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.