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.