull Kelp. All in all, it was a fun trip with awesome passengers.

On our afternoon trip, we went out with naturalists Helen, Cassie and Jenna and our trusty Captain John. We set out in search of K20 and K38 that we saw earlier this morning. Unfortunately, with the tide pushing them on, the Orcas zoomed up north, right out of our range. Instead, we opted instead to take a look for Minke whales out at Hein Bank. We stopped and scanned for awhile but no luck. With the expertise of Captain John, he suggested that we head north to Salmon Bank…it proved to be a fantastic idea. At Salmon Bank, there were sea birds of all types, seals, porpoise and three Minkes which gave us plenty to look at. We finally headed southwest, towards home, with memories of Minkes dancing in our heads.

Monday, June 8th

Departing this morning at 9am, we headed off for a great tour. We quickly came across two residents of K-pod. K20 and her baby K38 (Spock and Comet) were headed east towards Victoria. We travelled with them for some time and then took off ahead. Along a beautiful coastline, raccoons and eagles perched on their nests entertaining us while we drove by. When we arrived at Race Rocks, only two California sea lions could be seen however, there were many harbour seals and their pups. After one more pass with Spark and Comet, we returned to Victoria.

This afternoon, naturalist Helen joined the crew of John and I (Cassie) and we headed out to Dungeness Spit where K20 and K38 (Spock and Comet) had made excellent time from when we had saw them earlier. A submarine being escorted to port was the backdrop for this excursion. We arrived at Hein Bank and an elusive Minke graced us with a few surfacings. On the way back, we took a peek at Trial Island where my favourite harbour seals were lazing about before the tides rusted in.